Duty and Obligation

by Sean Benjamin

  “I’m on it,” Albert answered.

  Chapter 18

  The plumber’s air truck with Baby Doll’s team pulled up just behind the prison van at the front of the jail. Off to their right front were the double set of twin doors denoting the main foot entrance to the building. To the immediate right of that entrance and directly to the right of the plumber’s truck was the big roll-up door for freight and other large items. Off to the left side of the vehicle were open fields with the makeshift parking lot for prison employees.

  The prison van had just emptied out today’s haul of eight prisoners, all with leg and hand irons. Five were in bright-colored prison overalls denoting they had been at the court. Three others were in civilian attire, meaning they had come from the town’s two small jails and were now coming to the prison for the first time. They would be issued their own overalls soon after admittance. The prisoners were lined up single file in preparation to pass through the doors. The three guards from the vehicle stood at various points along the line, keeping a very casual watch over their charges. The prison van was empty.

  Three people, two men and one short woman, got out of the plumber’s truck. They were dressed in stained overalls and worn work shirts and heavy boots. They stood next to their vehicle looking the place over. They then moved to the back of the truck and opened the rear door to grab a tool bag each. They now took their places behind the line of prisoners with the biggest of the two men being right behind the last prisoner in line. The door at the rear of the truck was left slightly ajar.

  Eight kilometers to the south, three shuttles were flying rapidly up the Sluice River. In a single line and only one meter above the slowly moving polluted water, the pilots had their craft at maximum safe speed for this flight profile and then added a few more knots. The two distractions planned at the prison to cover their approach would not be activated until called for by Tactical. Both would only be effective for several seconds each and the shuttles had to get the most distance covered during that short amount of time. Tactical sat in the copilot’s seat of the lead craft. Her eyes flicked between her paper map, her positioning system, and the terrain outside. She knew exactly where they were, and she wanted to get as close as possible before calling for the first distraction. The variable she could not account for was how attentive the tower guards were. They were at the highest point of the prison so would be the most likely to see the three speeding shuttles closing on their location. They would also know that was not a good thing. Tactical wanted to press it but knew if she lost the element of surprise, it could all go to hell in a hurry. There would be no gambling today. She watched for the prison tower to appear off her right front. Fifteen seconds later, the tower roof came into her view as the shuttles closed on target.

  “Now,” Tactical said calmly into the mike at her throat.

  Outside the prison’s entrance, the big plumber shoved the last prisoner in line. “Keep your mouth shut!” he exclaimed loudly. The push propelled the surprised man into the back of the prisoner in front of him. That prisoner shoved back against the man and then turned on the plumber. Since both prisoners were shackled, the lone plumber had the advantage. He punched both prisoners repeatedly amidst much shouting and general confusion. The two guards in the tower heard the commotion and came to the edge of the tower to investigate. They leaned over the tower railing and casually pointed their rifles downward just in case this incident got out of hand.

  The three shuttles left the river, bunted over the green belt alongside the riverbed, and aimed for the prison courtyard five kilometers away. They spread out to form a line abreast and picked up speed. They were two meters off the ground.

  The small melee in front of the main entrance was being handled by the three guards who had been in the prison van. They had quickly pulled night-sticks and hit both prisoners while shoving the big plumber backward. They shouted threats and stood between the combatants. The little spat came to a quick end. The three shuttles were two kilometers out.

  Cody, sitting by the rear door in the plumber’s van, heard the scuffle die away. It was time for the bridge. He hit the detonator in his hand. The bridge the vehicles had recently crossed over went up with a roar. The entire crowd in front of the entrance and the two tower guards jumped at the noise. Then they all turned to stare toward the bridge as pieces of the structure landed in a variety of places around its former location. Several people inside the prison’s entrance lobby moved to the large windows by the entrance doors to check out the noise. Nobody was looking in any other direction. The shuttles were almost there now. They backed off their speed while on short final approach into the empty courtyard.

  “Light it up!” Tactical said over the radio. The three laser cannons on the shuttles started blasting the doors at each end of the two wings and at the tower. The tower guards had been on the other side of the structure monitoring the fight and then saw the bridge explosion. They immediately dropped to the tower’s floor and hid behind the tower’s one-meter high walls. They crawled to the courtyard side of the structure as they prepared to defend their prison. Neither man was hit. They clutched their rifles while waiting for a break in the incoming fire.

  As the sound of concentrated fire was heard at the entrance doors, everyone froze. The crowd outside the entrance fumbled around as they were unsure of where to go. The logical thing for the guards to do was to push the prisoners and themselves through the main door. That move would also put them closer to the sound of a growing firefight and nobody liked that idea. The small crowd just stood listening in silence. Inside the lobby, people turned and listened to the noise.

