Mercenary

by Dennis Young

  Rory looked at Briggs. Briggs looked at Abie, all innocent and everything. Abie turned in her pilot’s seat and began flipping switches. She looked back over her shoulder. “Ready when you are, Captain.”

  * * *

  The rain started a kilometer from their objective, a rocky cliff overlooking the compound. Bělinka searched for, and found, sensors and alarms, obviously set by the captors. “This is a natural observation point, so yes, they would set traps. My concern is, where else will we find them?”

  “No overrides, right?” Talice spoke beneath the overhang as the team crouched around, visors up. “Flag and avoid. All we need from here is a quick look, then we move on to our positions.”

  “Lights are on and three atop the building,” said Briggs, edging closer. “There’s a pole-barn with tarps over the top, probably with an ATV or two inside. Two guards, one east and one west.”

  Rory’s voice came over the intercom. “The compound has a center garden area. Likely place for artillery.”

  “Two rooms east, no lights, possibly the hostage area.” Junior, reporting in like a vet.

  Talice clicked her wristcom. “Rory, check it out. Look for guards or anything that looks like barricading.” She switched channels. “Niky, status?”

  “Quiet, not much chatter, and it’s in the clear. No mention of hostages or impending attacks. They are talking about the weather.”

  “You’re set to jam their system, right?”

  “Oh, yes. It is not even encrypted.”

  “Check that,” came Mac’s voice, from back at the ship. “What you’re listening to could be cover.”

  A long pause, then Nikolay replied. “Apologies, Sergeant, I had not considered the possibility. I’ll scan more thoroughly. Give me five minutes.”

  Talice blew a breath and shook her head. We’ve got to be careful, or we’ll end up dead. She hit the intercom again, this time the All-Channel. “Listen up, everyone. We’re in no hurry. We have all night, several hours. Take the time you need to make your observations, then make them again. We can’t screw this up. There’s no Company backup, no Marines coming to the rescue. We’re it. We’re professionals, so do your jobs, but do them carefully.” She clicked off and looked at Briggs. “Our ace in the hole is Bird One.”

  Briggs huffed. “Hell, Captain, this is just foreplay.”

  Talice grimaced. “Yeah, then comes what could be the worst fuck of your life. Let’s go back to work.”

  * * *

  It took another hour for Bělinka to confirm no alarms had been tripped. They moved out two by two, taking up positions as called for in the briefing. That took another hour. Rain had stopped, then started again, running down their visors and trickling between the joints of their suits. Twice Briggs was heard on the intercom cursing as wet sand clogged his SmartGun mechanisms.

  Nikolay had found the real compound channel and confirmed all was clear, and yes, it was encrypted, but he broke it easily. “And they really are talking about the weather,” he said into Talice’s earpiece. She chuckled to herself.

  “All teams, report.” Mac.

  “Team One in position.” Briggs, on All-Channel. “Confirmed, two ATVs with weapons mounted under the tarps.”

  “Cover Two in position.” Dosu, trailing behind Nikolay by ten yards.

  “Cover One in position.” Junior again, with Ollie, covering the SmartGun team.

  Talice moved quietly ahead, Bělinka trailing, and as the rain let up again, they huddled behind a tumble of boulders that had skittered down a hill sometime in the last twenty or thirty thousand years. She closed her visor, then tongued the intercom as the Headup system lit. “Team Two in position.”

  “Good job. Now sit tight. Launching drones.” Mac paused. “Away. Hold ten minutes.”

  “All teams, check your mechanisms for sand or other foreign objects. Safeties to remain on until we have a drone report.” Talice glanced to Bělinka and switched to her private channel. “You okay? Got your FunGun ready?”

  “Hot, Captain. I hope we can locate the target quickly.”

  They waited in silence, then Talice clicked to Nikolay’s channel. “Niky, patch in what you’re hearing from the compound.” A brief pause, then voices, indistinct but quiet and relaxed.

  “Can you make out their conversation?”

  “A few words. There is no urgency to their voices. I listen for intent and emotion when I cannot understand the topic.”

