by J. N. Chaney
He had to focus.
And he had to be fast.
Just then the first of the terrorists popped out of their hiding spots behind the surrounding pillars, unloading their weapons at him. One on his right, one on his left, one to his upper right.
Burner doubled back, the move too rapid to be graceful.
It was some distance back to the closest cover, but going any further forward risked getting Sara into the middle of the path of fire. He had his own weapon in one hand and the guard’s stolen weapon in the other. He sprayed both of them on full auto at his enemies.
The shots were wild and un-aimed. Despite his best efforts as a young soldier, he had never managed to prove his instructors wrong about how impossible it was to properly aim with two weapons at the same time. But the experience did allow him to keep relative control over the weapons’ general direction of fire. It didn’t give him too much hope of actually hitting any of the terrorists, but he could get close enough to disrupt their aim and force them back into cover.
Many of the shots came dangerously close anyway. One ricocheted off the ground just centimeters from his foot. Another grazed his arm so close it cut his sleeve. Then, just as he was reaching the relative protection of another pillar, one of the bullets found him.
Getting shot felt a lot like getting speared with a hot fire poker. While also being struck with a crowbar. There was the moment of impact where the force of the bullet knocked him in whatever direction it was travelling. That passed, leaving only the burning pain and the feeling of wetness as blood escaped from him.
He took cover behind the pillar and examined the wound. The bullet had pierced the meaty part of his left shoulder. There was no exit wound so it must have become stuck on bone or muscle. The pain was bad, but nothing Burner couldn’t fight through. The loss of the full use of his left arm was a bigger issue. He could no longer hold it steady when he extended it, making it useless for firing a weapon. He let the guard’s weapon drop to the floor.
Blood loss and dehydration were other immediate concerns. He could hear the terrorists circling around him, their footsteps growing slowly closer as they moved from cover to finish off their wounded opponent. He needed to move, but at the rate he was losing blood he would collapse before he got far. As quickly as he could with one good arm, he removed his coat and wrapped it around the wound. Not a great solution, but hopefully it would slow the bleeding enough for him to survive the fight.
The frizzy-haired terrorist appeared on his right side. Another set of footsteps was close, just on the other side of the pillar. But whoever was supposed to be flanking Burner’s left did not make an appearance. He made a break in that direction just as Reginald opened fire on him. Reginald chased after him despite yelled protests from Cypher to stay in formation.
Both he and Reginald ran across the chamber, guns blazing. Burner was at a disadvantageous angle, having to aim over his shoulder to fire behind him while the terrorist could fire straight-on. Fortunately, the young terrorist didn’t seem to have much experience with shoot-on-the-run tactics. Firing a weapon while running at full sprint was a completely different beast from firing it while stationary.
The terrorist slowed down enough to take a more controlled shot. That was a mistake. He made himself an easy target. One quick shot took the young man in the chest and sent him stumbling backward.
Burner reached the safety of his target pillar just as Cypher appeared to get a bead on him. He dove for cover as bullets flew behind him—
And came crashing into another terrorist, the pizza-loving Cade. The two stumbled together in an awkward embrace, nearly going to the ground as one, until Cade’s back slammed up against the pillar. Burner pushed himself away to give himself room to raise his weapon.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Cade dropped his gun and held up his hands defensively. “Easy! Easy! I don’t want to fight. I was missing you on purpose earlier, and I disobeyed my orders to cover the flank so you’d have room to maneuver.”
Burner’s eyes narrowed on the nervous man. He couldn’t tell whether the sweat he was covered in was from fear, from lying, or from the heat. Probably a mix of all three. “Why would you do that?”
Cade gave a nervous cough. “The boss is a little more unstable than I thought when I signed up. I joined completely for the credits, I’m not ashamed to admit it. Never really cared about the cause. Now it looks like Cypher might be ready to go full martyr, blowing up the station with us still onboard. I can’t spend my credits if I’m dead. I can disable the detonator if you can—”
Whatever Burner’s role was in Cade’s plan was lost as a bullet pierced Cade’s back. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Cypher laughed. “That’s what all you traitors get! First Killington, then you! Am I the last one to truly believe in what is right!?” Sadistic righteousness dripped from his words.
Burner aimed his weapon back at Cypher but saw that Cypher’s gun was now directed somewhere else. Toward the back of the room. Toward Sara.
The remaining terrorist shook his head. “This game between us ends now, Burner. It’s been a... blast,” he said poignantly. “You’ve been a worthwhile opponent, but there are bigger things at stake here than you or me. We’re talking about the fates of billions of people who live under oppressive Union rule, of hundreds of millions more they will subjugate if left unchecked. Freedom versus authoritarianism. Right versus wrong. That’s what has to count now.”
Burner kept his weapon fixed on the psychopath. “Put it down, Cypher. You’re right, this is over. It can either end with your surrender or with a bullet in your head.”
Cypher gave a disappointed tsk. “We both know better than that, Burner. You know that if you pull that trigger, I’ll pull mine just out of spite. Both me and the bitch will be dead. If you were a true believer of the Union ideals, you’d take that shot, saving the station and stopping a war with a single sacrifice. But I know that you’re not. You have your own set of values, your own code that you follow. I’ve seen it in action. You won’t sacrifice the woman.”
