I Bring the Fire Part V: Warriors

by C. Gockel

  The lady lawyer, Laura, pokes her head in the door. “Brett and Bryant, is there something wrong with the servers? My email to Steve bounced.”

  “This is weird,” says Brett staring at his phone. “The Chi Queen says the National Guard is on its way to Chicago. ”

  “Who’s the Chi Queen?” says Beatrice.

  “A local social media gossip,” says Bryant. “She usually knows what’s going on.”

  Brett continues. “Says there is a new gate opening up. They want to close it, and they’re rerouting all the buses that go to the Greyhound station on Harrison.”

  “That’s right by Des Plaines bridge where Steve and the team are,” says Dale.

  Claire finds herself slowly backing away, like her feet are moving without her body being in control. Everyone looks very worried, but they aren’t looking at her.

  “I’m calling the guys stationed there, right now,” says Dale.

  “Checking email administration,” says Bohdi.

  Claire’s back hits the door. Her dad made her memorize all the major streets from Lake Michigan out to California, and from Division down to Cermak. She knows the exact place they’re talking about. Chicago is on a grid system. Every block is an eighth of a mile. She ticks off the street names on her fingers. The Des Plaines bridge is three quarters of a mile away. Claire has been taking ballet since she was three, and she’s very tall and strong for her age, even if she is a “string bean.” She can run a mile in less than eight minutes; she can be to the bridge in five. She doesn’t move. The thought of being out again alone on the streets makes every muscle in her body go cold. But then in her mind she pictures it. She’ll run to her father, and he will get down on one knee, look her in the eye and listen to her. She will tell him something is wrong and the National Guard is coming. He will put his hand on her shoulder and tell her how brave she is. How strong. And how he will never hide anything from her again.

  She quietly sneaks her hand to the doorknob. No one says anything when she slips out.

  CHAPTER 17

  Bohdi clicks through the FBI’s email administration. Technically, he’s not supposed to have access to this, but he’s never been one to let technicalities stand in the way of necessity. He scans the recent activity. “Steve’s email account was canceled by the FBI director…” He checks an angry note that is in the email admin queue. “It looks like he was trying to have it forwarded to his own email account and blew it.”

  “Calling the general of the Illinois National Guard,” says Brett.

  “Trying to get in touch with someone I know in the governor’s mansion,” says Bryant.

  Bohdi reaches up to push back his bangs. His fingers connect with empty air. He scans the room absently, without really seeing it … and then feels his heart sink in his chest. “Where is Claire?”

  Phone to his ear, Dale says, “I can’t get hold of the guys standing guard outside the van.”

  “We have to go to the Gate!” says Beatrice. “My granddaughter’s there.”

  “I’m getting a car ready!” says Laura, head to her own phone.

  Bohdi spins in place. Is she hiding behind some of the boxes? He wants to go with them. He wants to help save Amy and Steve … but he also wants to find Claire … if anything happens to Claire, it will kill Steve.

  Dr. Ogawa meets his eyes. “The girl just left the room.”

  Bohdi slips his phone away. Claire knows all the streets. Steve made her memorize them in a bout of post near-apocalypse paranoia. She came here … she’s not afraid to travel them on her own.

  “I’m going to get her,” Bohdi says, running for the door. “I’ll meet you there!” He tears into the hallway, Fenrir at his feet. He runs to the stairs, leaps down the steps, gets to the ground floor, and crashes through the emergency exit into the alley, not caring about the alarm. Sprinting to the sidewalk, he bounces on his feet to see over the pedestrians on LaSalle. Where LaSalle intersects with Jackson, he hears cars come to a screeching halt and sees Claire dart across the road and head west.

  “Claire!” he shouts, racing down LaSalle to Jackson. Traffic is whizzing by, so he runs down Jackson on the north side of the street. He’s almost parallel to her. He yells, “Claire, wait!” and prepares to cut across the street when his view is cut off by a flotilla of City of Gods tour buses.

  x x x x

  Claire hears Bohdi call her name but doesn’t slow down. She dashes down Financial Place, catches the crossing signal on Van Buren, and then turns right and races west. The elevated tracks of the ’L’run above Van Buren, and the screech of train wheels keeps the pedestrians away. She doesn’t have as many people to dodge, and the air is cooler. She opens up her stride and runs as fast as she can, ignoring the strange looks and the beat cop that yells at her. She sees the incline that leads to the bridge across the river and the hulking form of the old post office beyond the bridge. It’s when she crests the arch of the bridge that she first starts to feel tired and the first burn in her muscles. She forces herself to take deeper breaths and to pump her arms in better time.

