by Alex Siegel
Marina and Ipo walked off a short distance.
"Ma'am?" he whispered.
"Liam needs to prove he can be a real legionnaire," she murmured. "Don't coddle him. Don't keep him out of harm's way."
"I understand, but what if he refuses to fight?"
"Handle it as you see fit," she said. "If his cowardice compromises the mission, you have my permission to retire him."
Ipo stared for a moment. "I'd rather not."
"Or bring him to me. I'll do it. Recruiting him was my mistake to begin with."
"Yes, ma'am," he said sadly.
"Get going," Marina said. "Take advantage of the darkness while you have it."
She watched Ipo walk off. He joined the others, and they disappeared into the night.
Marina sighed and went in a different direction. Her helicopter was parked in a shallow ravine where it would be less visible. She climbed into the cockpit and buckled her seat belt, but she didn't take off. Her job was to provide aerial support if it was needed. Until then, she would have to just wait and worry.
* * *
Liam was shivering. He was following Ipo along a strip of dry, hard dirt between two farms. Despite Ipo's great size, his footsteps were completely silent. Liam was trying to be as quiet, but he kept accidently dragging his toes across the dirt. It was hard to stay focused when he was so afraid.
Ironically, all the weapons and armor on his body only made him more afraid. Marina had told the team to dress in full battle gear for a reason. If everything went according to plan, the dirt would be soaking up a lot of blood soon. Liam had never shot anybody in his life, and he had never been shot. The closest he had come was the miserable session in the shooting range with Aaron. Today, it wouldn't be a training exercise.
"How do you find courage?" Liam whispered.
Ipo glanced back. "Huh?"
"You're never afraid. How do you do it?"
"I feel fear. I'm anxious right now. I just don't let it interfere with my performance. You must've fought some scary guys in the ring, and you still won."
"That was different," Liam said. "There were rules and referees. Nobody had a gun."
"The worst that can happen today is you die, and that's not so bad."
"How is death not so bad?"
"You'll go to God as a heroic legionnaire," Ipo said. "It's what we hope for in this job."
"I don't want to die."
"And that's your problem. Instead of obsessing about the consequences of failure, focus on the path to victory. The best way to avoid death is to do your job properly."
Liam stumbled on a rock.
"Shh!" Ipo said. "You're stomping around like a drunk elephant."
"Sorry."
"Stop talking. I need to listen."
Liam clamped his mouth closed. He tried to calm down, but it wasn't working. The darkness around him seemed too full of death.
* * *
"Just like the old days," Hanley murmured.
"What do you mean?" Katie whispered.
"When I was a Navy Seal, I used to hunt terrorists in the dark all the time. There is a famous quote by Ernest Hemingway. 'There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.'"
"I'd rather hunt for Easter eggs, frankly."
He glanced back at her. "Are you scared?"
"Yes," she said, "but I'll be OK. Don't worry about me."
"Good, because you'll be doing most of the shooting."
"You really think shooting a gun will hurt that much?"
"I can hear a mosquito from a hundred yards away," he said. "A gun going off in my hand would sound like an atomic bomb. I brought thick mittens, and I'll use a suppressor, but it might not be enough. I'll stick with knives if I can."
Hanley held up his palms and turned them back and forth like radar dishes. He detected a mouse skittering across the dirt. The clicking of insects was loud enough for his human ears to hear.
"Is there any more coffee?" a man's voice said.
"No," a second man said. "Just some donuts."
Hanley instantly locked onto the source of the sound.
"Follow me," Hanley whispered, "and be very quiet. I know where they are."
"You can see them?" Katie looked around.
"I can hear them."
The two legionnaires crept forward. They hadn't brought night vision goggles because dawn was already on its way, but it was still fairly dark. Hanley stared into the shadows, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement.
Katie's footsteps weren't perfectly silent, but Hanley was still pleased. Her training had progressed a long way in the last three months. Marina was a harsh instructor, but in Katie's case, the commander's methods were working wonders.
