Nomad's Force: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Book 9)

by Craig Martelle

  Grim determination fixed her features. She felt her adrenaline surge. Marcie felt the fire that burned within the likes of Terry Henry Walton and the pure warriors through the ages who found comfort in battle, embraced its chaos and fury.

  She charged ahead, taxing her team to keep up.

  Aberdeen

  Gene didn’t mess around. He asked the pod to hover outside the double window of a third-story room in which a Forsaken lounged. The pod came in so fast, the Forsaken wondered if he was sensing correctly. The pod’s ramp lowered and a roaring Werebear tore through the stained-glass window.

  Bogdan came next and then the pod backed off before any warriors could follow them into the room. Gene pounded across the floor, small bear eyes focused on his prey.

  The Forsaken wasn’t one to be taken easily. He tried to vault over Gene’s snout, but the Werebear had seen that maneuver before thanks to Terry. He slapped a paw at the creature and caught him mid-thigh, hooking him and dragging him back down. The Forsaken twisted out of Gene’s grip and scrabbled away.

  Gene jumped ahead to block the door. Bogdan swept in behind the Werebear. With a mighty swing, his axe bit deeply into the Forsaken’s side. The creature turned to engage the new attacker.

  Gene swung, and the Werebear’s claws ripped into the Forsaken’s neck. With a roar, he buried a second claw into the creature’s neck. Pulling and twisting, he ripped its head off. The body fell. Bogdan braced his foot against it to pull his axe free.

  He wiped the head on the body as Gene stood and roared. He bounded to the window and stood until the pod returned.

  “Sleduyushchiy?” Bogdan asked. Next?

  The Werebear nodded as they jumped onto the ramp and climbed aboard. Gene changed back into human form and directed the pod to fly to Inverness.

  “Aren’t we supposed to pick up the lieutenants?” someone asked. Gene ignored the man.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  South Africa

  Joseph had butterflies. He wasn’t sure why, but suspected it was going in alone to face his brethren. Terry was a close friend, but the Forsaken were just like Joseph. From brothers in arms to just brothers. He found it difficult and hoped that his warrior team would finish the Forsaken before he had to.

  Because he didn’t know if he could. Joseph opted to disembark first. He’d take his team to Cape Town. Sue would take Port Elizabeth, and Timmons, Durban.

  The three would come back together to travel to the secondary targets in and around the new metropolis of Johannesburg.

  The pod approached from the water, crossed onto land, and then headed for an LZ on the side of Signal Hill. The Forsaken had been located in a small housing area nearby.

  Joseph sensed them as the pod approached to land. He could feel the female Forsaken, a rare creature since they generally didn’t survive the conversion process. He needed to know more.

  He turned to his team. They looked to him for information. “There are three Forsaken. I’ll lead you to them. There is a female. I will deal with her. You take the other two. Silver?” They showed their silver-colored magazines.

  “We walk. That will catch them unaware as they won’t see me as a threat. Ready?”

  The team nodded. The ramp dropped and Joseph adjusted his hat to block the sun as he strolled into the open. The team spread out behind him, walking single file, weapons ready, but trying to look like they were out for a walk in the sun. Joseph was nervous and could sense the anxiety of the people behind him.

  He didn’t know what to do about that, so he ignored it and hoped that a reasonable solution would present itself.

  That needed to happen soon as he saw the dark figures in an upstairs window watching as he approached. He needed that answer sooner rather than later.

  Port Elizabeth, South Africa

  Sue ran down the ramp screaming for the creature to stop. They’d caught the Forsaken in the open, and as soon as it saw the pod, it ran. It picked up speed, as did Sue. The team was left behind. Timmons saw what was happening.

  “Cut him off,” he ordered the pod. It raced ahead and dropped, hovering with the rear ramp down as the Forsaken swerved to angle away. The M4s barked as the warriors fired.

