"Trying to blow this shit sky high," Travis revealed through a mouth of frustration and anger as he planted the explosives.
Those were the wrong words.
Anything but the truth would have maintained control of the system.
"I am sorry, but that is unacceptable. I am to report anything that may inhibit production."
"No, LIA," West pleaded, attempting to stop the artificial intelligence. It was no use. The system was gone.
"West, I grabbed two vials of this stuff for Alex," Travis said, pocketing them in his cargo pants. “In case someone else needs-”
At that moment, a bullet struck Travis in the middle of his back, throwing him forward onto the conveyor belt.
"Travis!" West shouted, taking cover behind a half-finished pallet surrounded by dead scientists.
"I'm good," Travis coughed, investigating the area with his hand. "Didn't go through."
"Get ready, I'm coming for ya. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
While laying down blind, suppressive fire, West quickly reached over the conveyor system and pulled out his friend. He dragged Travis away from the machine just as bullets filled the air and peppered the equipment he was in front of moments before. The rounds continued to follow the men as West found cover behind the stairs leading back to the security office.
Travis cursed in Spanish as he ripped off the vest’s Velcro straps.
"You good?" West asked, peeking his head out for a split second.
"Ya," Travis replied more frustrated than upset.
"I should have known. Those guys must have been hiding behind that wall."
"It's cool," Travis said, readying his sidearm. "Where are they at?"
"You see the truck furthest to the right?"
Travis peeked around stairs and familiarized himself with the layout. "Ya."
"Four are taking defensive positions behind it, and I counted one behind the forklift," West said, calmly changing his rifle's magazine as bullets blasted off chunks of concrete.
Travis' voice was weak. "Alright, what's the plan?"
"I'm gonna make a break for the middle pillar. When I say go, you're gonna put five bullets downrange. Three on the truck and two on the forklift," West said, knowing it would cause the threats to retract. "We have to get to those trucks."
"Five on two isn't the best odds.”
"It has to get done."
"I agree. What are we waiting for?"
West cracked a smile, and handed Travis the freshly loaded assault rifle. "Gimme your pistol. I'll flank ‘em on the left. You push up on the right and we’ll pinch ‘em. Thirty-seconds, then we're Oscar Mike."
Travis nodded, pulling back the charging handle. "Let's do this."
Just like that, West was off, bag of explosives on his back. Pistol leading him, West emptied an entire magazine toward his adversaries. The first three rounds entered the sternum of the Guard behind the forklift, dropping him down for good.
Despite Travis' cover-fire, West was forced to slide behind a pallet of Ambrosia. The soft metal cases took the bullets, but West could hear the sound of glass shattering inside them.
They won’t hold forever, West thought, and then looked back at Travis.
The fair-skinned Hispanic readied another thirty-round magazine and signaled West with a thumb up.
West motioned his intent, counted to three, and then took off. As bullets flew in both directions, West moved to the center of the five pillars.
Simultaneously, Travis hustled forward to the right pillar in an attempt squeeze the remaining guards together into a killing area. During his run for cover, Travis put two rounds into a man, one in the abdomen, one in the shoulder, sending the beefy Guard spinning to the ground.
Then something odd occurred.
“Why’d they stop shooting?” Travis asked.
West could hear a radio transmission, but the deafening sound of gunfire impeded interpretation.
Someone made the call, he thought.
Then the lull ended and the firing resumed. Dozens of bullets connected with the stone pillar, clouding the surrounding air, as though someone blew an eraser full of chalk dust.
West pulled his body in tighter and looked to Travis. "They're making a getaway!"
The Guard with two holes in his body used his rifle as a cane as he limped to the truck marked "5." Painfully, the man lifted himself inside the cabin while blind firing in West's direction. The truck's engine rumbled and dark smoke shot up from the vertical exhaust pipe. A moment later, the truck was off.
