by Kenneth Eade
“I’ll keep them away from the mill so we can seal off the secret passage and keep more of them from coming in and you call for air support to take care of the entrance to the tunnel on the street. Then you can drop your forces in to secure it. We can launch some of my fentanyl gas into the visitors’ center and that should put most of them down. The rest we pick off on the outside from our tower and ring wall positions.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“Because I’m the best sniper you have. You’ve already seen they’re out to kill me, too. Besides, my escape path is right under us, not over on the other side. It would be suicide to try to escape through there with all the rebels coming in.”
Lyosha nodded. “Go ahead. I set up plan. Just let me know when you are in place.”
“I’m probably going to need some support.”
“Take radio.”
Lyosha unsnapped a radio unit from his belt and handed it to him.
“Air support?”
“No. They won’t fire on citadel. It is international heritage monument. That would be war crime.”
“That rules out artillery support as well.”
“Right. We think of something.”
“Okay, then.”
They exchanged a mutual nod, and Robert left the tower, scurried down to the surface and became a part of the shadows. In the umbra he stayed close to the ring wall as he passed by the old arsenal, which was not too far from the Hammam, where Lyosha’s other guys were holed up.
He continued along the ring wall, meeting no resistance, taking cover in the excavated areas, until he reached a virtual desert. Here, there had been no excavating, and the terrain was flat and exposed. Robert had only the darkness of the night and the thinness of the moon to count on. Other than that, he was a sitting duck.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Robert hugged close to the dusty stone wall, scanning the area ahead and on the side of him with his night vision goggles. As he readied himself to venture into the void, unprotected space, he thought of the grand battles that the soldiers who had lived, fought and died in and around the citadel had been a part of. In the distance, across the blackness he was about to cross, he could see, through his night vision goggles, the figures of men running about. They were not squads of organized soldiers.
They have to be rebels.
He was outnumbered and out-powered, yet, as he approached them, he felt invincible. He had been around the rebels enough to learn of the sophistication of their equipment. They were not equipped with night vision. He had the advantage. A calm resolve fell over him. His course was clear. He had no fear – that had long since left him. He continued his advance under cover of darkness and the dark contours of the castle’s embattlements. He was one with the stone, the earth.
As he came closer to the mill, the chances of him being spotted increased exponentially. The entire group was moving toward the modern theater in the middle of the grounds, presumably on their way to the entrance complex, where the fight was. Robert kept on his course, steadily but carefully following the perimeter of the wall and keeping his night eyes on the rebels. Then, suddenly, a squad of five broke rank from the group and started running in his direction.
They’ve spotted me!
Robert hit the ground immediately, taking cover behind a large stone, and stayed calm and observed the situation. The squad stopped about 600 meters away, and fired on him. He could see the flashing explosions from their AK47s but, as he suspected, the bullets hit about 50 meters left of his position. He decided not to return fire – yet. They were still a little far from effective striking distance. All it would accomplish would be to alert them to his exact presence and then he would have several squads of rebels charging on him all at once.
It was just a rat, guys. A really big rat.
They stopped firing, and a long minute drew out as they held their positions.
Go back, guys, go back.
They didn’t go back. Instead, they advanced toward Robert.
Now they’re not sure if it was a rat or not.
Robert could either fight or run. He couldn’t surrender – they would just shoot him. If he ran, he’d be on the defense and he would, most likely, be shot. If he fought, he could be shot as well, but he figured the odds were better if he stood his ground. The closer they got, the more effective his fighting would be. They kept coming, slowly and methodically although, like blind mice, they were headed in the direction of their fire, which would put them off course to his left if they went all the way to the ring wall. But, then they spread out to cover grids.
When they were about 400 meters out, he had two approaching him at twelve o’clock, one at one and two at nine. He radioed to Lyosha.
“Lyosha, I’m about 500 meters from the mill and a squad is approaching. I need a diversion.”
“We see them, but we don’t see you. Machine gunner will draw their fire.”
Just then, two flares erupted above him, covering the entire area in a blanket of white light. At the same time, the gunner fired at the rebels with fury from the ring wall, they all fired back, instinctively, and Robert struck, shooting a deadly spray of bullets at the two at twelve and the one at one, cutting them down. The two at three o’clock hit the ground and started firing at Robert on automatic. He could hear the bullets hitting the ground all around him, pinging against the rock. It was impossible to look up to get a shot in, but he knew they weren’t advancing, so he waited for them to change magazines.
Even if they were expert marksmen, it would take them at least three seconds to grab a new mag, release the spent one and slap the new one in. Robert waited for the telltale lull in the firing. The ring wall gunner was still firing on them, but they ignored him, and their compatriots were running to their aid.
The firing stopped, Robert rose up, took aim and fired, hitting the one on his left. The one on the right had reloaded and was firing back. Robert felt the impact on his body armor, which knocked him off, so his first shots didn’t reach their purchase. He kept firing until the man went down, and the hot sting of another bullet grazed his shoulder.
