Counterstrike

by D. J. Holmes

  “Ahh aall righ...” Johnston thought he heard amidst the screams. He pulled his pistol away.

  “You’ll tell me?” he asked. When Akhila nodded vigorously he plunged the syringe into her neck. Her shoulders and chest slumped as the pain relievers got to work. Johnston had to catch her to stop her from falling over again. “Speak!” he commanded as he shook her. For a couple of seconds she looked at him, hesitation written all over her face. Johnston raised his plasma pistol again and the particulars of Agarwal’s plan tumbled out of her. As he listened to every detail, Johnston breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had never tortured anyone before. And he never wanted to again. He hated doing it. But he knew he wouldn’t have stopped. That scared him more than he wanted to admit.

  Chapter 13

  The Empire has strict laws on how it should treat sentient species. We enforce these laws on any species who wishes to join the Empire or be one of our trading partners. Of course, not all species share our point of view. Such realities leave some grey areas which naval cadets must learn to navigate.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

  As soon as Akhila had told him everything he needed to know, Johnston let her slump to the floor. He jumped to his feet, unlocked the door and stepped out of the room. Swenson, the marine sergeant, and the rest of the marines were all standing around. “She needs immediate medical attention. See that she gets it and then get her on a shuttle to Milan.” Though Swenson and the others were expressionless, Johnston knew they knew what had just happened. He didn’t have time to worry about that though. “Get our shuttles to land. We need to get to Milan ASAP. I know what they are planning.”

  “What if she was lying to you?” Swenson asked as Johnston moved through them.

  “That’s why she’s coming with us,” Johnston called over his shoulder. “If she’s lying, she’ll regret it. Come on,” he added. “We’ll take the first shuttle with the Imperial Guard. The rest of the marines can follow in the second.” As they made their way out of the warehouse, he filled Swenson in. “Apparently Saria has a fake identification file listing her as a reporter. She and someone else she recruited are going to pose as holovid recorders and set up in one of the buildings that overlook the cathedral square. Agarwal is going to be further out. He is going to launch the first strike from an apartment building that is over half a mile from the cathedral. If his first missile fails to hit its target, he’ll have plenty of time to reload and fire a second or even third. Then in the commotion Saria is going to strike.”

  “It’s a good plan,” Swenson said as he sprinted to keep up with Johnston. “Our AM launchers should be able to take out Agarwal’s missiles. But if they’re focused on a long-range threat, they may not be able to counter Saria’s attack.

  “Exactly,” Johnston said as he glanced at the timer on his COM unit. “The Empress is scheduled to enter the cathedral in one hour and thirty minutes. If they get into place by then they could attack the cathedral any time they wanted. If they get even a hint that we’re after them, they will take out the cathedral and try to cause as much mayhem as possible. Akhila was almost willing to die for their cause. We have to assume Agarwal and Saria will go even further.”

  As soon as they got into the shuttle Johnston sent coordinates to the pilots. Then he pulled out his datapad and searched for the two buildings Akhila had told him about. He handed the datapad over for Swenson to see. “Here, this is the building Saria is going to use. Contact the marines we have there and make sure they are on the lookout for her. Apparently, she has undergone some cosmetic surgery since the first attack on the Empress. Tell them not to do anything, we don’t want to alert Agarwal. They are only to keep close tabs on her. I want you in position to apprehend her as soon as I’m ready to take Agarwal.”

  “Of course General. What is your plan for Agarwal?” Swenson asked.

  “There are no marines based in the area Agarwal is going to,” Johnston explained. “If we deploy some now, he’ll get suspicious. I’ll infiltrate the building and get in place to intercept him. Once we know he’s inside more marines can be dispatched to back me up.”

  “You’re going alone?” Swenson balked. “Surely some of the Imperial Guard could accompany you?”

  Johnston glanced at the marines as he shook his head. “None of them are special forces marines. They are not up to what I have in mind.”

  Swenson glanced at them and raised his eyebrows as he shook his head. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  Johnston touched Swenson shoulder. “Don’t worry, I have this.”