  The three shuttles landed hard with the rear two craft landing on the fence. An alarm on the side of the building started to wail in response to the fence breach. The three assault teams came out of their transportation and used the shuttles for cover as they picked out targets while they waited for the two wing doors to buckle under the cannon assault. Several smoke canisters were tossed in front of the shuttles to obscure the attackers for the defending guards. The shuttles kept up a continuous fire on their three targets. The two guards in the tower were pinned down and unable to return fire. Each of the two reinforced wing doors took great punishment but were not blown off their hinges. The shuttle guns kept hammering them but the momentum of the attack was slowed. The attackers hugged their shuttles for cover and continued to fire at the tower and in the direction of any pop-up threat. Guards on the various floor levels in the two wings began to break windows and fire at the attackers through the screen mesh.

  After several seconds of confused inaction at the prison’s front entrance, the big plumber yelled, “Get these prisoners into the building.” The guards reacted to the order without giving much thought as to who issued it. They knew it was the right thing to do. Two prisoners tried to take advantage of the general confusion and the distracted guards by moving back in the line to position themselves to run for it. When they tried to duck behind the plumbers while working their way to the two vehicles, the three civilians roughly shoved them back into the prisoner line. The prisoners were now pushed and herded toward the entry doors with the plumbers helping. The plumbers followed the prisoners and moved through the doors into the lobby. Nobody thought that was odd as everyone was focused on other things. The trio quietly slipped to the back of the room and pressed themselves against the wall as if to avoid getting in anyone’s way. They clutched their tool bags to their sides. The big plumber, Logan, looked at Baby Doll and shook his head in disgust. He was silently acknowledging they were behind schedule. The plan called for the guards to push the prisoners inside immediately, but they had hesitated. With all the front door people inside and focused on the threat in the courtyard, only now were Cody and his people emerging from the plumber’s truck with explosives to blow the commercial door next to the main entry point. Cody would work quickly, but he would still be late.

  The big commercial door on the courtyard side now rolled up as guards on each
side of the opening door and behind crates within the space began to fire at the attackers. The canister smoke began to thin and the exchange of gunfire intensified. Suddenly, a screaming oath pierced the bedlam. “You son of a bitch!”

  Killian O’Hare’s voice was easily recognized by all the attackers. She was on the port side of her shuttle at the front end. She had been shooting at the tower. As the smoke cleared, she shifted her fire to the open commercial door. That was when she recognized one of the guards on the edge of the door frame firing at the assault force. Killian left the cover of the shuttle and ran at the man in a direct line. “You goddamn son of a bitch!” She was shooting a weapon in each hand continuously at a middle-aged, overweight, gray-haired guard that was clearly one of her tormentors from years before.

  “Goddamnit!” Hawkins muttered from the right side of Predator’s shuttle. He was not surprised by her action, but there was little he could do now. “More fire!” he shouted.

  The volume of fire increased from the pirates in an effort to cover O’Hare. She hit her target three times in rapid succession, and the man went down dead or badly wounded. Her victory was short-lived. Rounds began to whip by O’Hare as she switched targets to other guards. She tried to move back to cover. As she turned she saw firing coming at her from a window at ground level and instinctively threw her left hand up. The energy pulse caught her in the hand and incinerated it, the weapon in it, and her wrist. The remnants of the energy pulse hit her in her flak vest. She was blown backward to the ground and lay still for a moment until trying to crawl back to her shuttle. Energy pulses continued to impact the dirt around her.

  Hawkins broke from cover firing at the guard who had hit O’Hare. The guards at the commercial door shifted fire and shot at him. He was hit once in his flak vest and a second shot tore off a chunk of his right thigh muscle. The burning pain shot up his body as he stumbled. His right leg gave out under his weight, and he went down face first. On the ground, he lifted his head and his left hand to get off three more shots as enemy rounds hit around him.

  The courtyard firefight continued to boil, but a fresh layer of smoke canisters hastily thrown in front of the shuttles slowed the firing to occasional volleys of wild shots from each side at ground level. The pirates now concentrated their fire on guards on the two higher floors of each wing. The pirates were about to make a move to get their two fallen captains when, suddenly, the large room with the commercial doors shook with several explosions. Cody and his team had finally blown through the outside commercial door and immediately lobbed several high explosive charges into the large room. The guards defending that area were instantly killed, and the shooting from the prison forces slackened. The pirates went for both captains under covering fire. Hawkins felt strong hands grab his shoulders, and he was pulled back to his original position behind the shuttle. His view was hazy, and he felt the press of hypos injecting him with painkilling drugs. He was drifting away but saw Tactical as she leaned over him. If he was expecting kind words of encouragement, he would be disappointed.

  “You stupid bastard!” she snarled as he faded out.

  Tactical turned back to her command. Pirates were rushing forward through the dissipating smoke to the blown-out commercial door, but the two wing doors still stood. Tactical had had enough. She yelled into her comm. “Get some goddamn explosives on those wing doors. All shuttles, I want that tower toasted.” She moved into the open despite the shooting from several guards. “Everyone! Get off your asses and move! Now!”

