The coaches pulled in a few minutes ago, and Jackson is back in the senior dorm, fresh from supervising the unloading of crates of armour and guns from the luggage holds.
He smirks. “I was very responsible.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Anything I should know about?”
“I nearly made Ellman cry.” There’s a smug look on his face.
“Oh?”
“She doesn’t like the cameras. And she really doesn’t like being called a front-line doll. When they print her photo in the paper, I’m going to pin it up all over camp. She’ll cry then, for sure.”
“Good work, Recruit Jackson!”
“I taught Sleepy a new skill, too. Radio ninja!”
I shake my head. “He is not! I don’t believe you.”
“You’re right. He’s not. He’s hopeless, actually – but it kept him out of trouble.”
I reach over and pat him on the head. “You and your hopeless puppy!”
He scowls.
Power
“Ketty! You must have done something right yesterday. Holden wants you back this morning, on the clean-up crew. Miller, Jackson – you’re with Ketty. Pickup at the gate in 15 minutes.
“And remember – everything about this exercise is classified. You weren’t there, you know nothing about it. No one hears about it from you. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir!”
We’re standing in the Commander’s office, lining up for our instructions for the kids’ day off. There are assignments for all the Senior Recruits, but we’re the only ones heading off site. The others were given their jobs for the day in the dining room, but we’ve been summoned to the private office. Our involvement in the weapons test is not to be shared.
“You’ll need your armour and guns. Check your air canisters and contamination panels, and grab new ones from stores if you need them. Woods is authorised to let you have what you need.
“You’re to do whatever Holden and his team ask you to do. Your conduct today reflects directly on me, and the rest of my staff. Do not let me down.”
“No, Sir!”
“Dismissed.”
We hurry back to our dorms to collect our armour and guns, and meet at the gate. Yesterday’s driver pulls up, and helps us load our crates into the Land Rover. We climb in, and he drives us back through the roadblock to HQ’s field base.
Commander Holden is waiting in the briefing room. We introduce Jackson, and the commander waves us to the empty seats at the end of the table.
“Thank you for coming back – Smith, Miller: your assistance yesterday was invaluable, thank you.”
“Today I need you on the ground. You three have been recommended for your physical fitness, your discretion, and your ability to follow orders.
“Yesterday, we placed the weapons into the target zone. Today, we need to collect them again for analysis.”
He switches on the screen behind him. The diagram of the City Killer appears.
“The units will be disarmed before you reach them. You will scan them here,” he points to the barcode, high up on the weapon’s cone, “and ensure that they are safe to move. You will load them into your truck, and you will return them to a collection point in town.
“You will follow any and all orders given to you during the day. You will follow a pre-defined route. You will change that route only under instruction from me or my staff. You will consult your contamination panels, and you will keep your helmets on at all times.
“Remember: whatever you see, or think you see, in town – we have permission from the government to do whatever we need to do to test our weapon.
“You will not share with anybody anything that you see or hear in town today. This is a classified weapons system deployment test. You are here as trusted recruits, and you will not discuss today’s activities with anyone. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Moreover, if you see any unauthorised personnel during your mission, you will inform HQ immediately. You will detain anyone you see, if it is safe to do so. You will hold them securely until a member of my team arrives to pick them up.
“You will not speak to them. You will not engage with them. You will not permit them to speak.
“Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Smith – I understand you have been trained to drive one of our all-terrain cargo vehicles?”
“I have, Sir.”
“You’re our driver, today. Miller – you’re our tech support. Scan the weapons, make a visual check, make sure they are safe for your team to pick up.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Jackson – you’re the muscle. The physical safety of the weapons is in your hands. Ensure that they are handled with care, and stowed safely in the vehicle.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Holden steps back to the screen, and brings up the aerial view showing the locations of the weapons. He waves his hand over the eastern side of the town.
“Your job for today is to pick up the weapons in this area. You will follow the trained bomb disposal teams, and you will pick up the weapons only after they have declared them to be safe. Your route is as shown.” A red line appears on the screen, joining the dots across our zone. “Changes to your route will be communicated to you via radio, and via this.”
He picks up a tablet, and slides it down the table towards us. “Miller: you’re also the navigator. Keep an eye on the route, and inform your driver if it changes.”
“Yes, Sir”, Miller says, picking up the tablet. There’s a map of the town on the screen, and the same route is picked out in red. They must have set up a local network to communicate with it on the move.
“Jackson: you’re on communications. You will monitor radio traffic, and inform your driver of any important announcements or changes. You will also check in with my staff as requested, and keep them informed of your movements and any problems you encounter.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Is your armour black, or do you still have the grey recruit armour?”
“Black, Sir.”
“No names visible?”
“No, Sir.”
“Good. Get changed. The bomb disposal teams are already at work. When you’re dressed, one of the drivers will assign you an all-terrain vehicle, and run through everything you need to know. There are changing rooms in the next trailer.