"I got it!" West shouted, firing four rounds. Three connected with the door, and were stopped on impact, but one entered through the open window and caught the driver in the neck, spraying the dash with blood.
The Guard’s body slumped forward, pulling the steering wheel left, and seconds later the truck plowed into the left side of the garage door.
West released the magazine and slammed in a new one.Make a move to the truck marked "1." From there, circle around it and you'll surprise the drivers. Move now, Chucky!
As he departed cover, however, a group of three guards came into the warehouse from the garage door. They spotted West and fired.
West narrowly made it back to the safety of the stone pillar as the bullets kicked up the ground where he was.
Then came the assessment that West knew but didn't want to believe.
"We have to leave!" Travis shouted.
West peeked his head out from behind the stone pillar. The guards had moved forward and taken cover behind the crashed truck. Worse, of the three remaining drivers, two had entered their trucks.
Travis is right, Chucky. There's no way to stop the rigs without getting mowed down. Game over?
A radio call snapped West back to reality. "West, it's Nick. Be advised, the security outside are converging on both sides of the compound. Wherever you guys are, you better hurry up!"
Failure is not an option, think! You count six men total. Three who came from the outside and the three drivers who are now all inside their trucks. There's no way you and Travis can attach the c-4 to the trucks, especially not now with the new arrivals in a superior position behind the crashed rig...
A round blasted into the pillar, knocking off a chunk of concrete, but with its grand size and circumference, it was like pulling a piece of bark off a six hundred year old redwood.
Pillars! That's it! If you can't take out the trucks, take out the facility and crush the rest of them.
"What are we doing, West?" Travis shouted. He continued to exchange rounds with the three guards, then pulled back and mouthed the words "last mag.”
West dug into his bag for the remaining explosives and placed them next to him. He made his reply simple. He pointed at the bricks of c-4, then at the pillar, then pantomimed and explosion with his hand.
Travis understood.
"Take the guards at the garage door!" West ordered. Then he spun around the right side of the pillar and unloaded his entire magazine at the sides of trucks "3" and "4."
The driver of truck "3" saw West and ducked just in time as the bullets flew into his cabin. The driver of truck "4" wasn't as lucky. He caught a round to the temple killing him instantly.
West turned his attention to truck "5."
Despite being half-full of its payload, the driver took off for the exit.
West noted the open tailgate and made a split second decision. "Travis, when I make my move, cover me!”
West grabbed one of the bricks, and closed his eyes briefly to calculate. He nodded to Travis, and then he came out from the behind the pillar as the fifth truck passed in front of him. He hurled the explosive into the open back, and the brick disappeared inside with the pallets.
"Argh!" West exclaimed.
He took one bullet to the right bicep while another tagged him in the chest, knocking him onto his back. Arm dripping blood and chest pounding with pain, West managed to drag himself behind the pillar.
“West!”
Between coughs, West forced air into his lungs. He tore off the black vest, then his sweat-soaked shirt. He ripped off a section of fabric and wrapped it around his arm to slow the bleeding. "I'm good!”
Then came the real heat. Another four Guards joined the fight, and the seven automatic weapons rained down a flurry of bullets on West and Travis.
"Truck three is getting away!" Travis shouted. He tossed down the empty rifle and readied his pistol. "Nothing we can do about it! We gotta go!"
West grabbed the remaining bricks of explosives. He slid one to the base of far pillar, and another over to Travis. He left two at his location in the middle. Then he pulled out his radio and said, "We are on our way back! Everyone follow the primary escape plan and rendezvous at meeting point Alpha! Travis and I will be right behind you! Nick, detonate sixty-seconds, visual on us or not!"
***
"Bitch locked me out," Matty exclaimed, fingers attempting to counter the system.
"I did. I have also alerted security. I recommend you lay down your weapons and surrender," LIA declared over the speakers.
"I recommend you kiss my ass. Guys! Elevators are moving again! All doors have been unlocked! Get ready for company!"
"Ten-four!"