"Why are we here so damn early?" the first man said. "The truck won't hit the bridge for another hour."
"The boss wanted to make sure we were in position," his unseen friend replied.
"This assignment sucks."
Hanley smiled. I really like this gift, he thought.
He was starting to detect distant heartbeats and the rustling of moving bodies. Men were arranged in a line up ahead. Hanley waved for Katie to get down on her belly.
He took out his phone and called Marina.
"Yes?" she said.
"I found them, ma'am," Hanley whispered. "Fifty yards due south of me."
"How many?"
"At least twenty. They're set up for an ambush. One guy said the truck will arrive in an hour."
"You heard that?" Marina said.
"Yes, ma'am. One of them just farted."
She chuckled. "Hold your position. I'll send Ipo and Liam over to you."
Hanley kept his phone in his hand. It was set to vibrate, but he was worried about even that much noise. He wanted to answer it quickly.
Katie craned her neck. "I think I see an irrigation ditch," she whispered. "They must be using it for cover."
"Stay down. This flat terrain makes you easy to see."
"OK." She sighed nervously.
"And relax," Hanley whispered.
"I'm trying."
* * *
Ipo's phone hummed softly. Liam watched him answer it.
"Yes, ma'am," Ipo said after a moment. "We're on our way." He ended the call but continued to look at his phone.
"What's going on?" Liam said.
"Hanley found the bad guys. It looks like the other bridge is the target. We're supposed to meet him."
Ipo was messing with the interface on his phone, and Liam guessed he was using the tracking app to find Hanley's exact position. The phones were like homing beacons.
"This way," Ipo hurried off.
Liam's heart was racing as he ran after the big man. This is it, Liam thought.
The flat land offered little cover, and both men stayed in a crouched position to reduce their visibility. Running while bent over hurt Liam's back, but he didn't complain. It was better than being shot.
* * *
Marina was staring out the windows of the helicopter cockpit. There wasn't much to see besides grass and dirt. She wished she were up in the air, but hovering would attract attention.
"Do you have a suggestion?" Marina said into her phone.
"Have your legionnaires toss over a few grenades to get the party started," Aaron replied. "The enemy will scatter and be easy pickings."
"We need a few alive for questioning. The truck full of poison is out there, and we don't even know what it looks like."
"The grenades won't kill them all."
"And what if the group Hanley found isn't the only one?" Marina said. "What if there are more?"
"I'll clean up any leftovers."
She liked the simplicity of the plan, but she was still hesitant. She knew from personal experience that even the best plans tended to fall apart in the heat of battle. She didn't want to lose any of her legionnaires. She almost thought of them as her children.
"Marina," Aaron said, "we have a job to do. Make a decision."
"I don't mind risking my own life. It's when other people..."
"I know. Being a commander sucks. Have Min Ho shut down all the cell phone towers in the area. We don't want the enemy calling for help. Also, have him jam the local police dispatch stations. It would be inconvenient if the authorities showed up in the middle of a massacre."
She sighed. "OK. I'll give the orders."
* * *
Hanley heard two people approaching him from behind. One set of footsteps was quiet, and the other set was almost dead silent. Hanley also detected their rapid heartbeats.
He knew it was Ipo and Liam, but it was impossible to be too careful. He drew a gun and turned. The weapon was a .38 caliber Colt pistol with a suppressor, the quietest gun available to him, but he was still dreading the prospect of firing it.
Two shadows emerged from the darkness, and they were indeed Ipo and Liam. The latter had the wide eyes and quivering lip of a terrified man. Not good, Hanley thought.
"You heard us coming?" Ipo whispered.
"Yes," Hanley said. "Both of you."
Ipo frowned.
His phone hummed, and he immediately answered. Hanley heard Marina's voice on the call.
"Use grenades to kill as many as you can," the commander ordered, "then shoot the rest. Leave two for questioning."