  A strange look crossed Swenson’s face, Johnston thought it was doubt for a second, but then he figured out where Swenson’s mind had gone. Given what he had just done to Akhila, it was perfectly reasonable for Swenson to have concerns about why Johnston wanted to take on Agarwal on his own. “Don’t worry my friend,” Johnston said as he squeezed Swenson’s shoulder. “I intend to stop him launching his attack on the Empress. Nothing more. If he surrenders, I’ll take him into custody.”

  Swenson’s face went blank as he hid his emotions. “Of course, General, I thought nothing else.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Johnston replied as he removed his hand. “We’ll keep in constant contact. As soon as you’re ready to take Saria and her accomplice, let me know. We have to do it together. We can’t risk one alerting the other. Not when hypervelocity missiles are in the mix.”

  “Understood,” Swenson responded.

  Johnston nodded to the IID Agent and donned his flight helmet. Activating the COM unit, he explained to the pilot what he wanted. He had to order the pilot to do it, but eventually he relented. “Sixty seconds,” the pilot called a very short time later. Unbuckling himself, Johnston shot Swenson a smile as the agent looked at him confused. He moved down to the back of the shuttle. Tapping the rear hatch’s activation button, he grabbed a guard rail as it began to lower. Below him the rooftops of Milan came into view. As he looked down the shuttle quickly slowed. “Now,” the pilot shouted. Johnston jumped. Trusting the pilot had timed it perfectly, he braced himself. The roof of one of Milan’s higher high-rise apartments rushed up to meet him. As his feet hit the roof he let them give way as he tucked himself into a ball and rolled. His maneuver spread the force of the impact across his legs and back. It still knocked the wind out of him. When he came to rest Johnston rolled onto his back and lay still for several seconds. He had carried out low level combat jumps as part of the training regimes all special forces marines went through but that had been twenty years ago. He had never had cause to try one since. Slowly he moved each part of his body. Everything seemed to be working, but his left foot was throbbing. The pain quickly receded as his implants released a series of pain killers into his blood stream.

  Gingerly he got to his feet. Then he looked around for the shuttle. There was no sign of it. It had either landed already or was lost in the hundreds of other aircars that flew over Milan’s skyscrapers. Unless anyone had been looking closely, all they would have seen of Johnston’s shuttle was that it had been slowing down as it approached its designated landing site. Johnston didn’t know exactly where Agarwal was, but unless the Indian had been staring directly at the shuttle at the moment he had jumped out, there was no way Agarwal could know he was nearby.

  Glancing around, Johnston got his bearings. The building Akhila had told him about was just one block away. Moving to the edge of his building’s roof, Johnston peered down. He had chosen the spot he jumped out of the shuttle carefully. There were only a series of small narrow streets between his building and Agarwal’s one. Moving several steps back, Johnston sprinted towards the edge of the roof and jumped. Once again he landed on his feet and fell into a roll. His left foot throbbed for a few heartbeats but Johnston ignored it. Quickly he got back to his feet, ran to the edge of the roof and jumped again. When he came to the next building, it was three stories higher than the one he was on. With only a moment’s pause, he pulled a rappelling line from his u
tility belt and hurled it up to the adjacent building’s roof. Its metallic teeth dug into the building’s side as soon as they made contact. Swinging himself across the gap, Johnston rappelled up the building’s side. When he got to the top, he released the line’s teeth and attached the line to his utility belt. Twice more he jumped from roof to roof as the next two buildings were one and two stories lower each time. Finally he came to the building Agarwal was supposed to be heading for. A beep from his COM unit made Johnston pull it out after he landed. “Go ahead,” he said.

  “General,” Swenson began. “The marines guarding Saria’s building have confirmed she just entered it. She has had a lot of work done on her face, but it is her. I’m about to enter the building. She is on the fifth floor. We have already sealed it off. No one else will get in or out.”

  “Good, get in position and wait for my command,” Johnston replied. “What about the Empress, has she arrived yet?”