"There is no point in continuing your efforts to regain control," LIA stated matter-of-factly.
"You know what? You're right?" Matty replied. He abandoned his digital efforts and took to a more brute tactic. He grabbed a fire axe off the wall, and then traced the fiber optic cables to the corner of the room. "You wanna play rough? I can play rough? How's this, bitch," he said, severing the vital telecommunications lines.
Then came the first sounds of nearby gunfire.
The Guards at the front door moved in, but Charlie fired lethal shots. "Two down.”
Just then, the left elevator rang and the doors opened, revealing six armed men.
"Charlie, watch out!"
Dylan pivoted and shot. The two Guards in the front took rounds to their heads, while other others found safety behind the side paneling where they fired blindly.
Charlie tackled Dylan out of the way as bullets sprayed their former positions.
As Charlie rose to his feet, he removed a grenade from his flak jacket and pulled the pin. "One, two, three," he mumbled, underhand tossing it into the elevator.
One Guard managed to make it halfway out the door before the grenade detonated, but Dylan put two rounds in his sternum.
"What's going on?" Agent Clint shouted, entering the hallway from the lab.
"They are flanking the south side! I need help!" came a radio call from Steve.
"We're on it!" Kim declared, grabbing Clint by the shoulder. "Let's move, Dennis! Charlie, we'll meet you guys down there!"
Just then, West's call came through on the radio, ordering everyone to rendezvous at meeting point Alpha.
"Matty, let's move!" Charlie yelled.
"We can't!"
Charlie observed Travis arrive at the door and yank on the handle but to no avail, and in that moment, he understood why Matty disregarded the order and returned to the computer.
LIA was no longer on their side, and the A.I. controlled the door leading into the manufacturing room.
"Duck!" Charlie yelled, pointing to the ground in case the message wasn't audible.
Travis pulled West to the floor, a moment before Charlie unloaded his rifle's entire magazine. Unfortunately, the glass splintered but didn't fully break.
Travis handed his gun to West, who was covering them from behind. He braced his hands on the wall and attempted to kick through, but it was no use, the material was too tough.
"I got this!" Dylan shouted to Charlie. No warning was given as Dylan tossed a grenade in front of the door.
"Oh shit!" Travis mouthed, tackling West again, but this time, the action served a purpose.
BOOM!
***
The blast created an opening large enough for Travis and West to escape through.
But they had no idea what hell they entered.
The room was pure chaos. No one could hear anything during the ensuing close quarters combat.
Hiding impatiently behind the wall adjacent to the elevators, Travis made a move to dash across, but bullets from the front entrance whizzed by, impeding the escape.
"Wait!" Charlie yelled, though Travis didn't need the warning, and just as he shouted the command, a stray bullet nicked the side wall; plaster shrapnel cut up his eye and the surrounding tissue. "G-ah! My eye!"
Then came a bouncing canister West was all too familiar with. "Flashbang!" he shouted, and this time he tackled Travis.
Dylan grabbed Charlie with both hands, and the two Canadians hit the floor of the security office just as the bright light and loud bang went off.
"Charlie," Dylan shouted, snapping his fingers, "you good, buddy? How's your eye?"
The tissue around Charlie’s left eye was puffy and bloody. He had been unable to cover his ears and subsequently yelled back. "It’s fucked, but I can see out of my other eye!"
Dylan pointed to Matty who was hiding under the desk, clutching his bag tightly. "Get Matty and fall back to the south door!"
Dylan hustled back out into hallway and readied his rifle. He fired two, three round bursts at the front door, forcing the guards to retreat momentarily. "Last one," he said pulling out a grenade. He tossed it to the front, hoping the explosion would buy more time. “Travis! West! Come now!”
Travis was first to make a break across the intersection. He made it safely to the other side and waved for West who was already on his way.
"West!" Dylan yelled, but not for encouragement. The Canadian saw what West couldn't. Behind the Sergeant Major, the other elevator arrived and its doors opened, revealing a mix of rifles and handguns.