  “Let me know if it changes when the drones fly over.”

  “Hold now.” Talice waited as Niky listened. “I have the drone markers online, they are approaching the compound.”

  Mac cut into the All-Channel. “All teams, drones in position, Headup display online, transmitting to your visors.”

  Talice’s visor lit with an overhead view of the compound. “I count ten in the central open area, and there is something in the northwest corner covered.”

  “Looks like a mortar, possibly on a wagon,” said Mac.

  “Abie, how quickly can you get Bird One here for your first pass?”

  “Two minutes, three at the most.”

  “Mac, can you take that mortar out with a drone?”

  “I’ve got two grenades per drone. Can’t carry any more than that.”

  Talice nodded to herself. “That’s got to be our opening salvo, then. Abie, get in the air, follow the grenade drop with your south-to-north pass, turn and repeat north-to-south. Confirm when you’re thirty seconds out. All teams, safeties off, standby for OpCom.”

  “Bird One lifting off, will confirm at thirty seconds from target.”

  “It will take the grenades about five seconds to fall the distance, Setting fuses for ten seconds.”

  “No change in compound talking,” reported Nikolay.

  “So they’re not aware of the drones.” But they will be in a minute, Talice thought, mentally counting the seconds away. “Mac, drop on my mark. All teams, take the count of ten seconds from my mark, then OpCom. Rory, Briggs, take out those ATVs once Mac lights the place up. Confirm.”

  “Copy.” Briggs again.

  Talice turned to Bělinka. “Looks like the FunGun won’t be needed today.”

  The Czech woman slung the bulky weapon over her shoulder and drew her pulse carbine. “This is more fun anyway.”

  “Mac, clear your feed so we can see again. All teams, any questions?” There were none.

  Abie’s voice cut in. “Bird One, thirty seconds… mark.”

  “Mac, grenades on my mark. Three, two, one… mark.”

  “Dropping grenades, mark, ten seconds.”

  Talice closed her eyes, drew a breath and waited.

  The center of the compound lit up with fireworks. The shockwave rumbled across their suits after a moment. The explosions covered Bird One’s approach as the Hellbores roared to life, kicking up curtains of wet sand and dirt.

  “OpCom, go, go, go!”

  The ship looped quickly. Talice and Bělinka ran for cover of the compound, voices heard inside above the echo of fire, then ducked as Bird One came in again, flinging debris everywhere. Talice peeked around the corner as the ship disappeared in the darkness. Three figures emerged from the central gate.

  The tarp-covered ATVs went up in a hail of SmartGun fire, and the trio at the entrance fell to Ollie’s sharpshooting.

  “Rory, you’ve got three on the roof with an auto-feeder.” Mac’s voice, watching from the drones, still hovering above.

  Three seconds later, the roof area exploded, and two limp figures landed in the burning hulk of the ATVs.

  “ATV north, coming around your way, Talice.” Mac again.

  Talice and Bělinka rolled to the side, looking for any cover they could find. “Dig in! Fire as they pass!”

  Bělinka unslung her FunGun. “This may take out their electronics if they’re not going too fast.”

  Talice nodded. “I’ll cover you. Get to it.” A roar from the corner north. “Here they come!”

  Talice t
ook aim on the hooded view slit, fired a two-second burst. Bělinka fired her FunGun, and the ATV veered right, glanced off the wall, and skidded to a stop. Two figures popped up from the bed, firing.

  Two slugs skimmed Talice’s helmet, another kicked up dust in her face. She fired blind, a three-second burst, and heard a “POP!” from the ATV. A second later, the hydrogen tank exploded. A figure ran from the passenger’s side, arm afire, and Talice cut him down. Bělinka’s carbine took care of the one remaining as he ran screaming.

  A flash above the compound. There goes one of the drones, thought Talice. She cut in her comm. “Find those fuckers and finish them! Team One, go! Cover One, go!”

  Briggs and Rory headed for the entrance, firing all the while. Junior and Ollie took up their previous positions, giving cover fire over the main gates and into windows.