"Grenades are loud," Ipo said. "Somebody will call the police."
"I already told Min Ho to hack the police dispatch system. Nobody will respond."
"Yes, ma'am. Bye."
Ipo put away his phone and relayed the orders to the members of the team who lacked super-hearing.
"They're over there." Hanley pointed to the south. "Hiding in an irrigation ditch. Try to make the grenades fall into the ditch, then get flat on the ground, nose in the dirt. Shrapnel might come back at us. Now grab a grenade."
Everybody took a grenade from the supplies clipped to their utility belts.
"Liam," Hanley whispered gently, "that's a flash-bang. Use a fragmentation grenade."
Liam was so nervous, he dropped the flash-bang grenade while trying to put it back. Eventually, he was holding the right type.
"I'm going to move away so the gunfire doesn't drive me nuts," Hanley whispered. "Ipo, you count down. I'll hear you."
He crept to the southwest. He was hoping the early dawn light would silhouette the enemy when they jumped out of the ditch. He expected most of the slaughter would take place during that moment of panic and confusion. He wanted to take maximal advantage of it.
He put on a pair of padded mittens which he hoped would muffle the sound. Fighting this way was going to be a great annoyance, but he didn't have much choice.
"Pull the pin," Ipo whispered.
Hanley was thirty yards away but could hear him easily. He pulled the pin on his grenade.
"Three... two... one... throw."
Hanley tossed his grenade. He heard the clatter as three other grenades landed in the dry ditch. He clasped his hands together tightly to protect the pads on his palms.
Flashes of light and thunder ripped apart the pre-dawn silence. The explosions would've stunned Hanley even without his gift. His palms picked up every nuance of the concussions and made the experience excruciating.
He shook off the pain and got to work. He drew his Colt just as people started popping out of the ditch. It was a natural reaction to being bombarded, but ironically, the enemy would've been much safer if they had stayed down. A veteran soldier would've known that, but apparently, these men weren't veterans.
Using both hands, Hanley fired his gun as targets presented themselves. The mittens made pulling the trigger difficult. A suppressor helped, but the recoil against his palms still caused a lot of discomfort. He stayed focused though and managed to get some pretty headshots. The blood spray looked black against the sunrise.
Turn it off, God said.
Hanley jerked in surprise. He wasn't used to the Almighty speaking to him.
Turn what off, Sir? Hanley thought.
Your gift. You don't always have to use it.
The divine presence was gone, but Hanley had heard the message. It wasn't as easy as flipping a switch, but after some mental experimentation, he discovered he could stop listening through his palms. Suddenly, the world was a lot quieter. His human ears sounded cheap and tinny compared to his palms, but they were just fine for a gun battle.
He unclipped a Barrett REC7 assault rifle from a strap across his chest, aimed, and fired. A twitching body fell to the dirt. The Lord's black rage burned in Hanley's veins, and it was as sweet as nectar.
* * *
Liam's eyes were closed. He had an assault rifle in his hands, and it was firing in the right general direction, and that was the best he could do under the circumstances. Just standing his ground was taking all his courage.
His weapon stopped chattering. Somehow, his magazine had already run out of bullets. He hoped he had accidently hit somebody. He risked a peek, but in the darkness, he only glimpsed the outlines of bodies lying on the ground. He had no idea whether any of those kills were his.
He saw muzzle flashes. The enemy was shooting back at him, and he could actually hear the bullets whistling past his head. He was wearing a helmet and advanced body armor, but he didn't trust that protection.
Liam jumped to his feet and ran.
"Hey!" Ipo yelled. "Get back here!"
Liam had emptied his rifle, and as far as he was concerned, that was good enough for his first real battle. Expecting him to fight like a veteran soldier was unreasonable.
He slammed into a group of men coming the other way. He hadn't seen them in the darkness. They were wearing green camouflage body armor with hard chest plates. They carried compact assault rifles, but Liam didn't recognize the particular type.