Without thinking, Dylan leapt out and tackled West, shielding him from the bullets. Both men fell in a twisted heap.
Charlie had a handful of Matty's shirt as he stepped out of the security office. He heard Dylan's muffled call for West and turned. Despite the haze consuming his sight, he watched bullets pierce Dylan’s body.
"Dyl!" Charlie roared, letting go of Matty. Berserk, he pulled the trigger until his entire magazine was empty.
Two guards were hit and killed. The others reeled back, hiding behind the side paneling and their dead comrades.
"I'm hit," Dylan moaned, grabbing at both his midsection and side.
Travis grabbed Dylan's rifle in one hand and a wad of his flak jacket in the other. "Help!" he yelled, knowing he couldn't move the giant by himself.
"I'm here," West said, sliding out from underneath. Both he and Travis dragged Dylan, following Matty down the hall while Charlie fired steadily at the elevator.
Suddenly, Agent Kim came diving through the door. The timing of his presence was perfect and supporting actions were gravely needed.
As Charlie swapped out the expended magazine for a new one, the Guards in the elevator came around the corner ready to fire, but had not anticipated support. David Kim fired two, three round bursts which eliminated one of the encroaching Guards and compelled the other four to pull back for cover.
In his free hand, Kim removed a grenade, pulled the pin with his teeth, then tossed it down the hallway.
"Hurry! Or we'll get boxed in!"
***
Forced to oversee the detonation, Nick remained at his position in the hills but was taking constant, heavy fire.
Eddy's rifle had helped at first, but the foreman’s lack of experience made him more of a distraction than a realistic threat. A pair of Guards had aimed at his location and were laying siege to the hillside around him. So, Eddy abandoned his post and disappeared into the night as he had been instructed to.
In the beginning, Steve did well picking targets and slowing the aggression, but by the time the Guards figured out what was going on, most managed to find cover, get organized, and move as a calculated, cohesive unit.
The to
wer Steve occupied was almost entirely destroyed. The glass windows were now jagged edges, and the waist-high steel framing had been dented and penetrated by hundreds of bullets. Mixed caliber rounds whizzed and popped all around, and for the last twenty-seconds Steve hugged the floor.
"Steve! Where are you?"
"Agent Clint?" Steve yelled back as he searched his pockets for a fresh magazine.
"Yes! I'm across from you, on the stairs!" he said, pausing to blind fire. "We have to leave!"
"I can’t get up, I'm pinned down!"
Agent Clint peeked his head near the bottom of the door. "Crawl to me!"
Steve looked back at his gear bag, but Clint screamed, "Leave it!"
Steve tossed the empty rifle aside and pushed off with his forearms.
"Hurry!" Clint screamed as a grenade bounced off the control board and landed on the floor next to Steve's bag. Clint extended his hand and yanked Steve out just as the explosion sent shrapnel out the door.
The two men tumbled painfully down the stairs. At the bottom, Clint landed face-first in the dirt and Steve on top of his back.
"Where's everyone else?"
Clint answered by pointing to the southern door.
Dylan’s arms hung around West and Travis. Matty cowered behind them, while Agent Kim and Charlie laid down cover fire.
"We need to get to you!" West yelled.
The interior threats forced the group to move outside where they found temporary cover behind the steel door.
"Not yet! We all need to return fire all at the same time if we are going to have a chance!" Clint shouted back. "Steve, take my gun and shoot from the other side! I hope you're as good a shot as West said!"
Steve grabbed the gun midair and took position on the right hand side of the tower.
"Charlie, toss me a gun!" Clint demanded.
The Canadian unholstered his sidearm and chucked it across the no-man's-land where it skidded to Clint's feet.
"Dennis! We have to move now!" Kim insisted, knowing the door wasn't meant to cover six men or the bullets that peppered it.
The Longest Road (Book 3): The Other Side Page 19