  The Forsaken was thrown to the ground. Sue was also prone, even though Timmons hadn’t seen her fall. “Cease fire!” he yelled as he jumped the ten feet to the ground. He hit with a slight flex of his knees, and started running. He ran past the Forsaken, giving it a cursory look. When he got to Sue, she raised her head.

  “Are they done?” Sue asked.

  “Yes,” Timmons answered and helped Sue to her feet. His yellow wolf eyes scanned her for an injury. “You’re not hurt?”

  “No. That’s why I hit the deck, to avoid the unpleasantness of silver bullets,” Sue explained.

  “Well then, how about we finish our boy?” Timmons suggested.

  Sue and Timmons carried the shortswords that they won in battle back in Monterey. They gave themselves space to swing as they approached the Forsaken, one at the head and one at the feet.

  “I think we’re good,” Sue said. One of the bullets had hit the creature in the temple. The silvered bullet had tumbled on impact and ripped off half the skull. The creature’s brains were spilled on the ground.

  “Onward and upward, Madame Mayor!” Timmons said happily.

  “Of course, Master Engineer.” Sue waved for her team to catch up and hop aboard for the short trip to Durban.

  Adelaide, Australia

  They were angling for two spots around the city, which was only a shell of its former self. In the farmlands to the north of the ruins and hills to the south.

  Ted was already sick of traveling. It had been a long flight, made in a short period of time through the power of technology. He wanted to finish it and go back home. He had forgotten how much he liked the status quo. There had been so many changes in his life over the past twenty years that he lost sight of that which anchored him—the base and Felicity.

  She gave him his space, but with the kids—Terrence, Charlita, and Billy—he discovered a new foundation for himself that made him stronger. His head felt clear even with distractions.

  He chalked it up to old age that things didn’t annoy him like they used to.

  Ramses and Kimber had been deployed with smaller teams in support of Ted and Andrew. Kim had been told to keep an eye on Andrew and stay close, just in case he waffled when it came time to kill his Forsaken brethren.

  The ramp started to drop, and Ted returned to the present. He closed his eyes and sensed an individual with etheric abilities. A Forsaken, very close by. He stood and found that his team was already arrayed in a semi-circle outside the pod.

  Andrew held his hands up, wondering if Ted was going to get off.

  “On my way,” Ted proclaimed and ran out the back, past the team and toward the Forsaken. The team quickly gathered their wits and raced after Ted. Ramses accelerated ahead to catch the Werewolf.

  The pod lifted off on its way south, where Andrew could already feel the other. The anger rose within him. He never wanted to be like them. They made him this way and it was time they paid. Andrew snarled as the pod landed. He ran off and toward his prey.

  Kimber felt his fire. Her father’s concerns had been unfounded. Andrew was just fine, and he was on a mission.

  It was payback time.

  San Francisco

  Akio and Yuko returned with an empty pod. Four small teams entered and the pod was on its way west within moments. “We are going to China to pick up our old friends, and then we’ll continue to a number of different target locations. Our goal is to neutralize the enemy and move on as quickly as possible. You are to secure any humans between us and our targets. Otherwise, we will take care of the rest,” Akio explained.

  The team acknowledged the orders. They were no different from what the colonel had briefed over the previous three days. Akio’s and Yuko’s teams were led by lieutenants. Terry wanted to leave nothing to chance, giving his senior l
eaders the opportunity to show the best for his mentor.

  The pod accelerated toward the edge of space, then descended just as quickly. It circled and approached Tianjin from the north, landing in the same clearing that Terry and Char had last used. Akio stood and cocked his head as the ramp lowered.

  Two Weretigers and six Werecubs strolled aboard. The ramp raised as the pod ascended and turned to the north. The assembled humans looked at each other and then at the orange and black-striped Weretigers.

  Akio was at a loss for words, until Aaron changed into human form. Someone handed him a small towel to cover up with.

  “Oh hey!” he said, nodding without waving because he didn’t have a free hand. Aaron looked around to orient himself, having no idea how he had gotten there, but he knew where they were headed. Since Aaron and Yanmei had conceived while in Were form, Yanmei had remained as a Weretiger.