  “Her shuttle has taken off, she should be here soon,” Swenson answered. “I’ve already alerted the pilots to the location of our two buildings so they know to avoid them. I didn’t say why, just that they are two areas not covered by our AM launchers.”

  “Smart,” Johnston replied. He doubted Agarwal would try hitting Christine’s shuttle again. After the last time she flew in a convoy of three, there was no way to know which one she was on for sure. But it was better to be safe than sorry. “I’m in position. I will update you as soon as something happens. If it looks like Saria is preparing to make her move intervene immediately. But make sure you contact me right away. I’ll have to take Agarwal if I can.”

  “I will keep you updated General,” Swenson responded.

  Clicking the COM unit off, Johnston did a three sixty pirouette as he took in the building’s roof. There were two stairwells that opened onto the roof. Moving over to the one nearest the side of the building that faced the cathedral, Johnston jumped, grabbed onto the roof of the stairwell and pulled himself up. Then he lay down. He would be able to jump Agarwal as soon as he stepped onto the roof. To pass the time he pulled out his datapad and watched some of the feeds from the drones that were prowling around the apartment building and the surrounding city block. He didn’t have long to wait. A message came through from Swenson directing him to one drone’s feed. It was thirty seconds old, but it had picked up a suspicious looking character. Computer analysis of the person’s gait suggested it was Agarwal. He had just slipped into one of the buildings adjacent to the one Johnston was in. For a second Johnston thought that he was in the wrong spot. If Agarwal stepped onto the roof of that building, he’d spot Johnston immediately. When he pulled up the schematics of the adjacent building he relaxed a little. There was an underground passage between then. Agarwal probably planned to use it as one last stratagem to throw off anyone pursuing him.

  As the time ticked by, Johnston felt his muscles tighten with tension. He stared at the lone stairwell that led on to the roof of the adjacent building. His prey wasn’t appearing there, yet he also hadn’t appeared on the roof of Johnston’s building. He should be here by now, Johnston thought. Yet there was no sign of him. A series of beeps from his COM unit made him quickly pull it out of his trouser pocket. He didn’t want any sounds alerting Agarwal if he was in the stairwell below him. “What is it?” he whispered into the device. “Is it Saria?”

  “No,” Swenson answered. “She is in position but she hasn’t pulled out her launcher yet. It’s Agarwal that is a problem. One of our sniper teams on the cathedral’s roof has spotted some suspicious activity in one of the windows of your building. It’s three floors below you. Third window from the right. Whoever is in there is being careful and it’s too far for the snipers to get a shot. But they think someone is up to something suspicious.”

  “He’s not going to take a shot from the roof,” Johnston realized. His line of sight would be more restricted, but he’d have a better chance of getting off a second shot before being discovered. He swore again as he thought through all the possibilities. If he went down to the floor Agarwal was in, the Indian could have some kind of surveillance system set up to sound the alarm. Alternatively, if Agarwal was set up for his shot and Johnston burst open the door, the Indian spy would have time to fire his missile. In the resulting confusion Saria might get to fire hers as well. “I have no choice,” Johnston said to Swenson. “I’m going to have to breach through the window. Are the marines in place on the street?”

  “Yes General, two squads are there. They are just waiting for your say so to enter,” Swenson answered.

  “Are you ready to go?” Johnston followed up.

  “We are,” Swenson confirmed.

  Reaching down to his utility belt, Johnston pulled out his rappelling line. He gently jumped off the roof of the stairwell and made his way to the edge of the apartment complex’s roof. Bending over, he counted out three windows from the right and attached the teeth of the rappel line. “All right,” Johnston said, “here goes nothing. If you don’t hear from me in thirty seconds evacuate the Empress. On my mark everyone is to go. Confirm?”

  Swenson’s voice was clear. “Confirmed General, on your mark.”

  Swallowing hard Johnston cleared his throat. He stepped back from the roof. As he spoke he ran forward “Three, two, one, mark!” As he said mark, his feet hit the edge of the roof. With all the force his augmented legs gave him, Johnston thrust himself away from the building. He continued forward until the rappel line reached the length he had let out. Then it sprung taunt, turning his forward momentum into a downward arch. Twisting his body, Johnston got his feet together and raised them. The window to the apartment came rushing up towards him. Though instinct told him to shut his eyes, Johnston kept them open as he aimed his feet for the silhouette he could see through the window.