  All laser cannons turned on the tower. The two guards there had just recently started firing by holding their weapons above their heads so the rifles were clear of the wall and then blindly firing into the courtyard. One guard was hit in the hand. He yelped in pain as he dropped his rifle and covered the remnant of his hand with his other hand. His partner saw what had happened and pulled his weapon back down. The two guards now hugged the floor and crawled to the other side of the tower under the cannon onslaught.

  Pirates ran up to the wing doors and attached explosives. Both doors were blown and the assault teams rushed into the prison wings and split into three groups. One team took the ground floor as two teams of three people each climbed the stairs for the second and third floors and began to sweep toward the cross-section. They had the scent of blood now and moved quickly while taking any potential target under fire.

  Two med techs had rushed to O’Hare and grabbed her at the same time Hawkins was pulled to his shuttle. She was dragged back to cover next to her shuttle. She was still alert and had seen Hawkins hit.

  “Is Hawkins alright?” she asked weakly.

  “Don’t know,” replied a voice.

  “Find out,” she ordered.

  A few moments later the same voice reported, “He’s hit in the thigh and his vest. He has some pulse burns around his torso and a leg wound. Not life-threatening.”

  Killian nodded as they went to work on her arm. “No sleep,” she ordered. “Just drug my arm.” Her tone left no room for argument and these people were from Gunfighter, one of her squadron ships. They knew better than to disobey her.

  “Roger, Captain.” Her arm was deadened, and she rested with a med tech by her side binding her wound while she observed the battle. She wanted to ensure justice was done to her satisfaction before she would allow herself the luxury of unconsciousness.

  The attacking forces moved quickly now. Despite the intense fighting, only three minutes had passed since the shuttles had landed. The assault teams were behind schedule but there was time. Reinforcements from the town would take at least twenty minutes to gather together and get to the destroyed bridge. Then they would have to cross the river at the bridge site. Any crossing method would take time.

  The teams on each floor of the two wings moved rapidly toward the cross-section. The wings were simply long open rooms with cells on the two sides and a walkway down the middle. There was no cover in the wings and guards who had been in empty jail cells shooting out the windows into the courtyard had retreated before engaging in any shootouts within the wing. Few prisoners were in cells as the evening meal had been in progress. When the attackers moved through the entire floor and reached the doors to the cross-section, they blew them open. Now they paused to allow all the teams on all floors to catch up to the same point at the union of the wings and the cross-section. They would assault into the cross-section at the same time from all three floors from each wing.

  ~ ~ ~

  Prison officials began coming down to the main lobby via the stairwell from their offices which were on second and third floors above the lobby. They heard the pirate teams in the wings begin their sweep into the cross-section and moved down to the main entrance to escape out the front and make a run for the parking lot across the way. One man moved to the entrance, cracked open one door, and began to cautiously stick his head out. A hail of fire came from the direction of the commercial door, and the man jerked his head back inside. There was no getting out the main entrance. The people milling about the lobby looked at each other with frightened stares. They realized for the first time that they were trapped. Any move out the front door would be met with serious fire, and the attackers were moving in from two directions within the cross-section and holding the courtyard. Their only hope was the Longwall police who had been alerted and should arrive shortly. They had only to hold out until then. One secretary announced she had called the police herself and told them of the blown bridge, and the police said they would get across. All that was required was to wait for rescue while defending the lobby. The lobby area was now crowded with guards, officials, admin people, the few prisoners from the van, and the three plumbers. The short hallway between the commercial staging/storage area and the lobby was blocked with furniture and two guards were covering it. A loud explosion from the other end of that hallway came as a shock. Flying debris struck the stacked furniture and a few pieces flew through gaps in the furniture stack and into the room. The door opening to the staging area
at the other end of the short hallway had been blown and only the furniture stacked in the hallway was an obstacle to whoever was in the staging area. Now sounds of people moving on the floor above them and occasional energy pulses going downrange up there reached the lobby. The two floors above them were falling to the invaders. Soon only the lobby, a few nearby administration offices, and the mess hall would be under official control.

  Two men in suits came down the stairs from the second floor. The guards and other prison personnel turned to them and waited for them to say or do something. These two men were clearly the warden and the deputy warden. They had a quiet conversation with a man in a guard’s uniform. This man was older than the majority of the other guards and his uniform was of higher quality with more brass and shiny shoulder epaulets. He had to be the head of security.

  As the conversation concluded, the warden turned to the crowd in the lobby and addressed them in a calm voice. “The Longwall police will be here shortly so we will hold our positions here and wait it out. I am sure we will be fine in this room until help arrives as long as we act together and do not allow panic to take over. The prisoners are under lockdown in the mess hall and will remain so. Many of our fine people are resisting this surprise attack, and we have several people guarding us right here. The situation is serious, but we can get through it.”