  She races through the shadow of the post office and reaches the Van Buren and Canal Street intersection. Only one more full city block to go. As her feet reach the corner of the intersection the light changes in her favor, and she races across. The street slopes downward and she can see all the way to Des Plaines Avenue. There are cones, police officers, and a crowd of people. They’ll never let her through. They’ll say she’s a kid and that they’ll get her father for her. She stops, her breath ragged, eyes beginning to go hot again. And then she looks left. The bridge that goes over Des Plaines actually is a long overpass that carries interstate 290 over the city streets. She remembers a trip she took to the bus station to pick up her second cousin from Alabama. There is a narrow street that goes right under 290 and opens up by Des Plaines. She can spy the opening to the side street from Van Buren. There are no police cars, so she runs toward the small roadway. She reaches it and pauses to catch her breath. The street is dingy, filled with potholes, and in the shadow of the overpass. It is dark and spooky, too, a place where trolls would pop out. She hesitates for an instant. Then she thinks of her father, telling her how brave she is. She charges down the street.

  There are a few more intersections to cross, but the streets are mostly empty. Up ahead she sees a man wearing a yellow and orange vest, a street cleaner. She might be faster than him. As she gets closer she sees a boxy-van-truck thing that says Streets and Sanitation on the side. Behind her, she hears Bohdi shout, “Claire, wait!”

  The guy in the yellow and orange vest turns sharply in the direction of Bohdi’s voice. His eyes go to Claire, get very wide, and he moves to intercept her.

  She keeps running.

  Behind her, Bohdi shouts again, “Catch her! That’s Steve’s Rogers kid!”

  The sanitation guy moves too fast. He’s in front of Claire, grabbing her by her wrists before she can dodge him. She tries to pound her fists into his shoulder, but he’s too strong. “My dad’s in trouble! My dad’s in trouble! Something’s going wrong!” she says.

  “Shhhhh … I know,” he says, dropping his face so he can meet her eyes. He’s a white guy, and his eyes are very blue. His hat is funny for a sanitation guy. It looks like a soldier hat, but it’s white.

  “Did you run all the way here?”

  Claire nods, still trying to pound her fists into his shoulder.

  “You’re very brave,” he says.

  Claire stops struggling.

  CHAPTER 18

  Bohdi sees one of the special ops guys, Corporal Ruger, catch Claire and hears him say to her, “Now I need you to be a little braver and tell me everything you know.” Fenrir is wiggling at Claire’s feet.

  Bohdi looks down the street. About forty feet away, he sees Lieutenant Hobbs, the second in command of the SEAL platoon, arguing with Gennie Santos. His nose tickles, and he sniffs.

  “The National Guard is coming!” Claire says.

  Bohd
i’s phone buzzes, and he looks down to see a text from Bryant. They’re closing down the 290 overpass. Bohdi looks at the wide overpass above his head. He’s filled with sudden cold certainty. “They’re going to blow up the bridge.”

  Ruger looks at Bohdi. “Not while we’re here. They wouldn’t do that …”

  Bohdi’s eyes slide to Gennie Santos and he remembers her handshake, her promise to get the guys who got Steve … she was good, he knows that … but now his nose tickles and he remembers the FBI director’s attempt to reroute Steve’s email to his own box. “The director of the FBI has been compromised.”

  “This mission is sponsored by the Senate Special Committee,” says Ruger. “Not the FBI. They don’t know.”

  “Yeah, well, one of the senators is playing for the other team,” Bohdi snaps. He looks at the van under the overpass. Even if it were a tank, all of the cement and steel falling down on it would crush it like a tin can.

  Lieutenant Hobbs comes jogging toward them. “I don’t like this. I’m going to authorize Nicholas to open the Gate.”

  “Respectfully, sir, the team won’t have completed their mission,” says Ruger.

  “I know that,” says Hobbs. He touches the radio he’s wearing in his ear. “Damn, it’s broken.”