Burner deliberately remained stone-faced. Focused. Menacing. “You want to bet on that?” His finger ran along the trigger like he was itching to pull it. Which he was.
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Cypher had a vicious smile. “I will bet my life on it. Three seconds, Burner. In three seconds, I’m going to kill this woman if you haven’t put down your weapon. One…”
Burner’s mind raced. He didn’t have a solution. No clever plan lined up. Even if he tried to surprise the terrorist by firing suddenly, reflex could still have him pull the trigger and that would be Sara gone. This was taking too long. If he didn’t act now, he’d tip his hand and show Cypher that he really wasn’t in control.
Burner spoke. “Do it and you’re dead.”
“I am willing to die for my cause, Burner. Are you? Two.”
Every instructor, mentor, superior, and handler that Burner had ever had during his time in the Union screamed at him to take the shot. He heard Sara’s voice and realized that was happening for real. “How do I know you won’t just shoot her anyway?” The question was weak. He knew it. He’d blown the psychological game Cypher had him engaged in.
Cypher’s reaction was unreadable. “You’re just going to have to trust me. Besides, the bitch and I still have a movie to finish. I’d prefer not to kill her now if I don’t have to. But looks like I will. Three.”
“Wait!”
Cypher’s head was cocked toward Sara as he almost took the shot.
“Alright.” Slowly, Burner knelt and dropped his weapon to the ground.
It was, without a doubt, a stupid move. Reckless, emotional, illogical, all the things he used to get chewed out about in his reports. But as long as both he and Sara were alive, there was still the possibility of new options becoming available.
If Sara died, all those options faded away.
Burner was taking a huge gamble on Cypher’s flair for the dramatic. If the terror
ist wanted, he could easily just shoot Burner now and get on with his plan. But you didn’t become the kind of person who demanded filming a manifesto on location of a bombing if you didn’t have a huge ego. He had to count on his ego as being his weakness. Even if he could get Cypher talking, it would give Burner some time to think of a way out. Another option.
Cypher grinned. “Now kick the weapon over.”
It was a good sign that Cypher hadn’t shot him yet. Burner did as he was instructed.
Then Cypher surprised him by dropping his own gun. In its place he drew his knife and began moving toward him. It was only as he got closer that Burner saw the blood splattered across his face and arms, giving his grin a savage, almost maniacal twist.
The terrorist stopped just outside of Burner’s reach. “Do you know why I chose you, Burner? Why, out of all the Union records we had access to, I decided you would make the best assassin?”
Burner watched the position of that knife, remembering the wounds he had seen on Killington’s body. “My dashing good looks?”
“It’s because I thought you might get it, in the end.” Cypher gave a dramatic sigh. “Sure, you were a prime candidate because you showed a stubborn streak we could use to set you down the path. But I also sincerely hoped that you would see the bigger picture, and when you did you would side with us. Your whole career was built on uncovering and stopping Union corruption, and eventually that same corruption ended your career. You know better than most the kind of cancer that lays at the heart of the Union. And yet you still chose to fight for it, in the end. Why?”
“You don’t get me nearly as much as you think you do.” Burner shifted his weight to his good leg. “This was never about the Union to me. The whole government could go belly-up tomorrow and I wouldn’t lose any sleep. This was about people. Thousands of innocents on this station, millions more to die in the war you want to start. They’re not pawns you can just sacrifice to get your way. That’s not how we get change. That’s just psychotic.”
He expected the attack to come after insulting the madman’s ideals, but instead Cypher took a deep breath. Almost as if he wasn’t bothered. His gaze drifted over to Killington’s body. He looked sorrowful. “Change always requires sacrifice, Burner. If we’re lucky, we can make that choice ourselves, but sometimes you have that decision made for you. You must be willing to pay the price if you want to protect your ideals. That’s why I’ll win, Burner.” He raised the knife toward Burner’s throat. “And why you’re going to die.”
Disarming an enemy coming at you with a knife was very different from disarming one with a gun. For one thing, grabbing the knife from the front is only going to cut your hands. Similarly, while the goal of wrestling over a gun is to keep the barrel pointed away from you, with a knife the entire length of the blade is dangerous. Spacing was important. But, Burner reflected, power is important too.
Strength was something Burner was running a little low on. The heat and blood loss were both taking a heavy toll on him. But he was far from down.
Back on his feet in a flash, he danced out of the way of Cypher’s first slashes, using his good leg for quick bursts of speed to keep out of reach of the blade. Cypher came in for an overhead hack, and Burner raised his arms over his head to block the attack at the wrist. Pain shot up his shoulder and he almost didn’t have enough strength to stop the point, which ended up hovering an inch from his face. Cypher retracted and twirled the blade in his hand, changing his grip to make a straight thrust.
This is what Burner had been waiting for. Cypher tried to thrust his blade into Burner’s gut. Burner shifted his body sideways to let the blade just miss him, then reached out and grabbed Cypher by the wrist. Cypher reflexively pulled back to avoid being put into a hold. Burner let Cypher’s wrist slide away and locked his hand on the knife’s handle as it came past. With a sideways twist and an upward tug, he pulled the knife away. There wasn’t enough time for Cypher to react before Burner turned the knife, and then using a flick of his own hips, Burner powered the knife into his chest.