  “I guess you’re wondering about this,” Aaron said uncomfortably. “Imagine my surprise when I found out Yanmei was pregnant. I didn’t remember the…you know. Most unfortunate, that. She needs to stay in Were form until the brood weens. We hope they’re able to change into human form.” Aaron raised his eyebrows expectantly at Akio. Yuko smiled beatifically at the cubs, who found her irresistible.

  “I think you will be fine,” Akio replied noncommittally.

  “So here we are. Which is where, by the way?” Aaron asked.

  “On our way to Shenyang. There are a number of Forsaken who have taken up residence there. Your job is to eliminate them. Can you do that?” Akio wondered.

  “Yes. Our team?” A number of warriors raised their hands within the confined space of the pod.

  “You were supposed to operate as two squads. Is that possible?” Akio pressed.

  “No,” Aaron answered without further explanation.

  “No plan survives first contact, eh, Terry-san?” Akio said to the pod’s ceiling.

  “Or childbirth,” Yuko added.

  “Indeed.” Akio inclined his head and smiled briefly. “New plan. We will all go to Shenyang. Then we will all go to Vladivostok, then Nikolayevsk-na-Amure, and finally, Petropavlovsk. Speed is of the essence.”

  “We’ll go as fast as we can,” Aaron replied.

  Akio felt for the teams that were to accompany the Weretigers. They would not get any instruction. They would have to follow and do the right thing, trusting to their training and intuition. Akio had the greatest faith in Terry Henry Walton.

  “Remember your training,” Akio said before sending a feeling of confidence to them. The worry lines around their eyes disappeared as their moods changed. Yuko looked at Akio, but he turned away.

  The pod descended. “Get ready, Aaron-san.”

  Aaron changed into Were form as the ramp descended. He and Yanmei loped into the brush of a small park, the cubs running closely behind, heading toward where they sensed a Forsaken. Two teams from the FDG followed, trying to blend in and failing miserably as they hurried to catch the felines, moving quickly, even though they didn’t appear to be.

  The pod took off and headed east, dropping Akio and his team near their target before delivering Yuko to her destination.

  Yuko felt the Forsaken nearby, certain that he felt her too. She started to run, katana in hand. The Forsaken ran, too. She knew that she was faster and sped away from her team. She caught the Forsaken before he could enter a building and go underground.

  Yuko stood with her legs shoulder width apart. Two hands gripping the sword lightly. She held it horizontally before her. The Forsaken stretched to his full height. Chinese, not much taller than Yuko, but much broader.

  He didn’t bother to speak as he reached behind him and pulled out a small-caliber pistol. He aimed and fired, but Yuko moved an instant before the bullet cracked through the space where her head was. She dodged left, right, ducked, and swung.

  The blade whistled through the Forsaken’s wrists, sending both its hands and the pistol twirling away. She curled the blade through the air and stepped into the swing that removed the Forsaken’s head. She wiped the blade on its clothes, then returned the katana to its saya.

  She walked away from the body, leaving it where it died. Yuko intercepted the team and directed them back to the pod. She expected Akio was finished with his task and was ready for pickup.

  The Falklands

  Char had both pistols out as she looked for her targets. The fire from the two guards remaining in the pod was keeping the ambushers busy. She wondered if they knew she was still alive.

  She low-crawled along a ravine, trying to escape the kill zone. Once she was abeam the attackers, she stood up behind a tree, then pulled herself up to the first branch. She looked over a bush and saw three men with British SA-80A2 rifles. They fired the same rounds as the FDG’s M4.

  And those men with those rifles had killed her people. She pulled herself higher with one arm and aimed her Glock with the other. She tried to relax in the awkward position. She aimed and started to squeeze the trigger.

  Her comm device buzzed.

  Char snap-fired, taking five rounds to do what she had expected to do with the three. She let herself drop, and aiming as she walked, she checked the area to ensure there were no more attackers. She found a fourth body, the victim of well-aimed suppressing fire from the guards.