The rest of the rebel platoon was headed his way, coming in hot. The gunner kept firing from the ring wall, but that wasn’t going to help. Determined to stand his ground, he radioed Lyosha again.
“Need more support.”
“Don’t worry, helicopter coming.”
“I thought you said they wouldn’t fire on the citadel.”
“No rockets, only machine gun.”
The rebels kept coming, firing as they advanced. Robert waited until they were well within range and fired on them. He fired and fired, changed magazines and fired and fired again, and changed out mags again and kept firing.
Where’s that fucking chopper?
They were dropping with Robert’s fire, which slowed them down, but they kept coming, and he kept firing. Finally, down from the sky rained a destructive hell of heavy machine gun fire. He ran along the perimeter as he watched the copter fly away. But his path was still not clear. Advancing from the old barracks was another two squads of rebels.
CHAPTER FORTY
Robert put the radio to his cheek. “A little help here?”
“We see them, but we can’t send helicopter – too close to archaeological site.”
“What can you do?”
“We have gunner right above you. As soon as you are past him, he will fire on them.”
Robert slinked past the gunner’s position. He hit a pothole in the ground and tripped, but recovered his balance and kept running. When he was about 50 meters past him, the gunner started firing and the squad returned his fire. Flares exploded above his head in trails of smoke, raining down light, exposing Robert, and he began taking their fire. He fired back running as the bottom of the mill tower came into view. He ran and fired, changed mags while running and kept firing and firing. He could hear bullets whizzing all around him and saw fire flashing from the muzzles of their guns. He hit the gro
und behind a three-foot tall cornerstone. The chopper came roaring back overhead and shone its searchlight on the two squads. Robert aimed and fired, downing two of them in a fusillade.
He crawled the rest of the way to the base of the mill, feeling the grit in his eyes and nose and spitting dust out of his mouth. When he reached the edge of the base of the mill, a large group started at him from the visitors’ center, firing as they ran. Robert fired back, reached the door and shot off the lock, knocked it in with his shoulder and climbed the stairs to the top. Anticipating unwanted guests, he slapped on his mask and exploded a gas canister in the stairwell.
As he reached the top, he flipped off the mask as a blast of fresh air and millions of stars greeted him. He tossed another gas canister down the stairwell, took a position on the south side, and began to pick off intruders, one by one, with precision. A rebel who was foolishly brave enough ran to the entrance of the mill and Robert shot him down. He sprayed the entire area with automatic fire and the rebels took to the ground in defensive positions.
He counted his clips – six. That meant he had 180 rounds left. He had to make every one count. Two bullets for every body – ninety bodies in all. He pushed the button on his radio.
“I’ve got the tower.”
“We’re coming.”
Robert finally had a chance to catch his breath. He was soaked with sweat. As the warm breeze blew atop the tower, it cooled his skin. His arms ached and his trigger finger was bruised, even through the callouses. He looked out across the bailey. The troops had all dug in. A blanket of quiet fell over the citadel. The lull before the next battle.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
A rebel platoon was fast approaching the entrance complex, but was out of range of Lyosha’s men and the ring wall gunners, and it was out of the question to send air support. Some of the most precious and completely restored structures were there and they couldn’t risk their destruction.
During the lull, Lyosha’s two spetsnaz team members advanced their squads: Ramzes from the Mosque of Abraham and Timon from the hammam. Robert could see them but they weren’t in range for him to provide them any support. They would have to make it across the bailey on their own. Ramzes’ group flanked left, confronting the advancing rebel group straight on, taking cover in the ancient streets and excavated dwellings. A machine gunner on the ring wall fired for Timon’s group’s cover as the sixteen kept advancing, drawing the attention of the sniper in the minaret, who fired on the gunner and he went down. Another gunner took his place and resumed firing.
Timon’s group on the right engaged the advancing rebels as they moved forward from one excavation to another. Robert could see their advance but was in no position to help them yet. He was under attack himself, and heard bullets from potshots being taken at him whizzing by and pinging and pocking the stone mill around his position. He saw the culprit hiding behind a rock and kept an eye on him, his group advancing from the visitors’ center and the doorway below. The rebel popped his head from the side of the rock. Robert quickly aimed and fired, but the head receded. He patiently waited for it to pop out again and, when it did, he aimed and fired again, and this time hit his aggressor. As he went down, Timon’s group advanced, pushing back the rebels toward the visitors’ center.
On the west side the battle continued at a standstill, with the guerillas taking shots at the small squad under cover of sniper fire. Five men, two with fentanyl canisters ran toward the mosque while Ramzes and another soldier covered them. Ramzes and the soldier took up positions and began firing, reloading and firing at the sniper’s nest on top of the minaret, drawing return fire from the sniper.
“Go! Go!”
The five men double-timed it along the ancient streets as Ramzes and his man kept firing. When the sniper discovered all the firing was a decoy, it was too late – they had already reached the mosque, where they were in a firefight with its occupiers. They shot first one, then the second canister into the mosque. One rebel came running out, and they shot him down immediately. The sound of firing died down within the mosque, but the sniper was still up there. Two men began firing on the sniper while the three others ran inside to secure the mosque.