“Any questions?”
“No, Sir.”
“Dismissed.”
*****
We drive into town, and it’s a mess. It looks as if they’ve bulldozed all the buildings. The roads are blocked by empty cars, and the ground is split and broken. There are fallen trees everywhere.
All morning, we load empty weapons into the truck. We drive back to the drop-off along our pre-determined route three times to unload, and then we set out again. Everywhere is the same. The buildings are rubble, the ground is crumpled as if something has tried to crawl out from under it. There are trees and cars and belongings blocking the roads. I use the all-terrain vehicle to mount curbs, drive along verges, drive over obstacles, and push past abandoned cars.
We’re trying to get to the next location, in front of what used to be a row of shops, but the road is completely blocked. Several vehicles have collided, and there’s no way to get past. I pull the vehicle up onto the pavement and drive along the edge of the road, pushing the cars out of my way. The noise would be deafening if we weren’t wearing helmets.
I pull into a small car park, next to the weapon. We climb down, and Miller scans the barcode and declares it safe to move. He pulls down the tailgate of the truck and climbs up to stand in the back. Jackson and I lift the weapon to Miller, and Jackson follows it up. Together, they secure it with ropes and wooden panels, then jump back down to the car park. I roll my shoulders and stretch.
“Anyone hungry?”
“Sure.”
“We should get back in the vehicle before we take our helmets off …” I protest, but it’s t
oo late. Jackson makes a show of checking his contamination panel, and taking off his helmet. He takes a deep breath, grins, and pulls a ration bar from his belt. My contamination panel shows a pale enough pink in the chemical section to allow a short exposure to whatever is they used in the test yesterday, and we all take our helmets off and enjoy a few minutes in the open air, out of sight of Holden’s troops.
“They’ve made a mess of this place”, Jackson says, pointing at the building in front of us.
He’s right. There’s nothing left. A couple of corners of brickwork, and a pile of rubble.
“Do you think the weapons did this?”
“No, Jackson. I think the fairies did this.” I roll my eyes. Miller laughs.
“So how do they work? They don’t look big enough to knock down houses.”
“It’s a network. If you put enough of them down and coordinate their actions, you can create localised earthquakes”, Miller explains, and Jackson nods.
“You can release chemical agents as well”, I point out, holding up my right arm to show the contamination panel.
“So you get the buildings and the people in one go?”
“They’re called City Killers, Jackson. What do you think they do?” Miller and I are both laughing now, at Jackson’s expense.
Jackson looks around. From where we’re standing, we can see warehouses and industrial units reduced to metal skeletons. Cars jammed together on the road. Trees and lampposts on the ground.
He starts to grin.
“We’re unbeatable! Look at this! Look!” He spreads his arms wide and indicates the destruction around us. His enthusiasm is infectious.
And then he’s pointing at something on the floor, next to the building in front of us.
“War paint! We need war paint. We’re warriors!”
There’s a lipstick on the floor, next to the corner of brickwork. The idea is crazy, and we’re all laughing, but Jackson walks over, points at the lipstick, and picks it up.
He pulls the lid off as he heads back towards us, holding it out like a sword. I realise that he’s serious, and dodge out of his reach, but Miller isn’t so lucky. Jackson catches his armour and puts a thick red stripe across his chest.
Miller looks down, hands in the air. “Hey! Bracken’s going to be mad at this!”
“Bracken would be mad at all of this. We’re not supposed to take our helmets off, remember?”
Jackson laughs, and lunges for me. I’m too quick for him, and he tries again and again, until Miller steps behind him and grabs his elbows.
I step forward, and take the lipstick.
“You want war paint? Stand still.”
Jackson shakes out of Miller’s grasp, and stands to attention in front of me. I steady his head with one hand, and draw three bold stripes down the length of his face. He roars and thumps his chest when I’m done.
“Miller?”
He stands still, unwilling to let Jackson hold him for me. I give him two bold stripes along his cheekbones. He looks good.
I use my reflection in the wing mirror to give myself one stripe down the centre of my face, hairline to neck. Jackson’s right – this feels powerful and exciting, like being back at the party in the kitchen, dancing on the tables.
I’m laughing as I throw the lipstick away, climb back into the truck, and start the engine. The others climb in, and we put our helmets on again.
“Where to?”
Miller consults the map.
“That way”, he says, pointing straight ahead, across the road blocked by cars. Jackson thumps his glove against the dashboard.
“Go on, Ketty! Smash us through!”
So I do. Rev the engine, aim for the gaps between the cars, and push them, screaming, out of the way. It feels powerful. It feels amazing. I’m laughing as we break through the second row of traffic and onto the side road beyond.
Doubts
We’re on our second-to-last pickup of the day. I pull the vehicle into an empty driveway, and we climb out to check the weapon. Miller scans the barcode while Jackson and I wait.