  “Cover Two, swing left, three figures at the southwest corner, coming around the ATV junkyard. Cut them off before they get behind Team One.” Mac again, watching from above.

  That leaves Bělinka and me without cover, thought Talice. But that’s okay, no one knows we’re here.

  As if on cue, two figures edged around the far corner and made their way down the eastern wall. Talice took aim, but Bělinka beat her to it. Two shots and they were both down. One rose to his knees. Talice fired, pinning him against the wall with a one-second burst. He fell again and was still.

  Talice watched for movement as gunfire quieted. “All teams, report.”

  “Team One, Green.”

  “Cover One, Green.”

  “Cover Two, got a minor wound, otherwise Green.”

  “Mac, status on the drone? Where are the rest of the bad guys?”

  “Got two in the courtyard hiding behind the wreckage of the mortar. There may be three or four left, but I don’t see them.”

  “Body count, report in.”

  “Team One, four.”

  “Cover One, two.”

  “Cover Two, one.”

  And we’ve got five.”

  “You win. Congratulations.”

  Talice grinned at Rory’s voice. She couldn’t help it. They were going to do this, and she was damned proud. But there was still work to do.

  “I think there were three with the grenade strike,” said Mac. “So twelve minimum, maybe fifteen.”

  “And you’ve got two in sight, three or four possibly hiding. With the hostages?”

  “Right. I’ve still got one grenade.”

  “Hold for a moment, Mac. Briggs, status.”

  “We’re set to move in on your order.”

  “Nikolay, can you patch in to their comm?” Talice waited, watching round. Bělinka had moved off five meters, to cover the corner.

  “Done. Do you want their channel?”

  “Briggs, I’m going to talk to them. When I have them on the line, Team One moves up, Cover One supports. Confirm.”

  “Hua.”

  “Patch me in, Niky.” Talice heard a click, then a tone. Damn, how do I identify myself? I never thought of that! She swallowed and took a breath. “This is the captain of the squad outside your compound. Lay down your weapons and come out with your hands raised.” I sound like a fucking holo-drama!

  “Movement on the north side, two figures headed out, going east, toward you, Talice.” Mac, on All-Channel.

  “I have the northeast corner covered,” replied Bělinka.

  “Team One in position.” Briggs.

  “Cover One in position.” Junior.

  “Cover Two, take up Cover One’s previous place. Both cover teams, stand by.”

  Talice listened for a reply from the compound as she watched the northeast corner. Bělinka had moved another five meters north and was prone behind some scrub and ancient broken masonry, carbine in hand. Talice repeated her challenge, waited again. All remained quiet.

  “Mac, are those two still hiding in the wreckage?”

  “No, those are the two headed for you.”

  Damn, I hate to go in without even a hint of what’s there. Talice started to speak on the comm, then two figures came around the corner, carrying what looked to be a tube of some sort.

  “Shit! Mortar! Bělinka, hit them hard!”

  Talice opened up with her pulse rifle as Bělinka’s carbine snapped off a half-dozen shots. Both figures went down in a heap.

  Fuck this! “Team One, Go! Cover One, Go! Cover Two, move up!”

  Gunfire in the compound. A flash grenade, Rory’s specialty. Another. More gunfire. A grunt on the comm. A real grenade, and a rumble. Then silence.

  Talice heard labored breathing in her ear. “Who’s hit?”

  “Briggs. Not bad, creased a leg. Hand gun round.”

  Fucking Briggs is giving me his own wound report. Talice shook her head. “Rory, status!”

  “Green. Four dead bad guys. No other hostiles seen.”

  Talice finally breathed. “Cover Two, Go, assist Briggs. Bělinka, now it’s your turn to find the goodies.”

  * * *

  It was dawn before they located the hostage room, and it was not where they had thought. Before that, Briggs and Junior had been treated in Bird One and were back on the line.

  Talice had taken five, ducked into her cabin on the ship and downed another bottle of S-H fluid. She was shaking so badly, she had to hold the bottle with both hands just to hit her mouth. She wriggled out of her HCS leg armor and found a spot of bare skin for a Cemlac-12 patch. She collapsed to her knees as the meds slowly flowed into her system, then rose, exited the cabin, and turned toward the ramp.