The mosque was secure. Ramzes exploded smoke canisters in the minaret stairwell and charged the sniper, killing him. He took over the sniper’s position, covering the advance of Timon’s men, who aggressively pushed on, forcing the rebels out into the open space between the visitors’ center and the modern theater, and finally causing them to retreat into the center. There were still rebels firing upon them from the security of the old barracks, right under Robert’s nose.
Timon and his men crossed the southern end of the modern theater with no casualties. They set up a center of operations behind the restrooms and prepared for a coordinated attack on the visitors’ center and the old barracks. Lyosha radioed Robert.
“Ramzes is on top of minaret covering his squad. They will take visitors’ center and Timon will take old barracks. We must cover them, on my mark.”
Robert acknowledged Lyosha’s call and stood prepared.
“Ready.”
“On three! One, two, three!”
Robert and Ramzes showered the area with a barrage of fire upon both sides of the visitors’ center, as Timon’s group charged the old barracks, guns blazing. Robert began taking heavy fire from the windows of the visitors’ center and, when the door on the east side opened, he realized why. Every time the rebels tried to exit the center to try to form a perimeter around it, Robert picked them off with a spray of automatic fire. Ramzes’ men launched gas canisters into a window on the west side, and they stormed the center. Robert picked off three more rebels who attempted to escape from the east.
“Ramzes reports visitors’ center secured. Calling for air strike on tunnel entrance.”
Seconds later, Robert saw the chopper bearing down on the street below, laying down a fiery path of rockets. Timon’s men, having secured the old barracks, threw a gas canister down the stairwell of the secret passage and charged into it.
“Passage secure! We have citadel!”
Robert didn’t answer.
“Boab, come in. Boab?”
Robert had left the mill and was making his way back along the ring wall toward the entrance complex.
“Boab!”
Lyosha called Timon, asking him to dispatch two men to the top of the mill and waited their return call. When they got there, they confirmed what Lyosha had suspected. Robert had disappeared. Men like them think alike – mission first, survival always. He slammed the radio down in frustration.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Robert anchored his line and threw it over the edge of the ring wall, where it disappeared into the darkness below. He rappelled himself down the wall, hit the slope, and then scurried to the south advance tower. Inside was another secret passage leading to the city, and the only means of escape he had left.
He slid down to the east wall of the advance tower, to prevent being seen by Lyosha and his men, and entered it. Robert shone his flashlight around, looking for the entrance to the secret passage.
It has to be here somewhere. Unless it’s just a legend. God, I hope it’s not a legend.
“It’s here, Boab.”
The voice in the blackness echoed and bounced against the empty stone. Robert switched off his torch, crouched down and followed its direction.
“Tower is also connected to entrance complex. I knew you would come here.”
“Why don’t you just look the other way?”
“You know I can’t do that, Boab.”
Robert kept softly shuffling toward the sound of the voice, but he still couldn’t see anything, but Lyosha kept talking.
He always had a big mouth.
“I will shoot you, Boab. It is only way for men like us.”
Robert felt the ground around him, picked up a stone and tossed it far to his right. Lyosha’s flashlight lit up in the direction of its sound and Robert zoomed in on h
is coordinates.
“Very good, Boab. Old trick, but good.”
The voice was moving. Robert tuned his ears in for sounds of physical movement. He followed every minute shuffle, until he could hear nothing but the silence of the dead air between them.
The silence was broken by the toss of another rock. This time Lyosha didn’t buy it, but Robert heard the turn of his neck and the ruffling of his body armor. He was within striking distance so Robert struck straight at the sound.
It was a gamble, but it paid off. Robert slammed into Lyosha’s body, knocking him down on his back. He heard the popping of gunfire as Lyosha’s weapon discharged, sending random bullets echoing through the tower.
Both of them were down on the ground. Robert grabbed Lyosha’s sidearm and twisted it against his trigger finger. He heard the snap of the finger breaking as Lyosha groaned in pain. Lyosha hit back with a left chop to Robert’s wrist, dislodging the gun from his hand and it flew away. Robert stood up and Lyosha swept a leg across Robert’s ankles and brought him down again, hard on the stone. Then, his legs came sliding across Robert’s head like a snake slithering across it to wrap around his neck. Robert struck with his fist, nailing Lyosha’s testicles. Lyosha cried out and released his grip. Robert scrambled to stand, sucking in dust and drips of sweat. It was like a battle of two Titan gods and it was not over.
Lyosha swung with a right, damaged fist, and Robert dodged the blow, swung back and caught Lyosha in the jaw. Lyosha hit back, aiming for Robert’s throat, but catching his chin instead, sending him backwards. Robert shook off the pain and charged him with his head, nailing Lyosha in the abdomen, sending him down again. Robert jumped on top of him, and forced his knee against his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Lyosha grabbed his knife and Robert forced the knife hand to the ground with his left, putting pressure on his wrist until the knife was released, and swept it out of the way. He battered him in the face as Lyosha tried to recover with flailing arms, hitting Robert’s sides.