It was a perfect reversal, so flawlessly performed that they could use it in Union training manuals. Of course, those manuals would probably leave out the part where the enemy completely ignores being stabbed and keeps coming at you anyway.
Cypher barely flinched at having several inches of steel buried in his chest. He launched himself forward and assailed Burner with a devastating barrage of punches. It was all Burner could do to raise his arms in defense to keep his face from taking any of the hits. His wounded shoulder couldn’t keep up with the pressure and his guard dropped enough for Cypher to land a devastating blow to his jaw.
Burner’s head swam as he wondered if perhaps Cypher had taken something, in preparation for a fight. Or maybe he had some disorder that meant he couldn’t feel pain. The thoughts flashed as he stumbled back and crashed against the pillar. He couldn’t beat Cypher like this. It was all he could do to keep on his feet, much less try to compete with Cypher’s fury in hand to hand combat. Though, now that he thought about it, he didn’t need to.
He took two more body blows and let himself fall to the ground. It didn’t take much acting on his part as his body was tired of being on its feet anyway. There was more effort required to not shut his eyes when he landed.
Cypher’s eyes gleamed with triumph. He pulled the knife from his own chest, giving only the smallest groan from the pain. In his eagerness to finish the fight, he didn’t see Burner’s arm reach out to where the fallen tech specialist lay.
Burner’s hands closed around Cade’s weapon and he got off a desperate shot as Cypher arced his arm back to throw his knife. Burner’s shot hit the terrorist in the leg. Cypher roared and dropped the knife as his body buckled forward.
It took Burner a moment to force himself into a sitting position and level the weapon at him. In that time, Cypher had pulled something out of a pocket.
A detonator. And Cypher’s finger was on the trigger.
Cypher glared at Burner. “It’s a shame I won’t be able to finish my video after all.” His words were steady despite the shaking of his body. “Killington must be laughing from beyond the grave. But I still win. Goodbye, Burner.”
The world was still as Cypher pushed the trigger.
Burner felt the dread and finality of the moment sweep through his awareness. A sense of loss, of unfinished endings reeled through his being. In less than a moment, it would all be over. Finished… and there wasn’t a damn thing—
Nothing.
Cypher yelled a curse and pushed the button again, to no avail.
From behind Burner came a cough, then a pained laugh. It was Cade, who was still breathing despite his gunshot wound. “Oh... did I forget... to link up the detonator... silly me.”
Cypher’s face turned dark red as the words hit him. Then he looked suddenly ashen as he realized that Burner still had a gun pointed at him. He turned to run. Burner fired.
“No!” someone shouted. Apparently, Cade wasn’t the only of Cypher’s men still living. Reginald leaped in front of Cypher, taking several shots aimed at his boss. He fell to the ground as Cypher limped away down the tunnel.
Burner didn’t have the strength to chase him. He pulled himself to his feet and weakly stumbled toward Sara. By the time he had her untied, he was reliant on her for support.
“That was really fucking stupid, Burner,” she muttered as she put her arm around him. “Heroic, but stupid.”
He chuckled. “Same thing.”
From his near-death position on the ground, Cade called out to them. “The bomb... still active... if Cypher finds the right frequency... could still blow it.”
Sara exchanged a troubled look with Burner. “How do we disarm it?”
Cade was wheezing, barely clinging to life. “There’s a schematic... on my comm.”
Burner needed Sara’s help to get over to Cade. He rested against the pillar while going through the files on the terrorist’s comm. “Looks like there are fi
ve receivers. They need to be disabled in the right order or the whole thing goes as part of a safeguard system.”
Sara frowned. “Who thinks of that crap?”
Cade wheezed. “Sorry.”
“I think I know which is which.” Burner compared the schematics to the explosives set up around them. There was a pattern they would want the detonations to follow if they wanted to ensure that those three blasts set off all the surrounding explosives.
Sara looked at him skeptically. “You think?”
He shrugged. “Pretty sure.”
“Good enough.” She turned to face the chamber. “Just tell me where to go first.”
Burner used Sara as his hands as he had her go through the chamber disabling the receivers. First came the one on the central pillar. Then the one on the outer wall. The third was further down the same wall.
When Burner didn’t instruct her on the fourth, Sara looked to see if he was still conscious. “Everything okay?”
He blinked at the schematics, hoping for some clarity to come to him. “I’m alright. Just a little less sure about the last two. There’s one on the ceiling and one on the far pillar. I think the ceiling should be last, but either one would work as a detonation sequence.”
She looked up at the ceiling, where the engine core was located not a few feet above. “Taking a gamble. We could leave it and try to get Union bomb disposal guys here.”
Burner grimaced. “Unless Cypher blows the station before they get here.”
Sara nodded. “It needs to be us. What does your gut say?”
His instinct, at least, was clear. “Ceiling last.”
“Ceiling last.”
She walked to the back pillar, located the receiver there, and without hesitating to give them a chance to second-guess the decision, she disabled it.