He tried to shoot his own gun, but nothing happened. He remembered the magazine was empty. He threw the weapon aside and reached for another one. He wasn't sure what he was grabbing, but plenty of deadly hardware was hanging from his utility belt.
He got his hands on a knife, but he was too slow. An enemy put a bullet through his face.
* * *
Hanley heard the gunshot. It had come from an unexpected direction, and a suppressor wasn't being used. A second group of enemy soldiers was attacking.
Hanley called Ipo.
"What?" Ipo said.
"Behind you."
"I heard it."
"Stay down. I'll circle around." Hanley put away his phone.
He jumped to his feet and ran with his head down. He used his gift to search for the enemy, but the sound was muffled. He realized he was still wearing mittens. He angrily yanked them off and tossed them aside.
When his palms were exposed, he could hear clearly, and it didn't take long to locate the second group. They were moving at a quick trot, and their equipment was banging together. They weren't even trying to be quiet.
Hanley slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle. He positioned himself so he could hit the group from the side as they went past.
Dawn was breaking, and there was just enough light for him to see ten men in bulky body armor. They were carrying FN F2000's. The assault rifles had short barrels suitable for urban operations instead of an open-field battle, but they were still deadly. Hanley laid down on the dirt and settled into a good firing position.
The head of one of the enemy soldier's exploded. Hanley recognized the effect of a large caliber sniper bullet on the human skull. The rest of the soldiers froze and looked around for the sniper. Another head burst like a water balloon. Hanley smiled. Aaron is a good shot, he thought.
The enemy finally got the message and dropped to the dirt. Hanley didn't want them getting too comfortable, so he tossed a grenade into the middle of the group. He turned off his gift just before the grenade exploded.
The blast was uncomfortably close this time, and a piece of shrapnel bounced off his helmet. His human ears
were still ringing when he jumped to his feet and ran forward.
The grenade had done horrible things to the enemy despite their armor. Hanley was glad the darkness concealed the worst of the carnage. He used his gift to search for heartbeats, and he shot those men in the head with his Colt pistol.
When the corpses were silent, he called Ipo.
"Status?" Ipo said.
"This group is dead," Hanley said. "The only ones left are in front of you. Don't forget we need to talk to a few of them."
"OK. Liam ran off. Find him."
Hanley frowned. He used the locator app in his phone to get Liam's position, but when Hanley aimed his palms in that direction, he didn't hear anything. He ran.
He found Liam's body lying on the dirt. A shot through the right cheek had killed him. Hanley felt deep sadness and anger.
A shuffling noise made him aim his gun into the darkness. Somebody out there was moving very quietly. Without his gift, Hanley wouldn't have heard anything at all.
"It's me," Aaron said in his deep voice.
The commander approached. His black and gray armor and fluid movements made it seem like he was made of smoke. He carried his giant sniper rifle as if it were a toy gun.
He looked down at Liam and sighed. "A shame."
"He was a nice guy," Hanley said softly. "He didn't deserve this."
"I'm sure. We'll collect his body later. Come on."
Hanley and Aaron walked back towards Ipo and Katie. Hanley kept his palms out in case more enemies were in the area.
"Should we call Marina?" he said.
"I'll do it." Aaron took out his phone.
Chapter Twenty-four
Marina gritted her teeth with frustration. She had heard distant grenade blasts and gunshots, but nobody had called to make a report. She had no idea what was happening. She didn't want to make the call because if her people were fighting for their lives, the last thing they needed was being pestered by a nervous commander.
Her phone rang, and the caller ID showed Aaron's code number.
She answered, "What's going on?"
"Liam is dead," Aaron said grimly.
"Oh." Marina's chest tightened. "Did he die well?"
"No. He went out as a coward."
She closed her eyes.
"We're mopping up," Aaron said, "and the sun is rising. Move the helicopter closer in case we need to get out of here in a hurry."