  Bohdi remembers Dale trying to call. “No, jammed.”

  Hobbs doesn’t ask any questions, just starts jogging toward the van. Ruger follows, still holding Claire by the arm. She doesn’t fight him. “Sir, if we just play dumb we can buy more time. They won’t drop the bridge on civilians.”

  From down the street comes the sound of tires screeching. And then Dale’s voice roars, “FBI, let me through!”

  Bohdi turns his head and sees Gennie Santos standing in front of Dale, blocking his path with a hand. She must be wearing a microphone, because her voice carries all the way to Bohdi, even though her back is turned. “I’m Gennie Santos—”

  Bohdi doesn’t hear the rest; he’s too caught up in a horrendous sneeze. His brain puts together the pieces. Not Gennie, but she must be a magic user to look like Gennie … Oh, no, no, no …

  “My friend Steve Rogers is in there! Let me through now,” Dale says.

  Bohdi bites his lip. That idiot. The city thinks Steve is still paralyzed and laid up in a hospital. They’ll think Dale is crazy. Sure enough, the police swarm Dale, saying things like, “Sir, please be calm.” As they close in on Steve’s friend, a movement at the edge of the crowd catches Bohdi’s eye. He blinks and then sees Beatrice darting past the police line toward the van.

  That is the moment Bohdi first hears the jet fighters. Dale must hear them, too. He barrels through the police line.

  Bohdi turns and runs to the van, Fenrir at his feet. Somewhere, someone fires a gun.

  The back door of the van opens, and Ruger throws Claire through the opening into the arms of Valli and Nari. Hobbs and Ruger go next. Bohdi races for the front door, just as Tucker, one of the special ops guys dressed in Street and Sanitation gear, peers through, an M4 in his hand. Fortunately, Tucker recognizes Bohdi and Fenrir and doesn’t shoot. Bohdi dives for the floor. Fenrir lands on his back knocking the wind out of him. Bullets ring on the van’s exterior. The sound of fighter overhead planes goes from a distant growl to a scream.

  Someone shouts, “Agent Dale Meechum is down!” Swatting Fenrir away, Bohdi rolls onto his side and has a clear view of the back of the van. The double doors are cracked open. He sees Beatrice holding her umbrella open and turned toward the incoming fire, as though it will stop bullets.

  “Ma’am!” shouts Ruger. “Get in!” The door opens a bit more, and Ruger and Hobbs haul Beatrice into the van. She closes the umbrella on the way in, and Bohdi sees she’s got her flamethrower strapped on. He also sees Dale, in the sunshine beyond the bridge, lying on his stomach.

  “Do I return fire?” the special ops guy in the front shouts. Beatrice raises the flamethrower.

  “Negative, there are still civilians,” shouts Hobbs.

  “Damn,” he hears Beatrice mutter.

  “Shouldn’t we evacuate the area?” Nari says.

  “We are not leaving the team stranded on the other side of the Gate!” Hobbs shouts.

  Somewhere above them comes a whistling.

  “Incoming!” someone shouts.

  “Open the Gate!” shouts Hobbs.

  There is the sound of explosions above, and then the van rocks as debris drops from the overpass.

  Someone says, “I can’t see Keyif.”

  “One more hit and we’re done for!” cries another agent.

  The sound of the jets overhead becomes screams again.

  “It’s open!” shouts Nari.

  “Everyone through!” shouts Hobbs.

  Bohdi and Tucker clamber up and into the back of the van.

  Whistling sounds overhead. Blasts rip above them, and the sound of shearing metal comes from the roof. The back doors explode inward. Turning, Ruger throws his body against the doors, but can’t quite get them closed. Hobbs grabs Claire and Beatrice by the shoulders and pushes them into the space just behind Ruger and they vanish. Fenrir gives a yelp and plows through the Gate after them. Tucker and Valli follow and then just Nari, Hobbs, Bohdi and Ruger remain. Ruger turns, slumps, stumbles forward, and disappears through the gate.

  “Into the rabbit hole,” Bohdi hears Hobbs say, and then they step into the space Ruger had occupied moments before. There is light and color, and then the air is cold and snow is spilling over the edge of Bohdi’s sneakers, soaking his socks. There is the horrifying groan of metal and a crack. He sees Ruger lying in the snow a few steps away and hears Claire crying. The ground beneath him lurches, he hears a rumble loud as thunder, and he almost stumbles backwards.