We’re on a residential street, but most of the houses are piles of rubble. The weapon is on a traffic island, in the middle of a junction. There are fallen trees, half blocking the road, and more belongings – shoes, bags, coats – on the pavements and driveways.
I step away from Miller as he performs his checks. There’s movement, behind one of the fallen trees. I unclip my gun, and step towards it.
Carefully, turning round as I walk and keeping everything around me in sight, I approach the tree. Through the branches I can see a patch of colour, moving slightly as I get closer. Gun trained on the tree, I step round the branches and take aim at the movement.
There’s a cry, and a girl – she can’t be more than seven or eight – pushes herself back against the trunk. She’s looking at me, and she looks terrified. I’m armoured up, helmet on, and I have a gun pointed at her. Her bright yellow raincoat stands out against the dark branches.
Slowly, I let go of the gun with one hand, and hold it up so she can see it’s not aimed at her any more. I step closer, put one knee on the ground, and clip the gun to my back. I show her my hands, and she relaxes slightly.
Unauthorised personnel, Holden?
She says something, but I don’t hear it through the helmet. I check my contamination panel, and crack the seal on my visor, enough to catch what she is saying.
“Are you going to kill me as well?”
I look at her for a moment. Why would she think that? Why would she even consider that? And what is a young girl doing in the middle of a weapon test zone?
I wave my hand at the surroundings.
“Is this your street?”
She nods.
“Where did everyone go?”
She points away, down the road. I look in the direction she’s pointing, but the road turns a corner, and I can’t see where it leads.
“I came back, though”, she says. “I needed to find Grandma, but the soldiers wouldn’t wait for her.”
“Wasn’t she with you?”
The girl shakes her head.
“Did you find her?”
She shakes her head again.
“I got scared. I hid in the car.” She points at a very expensive people carrier in the nearest driveway. “There was smoke. It smelled funny. It made me cough. I closed all the windows and sat in the car until it went away. I think I slept all night in the car.”
Smoke. From the weapons. From the City Killers.
Did Holden use chemical weapons on a civilian population?
That can’t be right. They must have evacuated the people. I saw the soldiers on the screens yesterday, leading people from their homes and cars.
So what’s this girl doing here?
“What’s your name?” I ask, as I reach to activate my radio.
“Natasha.”
“Well, Natasha, I’m going to call someone to help you. OK?” She nods.
“Unit Five to HQ, over.”
“Go ahead, unit Five.”
“Unauthorised person detained in location 135, over.”
“Understood, Unit Five. Support is mobilised. Hold the intruder in place until support arrives. Do not engage intruder, over.”
“Understood. Unit Five out.”
“Ketty?”
It’s Jackson on the private team channel.
“Jackson. Stay where you are. Get the weapon onto the truck. I have this under control.”
“OK.”
I look back at Natasha. She’s watching me closely.
“There are people on their way to get you somewhere safe.”
She nods.
“People like you?”
“People like me. They’ll take care of you.”
She nods again.
“There were people like you here yesterday, when the shaking happened. They told us to go with them. Are you the good guys, or the bad guys?”
I can’t help laughing.
“Good”, she says. “Daddy says that I can trust the good guys, but I have to run away from the bad guys – the ones who blow people up.”
“That’s good advice, Natasha.”
And I really hope it is.
There are footsteps on the road behind me. Several people running. I turn to see four soldiers in armour coming along the road towards us, guns raised.
I stand up and face them, hands in the air. I pull up my visor and shout.
“It’s a kid! It’s just a kid!”
They stop running and walk towards us, cutting off any escape we might attempt.
“Unit Five?” My radio picks up the transmission. I activate my microphone.
“Yes.”
“Stand aside.”
I look back at Natasha.
“It’s just a kid …”
“Stand aside.”
I step away from the tree.
One of the soldiers lowers their gun, and walks forward, holding out a hand to the girl. She looks at me, hands clasped behind her back where the soldier can’t reach them. I nod to her.
“Go on.”
She thinks for a moment, then stands up, and offers her hand to the soldier. He leads her away down the street, the other three following behind.
I run back round the tree to the vehicle, where Jackson and Miller are securing the weapon in the truck.
“Are we done?”
“Yeah.”
They jump down, and we climb into the cab.
And I’m almost sure I hear gunfire, three shots, a little way down the street, before I close the door.
*****
We’re heading back to the drop-off point with our final load of weapons. Miller and Jackson are arguing over the map – Miller thinks we’ve taken a wrong turn, and they’re trying to direct me back to the approved route. I stop the vehicle at a deserted junction, and wait for them to figure it out.
There’s a gap between the demolished buildings in front of us, and I think I see movement on the far side. There’s a wide stretch of grass behind the rubble, and through the gap I see people in black armour, walking up and down, guns in their hands.
The Battle Ground Series: Books 1-3 Page 25