  “Clear!” she called out. “Check our people.”

  The two moved from one to the next and in the end, they shook their heads. None of the first group had survived first contact. They started to move the bodies into the pod.

  Char felt the Forsaken, and he was headed her way. Predator or prey? she asked herself. She had time before he would arrive, so she took the rifles and ammunition from the ambushers and helped her survivors recover the rest of her people.

  “How in the hell did we land in the middle of an ambush?” Char asked, knowing that the two men did not have an answer.

  She brushed her hands off on her pants, changed the magazine in her pistol, and cracked her knuckles in preparation for the next two minutes of her life.

  “Stay in here. If I go down, you keep shooting that thing until it goes down and then you turn its head to mush. Do you understand me?” she growled.

  “Yes, ma’am,” they replied, before they too changed magazines, swapping their empties with those from their fallen comrades.

  Char walked outside to wait, letting her arms hang loosely at her sides. The Forsaken looked at the bodies as he walked past, strolling as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “I think that’s close enough,” Char warned, hoping he’d come a step closer so she could draw and shoot. He stopped but weaved, cobra-like, as he stood.

  “Pretty one, aren’t you,” the Forsaken said, acid dripping from his tone.

  Char pulled her pistol and took aim. The Forsaken stepped backward, then ducked and headed sideways, keeping Char between him and the two rifles pointed at him from the pod.

  She dodged the other way and the M4s barked, sending rounds through the creature’s body. It bucked and grunted, but there weren’t any kill shots. Char ran straight at it, firing one pistol repeatedly as she approached. Every other round hit, but again, no killing shots.

  The Forsaken maneuvered away, moving out of the line of rifle fire. Char threw her first pistol to the ground and pulled the second, but the Forsaken got to her before she could bring it up.

  He stopped her wrist in an iron grip. She didn’t need the pistol. She head-butted the bridge of his nose and followed with a knee to the groin, picking the Forsaken off the ground with strength of her kick. She twisted her hand out of the weakening grip and hit the creature in the throat with a finger strike.

  Char picked up her pistol and fired from three feet away. The Forsaken had turned its head and the bullet smashed through its jaw. That spun the creature around and it fell. Char’s next shot hit it at the base of its skull, blowing a large hole out the top of its head. The creature flopped in its death throes.

  Char
holstered her pistol. Picked up her second Glock, holstered it, and said, “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Argentina

  Terry felt like a third wheel. He split his people to watch two separate small towns. Nothing was moving in either place. He had tried to call Char, but she didn’t answer.

  He imagined the worst. He wanted to call her back, and was forcing himself to wait as long as possible before trying to contact her.

  But he was lying in a hide site and the seconds ran glacially slowly. He had to do something. Since he always favored the direct approach, he got up, told the warriors to remain where they were, and headed for the nearest community.

  Terry wasn’t afraid. He knew that he wasn’t immortal, but trusted his intuition and his speed. He didn’t see any people and took that as a good sign. If there was a Forsaken, he hoped he could flush it out.

  He strode up to the building he thought Char had indicated. “I know you’re in there, you blood-sucking piece of shit,” Terry yelled. “Bring your black leather-wearing ass out here and let’s settle this like men!”

  “Settle what, mi amigo?” a man with a heavy Spanish accent yelled from inside.

  “The terms of your surrender,” Terry offered. “If you make me come in there to get you, you die. If you want to live, come out.”

  “I think that I shall not, pendejo.”

  “Have it your way.” Terry started running at the main door, but veered away at the last second and leapt, bringing his feet up to kick through the window. He landed in small study, hitting the floor with a shower of glass. TH rolled to his feet and jumped behind the door, peeking out before diving across the hallway.

  He flattened himself against the wall, looking left and right. He thought he heard a boot scuff. He jumped across the hallway and plastered himself against the other wall.

  He looked through the stair railing and saw the Forsaken standing with its arms crossed. At the top of the stairs, it was looking down on Terry, fascinated by his antics.