  Bohdi looks behind and sees Nari stumbling through the Gate. A thick metal support from the overpass is emerging from a spot in the air just to Nari’s right and embedding itself into the snow beside Loki’s son. There is the sound of another crack. Nari stumbles forward just as the space where he stood is showered with falling chunks of cement. Valli is instantly beside his brother, pulling him away from the Gate as rubble spills out onto the snow. Bohdi hears shearing metal, the support stops its descent, and the mini landslide stops. The ground beneath Bohdi’s feet lists backward, and ahead there is the sound of another crack.

  “Get up! Get up!” Claire cries, falling to her knees in front of Ruger.

  Ruger lifts his head and Bohdi hears him whisper. “I’m fine, you gotta run.”

  “You have to get up!” says Claire.

  Ruger’s head hits the snow. And Bohdi sees blood blossoming out from below him.

  “Ruger’s wounded,” Hobbs says. Something crackles in the Lieutenant’s ear, and the ground dips dangerously, again.

  “Run,” someone says.

  Time stands still. Hobbs reaches for one of Ruger’s arms, and Bohdi, without thinking, grabs the other. “Run, Claire,” he shouts, “We’ve got him.”

  Claire jumps up and runs. She leaps up and over the ground that is rising in front of them with more grace than the guys in all of their gear. He sees Tucker grabbing her by the arm and pulling her in the three o’clock direction. Beatrice is not far behind them, followed by Nari and Valli. And then the ground in front of Bohdi and Hobbs juts upward, and in front of them is a huge, jagged column that looks like a giant, pearlescent saw.

  A jumble of thoughts crash through Bohdi’s mind. They’re on ice. And pretty soon they are going to be in the belly of a whale.

  “This way!” shouts Hobbs, yanking Ruger’s body to the right. Bohdi follows, right hand tight around Ruger’s wrist. There is another crack, and another pearlescent saw cracks through the ice to Bohdi’s left. Another crack comes from the right, and Hobbs swears. “We need assistance!” There is the sound of Bohdi’s breathing, and his feet thudding through the snow. Hobb’s radio crackles, and someone somewhere is shouting.

  Bohdi’s feet strike some slippery ice beneath the light snow cover, and
he pitches forward, barely keeping his feet. Hobbs shouts, “Run.”

  Scrambling to right himself, Bohdi doesn’t even bother to nod. Hobbs is carrying a Barrett rifle; it can take out a tank, and probably a whale … but that won’t save them if they get dunked. Together they charge across the plain. From the corner of his eye Bohdi sees Hobbs stumble and thinks the lieutenant has also hit a patch of ice. He slows and watches in horror as the ice three feet to the right of Hobbs explodes upward. He sees crystal clear water streaming down, spilling onto the snow, and then he realizes that what he thought was ice is actually a giant orca-like creature, but bone white, wide as a car, and with sharp plates on its back. It disappears back beneath the surface. Bohdi releases a breath, and then the ice directly beneath Hobbs explodes and Hobb’s legs and the bottom of his torso disappear. Bohdi staggers backward, dragging Ruger with him. His eyes go wide. He’s watching Hobbs be eaten … he yanks out his knife, as small and pathetic as that is, leaps over Ruger … and then Hobbs is gone and the water turns red.

  “Run,” someone screams. He hears bullets, looks down and sees Ruger’s Streets and Sanitation vest is red brown where it should be bright orange and green. There is nothing Bohdi wants more than to leave him, run for his own life, but he can’t. He will not be purely Chaos. Bending down, he maneuvers Ruger’s body into a fireman’s carry. He hears more bullets, and more shouts, but can’t make out the words. With a deep breath that sounds like a sob in his ears, he lifts Ruger from the ice. Feeling his back becoming sticky and wet, he straightens as much as he can and then runs and stumbles across the ice to the voices. He hears ice cracking behind him, closes his eyes, and wills his feet to move. He almost slips, opens his eyes and sees snow drifts, and then Claire, Beatrice, and Fenrir running toward the trees just beyond the banks of snow. He hears a radio crackling in Ruger’s ear, the sound of ice cracking, and another sound, a sort of clacking, followed by a low-pitched whistling and shrieks.