  “Talice.” Mac, her hoverchair nearly silent in the empty deployment area, made her stop.

  “What’s up? I’m headed back to the compound.”

  Mac hit the close hatch button leading to the forward part of the ship. She drew closer as Talice waited, knowing what was coming. “You’re pale. And shaking.”

  “Yeah, well, we just got our asses shot at pretty seriously, and that can make you nervous.”

  Mac shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  Talice met her eyes with a hard gaze. “What do you want? I survived. I’m fine. I’ve got a job to do, so let me go do it.”

  “You’re gonna have to be more careful. The S-H fluid you can carry with you, but your Cemlac-12 is different.”

  “It’s fucking poison, Mac! My body can’t handle it in large doses, it’s got to be absorbed slowly. They used to call it chemotherapy, when diseases like cancer and stuff were around. The theory is, it kills what’s killing you, before it kills you! What am I supposed to do? Say ‘excuse me, but please hold your fire while I slap on this patch’? You’re a field medic, you know this shit!”

  Mac looked over her shoulder to the hatch and gave a “keep it quiet” palms-down gesture. “Look, I know how you feel —”

  “The hell you do!”

  Mac closed her eyes and shrugged. “What I mean is, we’re both trying to handle our situations, but even though they’re different, I still understand.”

  “Then let me handle it my way. Your point about the S-H is good, and I’ll do that. I’ll fill my suit reservoir and that way, I’ll have it with me. I forgot my C-12 this morning, I had a few other things on my mind. It won’t happen again.” Talice shifted her pulse rifle to the other shoulder. “Thanks for your concern. Can I go now?”

  Mac was silent for a moment. “You did a good job out there today. Handed the team well. They were sharp and efficient. Good mission.”

  Talice relaxed a bit and nodded. “Thanks. Your eyes up top were a big help. I guess we’re a pretty good team after all.”

  “I just… I’m concerned. I don’t want to see this business turn into a death-wish for you.”

  Talice looked away. “I’ve got five years, Mac. Going out in a blaze of glory isn’t such a bad thing to contemplate when you know how much time you have.”

  “You’ve got other people to think about, Princess. It’s not all about you.”

  �
��… Yeah. I know. I think about that, too.”

  Mac nodded. “As long as you keep that in mind, I’m sure you’ll do well. I’m sure we’ll do well.” She motioned to the open hatchway. “If we bring back Scarbach’s family and friends, we may have a benefactor for the duration. It’s a business, so we need to talk about that when we get home.”

  “I’ve thought about that myself.” Talice followed Mac’s gesture with her eyes. “Look, I’ve got to get back, so we can finish this. And I still want to find Cowley’s body.” She glanced at Mac. “Maybe you could put that remaining drone to use.”

  Mac’s eyes grew large. “Good idea, Captain. I’ll get right on that.”

  Talice nodded and ran down the ramp before Mac could say anything more.

  * * *

  Talice made her way down the stairs to the hostage room below the compound. The basement held a cache of weapons, mostly small arms, and a wealth of computers, SLATES, and other electronics, some military grade. It also stank, of dirt and mold and human waste, of unwashed bodies, and somewhere in the background, of death. Something, or more likely someone, had died there, and some time ago, considering the weakness of the stench.

  Briggs had ordered a search but turned up nothing. Gotta be with the hostages then, thought Talice. Please, no more than one, and not Scarbach’s family. He’s gonna go nuts if it is.

  Nikolay and Bělinka were huddled over the door latches, while Rory waited with a torch to cut the chains draped across the entry. Those had been booby-trapped, and it had taken Bělinka most of the night to identify and disarm them all.

  Briggs and the rest of the team were on body-bag duty up top, horrific work, but it had to be done. Everything had to be cataloged, recorded, processed, and witnessed. If possible, the hostage-takers had to be identified, but most carried no personal effects at all. Many of them were in multiple pieces, and digging them out of the wreckage and debris was the worst part of the job. The final count was eighteen, just as reported during the operation.