  He crashed through the reinforced glass. Pain shot up both his legs, though his left foot was by far the worst. Even as glass fragments showered his body, Johnston stared unblinkingly as his feet crashed into the person he had targeted. For the briefest of seconds he recognized Agarwal and registered the surprise written across his face. Then they crashed into one another and Johnston rolled across the floor.

  As he sprang to his feet the pain shooting up his left ankle made him release an audible gasp. He nearly toppled over, but the urgency of his task held him steady. Glancing around to take in the apartment he saw Agarwal had been thrown across the room and smashed into one of the apartment walls. The hypervelocity missile launcher was lying a couple of feet from Agarwal’s legs. Too Johnston’s surprise, his plasma pistol was also strewn on the floor. The impact had dislodged it from his holster. As he turned back to Agarwal, he saw the Indian was staring at him. For a brief of moment they exchanged ferocious glances.

  “You!” Agarwal growled.

  “Don’t move!” Johnston shouted at the same time.

  Agarwal hesitated for a second, then his fingers twitched. He dived for the missile launcher. Johnston had no fear that he would be able to get a clear shot out the window towards the cathedral from his position, but equally, he didn’t want to be hit with a missile himself. He knew Agarwal would happily sacrifice himself to kill Johnston. Reaching into his utility belt, Johnston used all of his enhanced speed to grab his nano carbon knife and flick it at Agarwal. For a fraction of a second Johnston felt a spike of fear as he thought he had misjudged his aim. Then Agarwal’s forward lunge brought him in line with the flight of Johnston’s knife. The blade struck Agarwal in the center of his throat and the force of Johnston’s throw meant it pierced right through, flinging Agarwal’s body to the floor. Johnston rushed over and kicked the missile launcher out of Agarwal’s reach. He looked down as blood spurted out of the Indian’s mouth and nose. For several seconds Agarwal tried to open his mouth as he struggled to breathe. Only blood bubbled out.

  If his wounds had been less serious Johnston would have tried to administer medical help. At least he hoped he would have. He had enough experience with combat inju
ries to know there was no point. Instead he leaned closer so that Agarwal couldn’t help but look at him as he gurgled and struggled to breathe. “You won’t be hurting her any longer. You brought this on yourself.” Though Agarwal couldn’t say anything, Johnston could read the anger in his eyes. For a second Johnston held his gaze and then he shook his head. The Indian had wasted his life. His anger was for nothing.

  Sitting back, Johnston pulled out his COM unit as he watched Agarwal’s last few seconds out of the corner of his eye. “Status update agent Swenson.”

  “We have Saria in custody,” Swenson responded. “We have recovered the missile launcher. Both Saria and her accomplice are no longer in play. Are you okay General?”

  “Yes I’m fine,” Johnston said as he tried to put a bit more weight on his left foot and then thought better of it. “Agarwal has been neutralized. The threat is over.” As he turned back to Agarwal, Johnston saw that the Indian spy had already died. My promise has been kept old friend, Johnston thought as his mind turned to James. He hobbled over to the window Agarwal had been preparing to launch his missile from. Slowly he raised a hand and held his thumb up lest the snipers mistake him for Agarwal. From the window he could clearly see the cathedral and the podium set up for Christine, though it was more than half a mile away. My promise has been kept, he thought again. He knew James would understand what he had been forced to do to get the information from Akhila. But I’m not so sure about her. He tried to picture what the woman who would soon be speaking from the podium would say when she found out what had happened. It was bad enough that Agarwal was dead. He knew Christine had wanted to hold a public trial for whoever had been behind the attack on her shuttle. But that was a minor annoyance compared to what he had done to Akhila. He had no idea what she was going to say about that. There would have to be a public trial and his actions would get out. It would be impossible to cover them up.