Patriots & Tyrants (Rebels & Lies Trilogy Book 2)

by Cotton, Brian

  This was all a setup, Kaspar thought as he aided in the gunfire. His adrenaline was finally kicking in and he no longer felt the pain or the cold. All that mattered now was getting out of here. He couldn’t think about the cure right now, Harvey was right about that. Dying on this mountain would do nobody any good. They would have to try and find another way.

  Kaspar tried to aim at the Agents, who also wore white fatigues with nothing to give them away but the muzzle flashes and that came from their black weapons. He prayed that he wouldn’t hit any friendlies on accident, but he had to survive. He fired at the white helmets as three of Sanders’s men went down. The ones that survived were getting closer. The image of Sanders’s scar on the side of his face came into view. Sanders lowered his body and slid the rest of the way to Kaspar’s position.

  “We’ve got to retreat!” Sanders cried as he turned his attention to the white hats.

  “What the hell happened?” Kaspar demanded over the gunfire.

  “No idea! No time to think about it right now!”

  More of the rebels made it down. Kaspar could almost see the whites of Dexter’s eyes before he was gunned down by a barrage of bullets from behind. Harvey and Buck were the last ones to make it. They all looked to Sanders. The Agents continued their descent down. They stopped firing for a moment.

  “Move!” Sanders yelled.

  The unit turned and continued to run down. In front of them were several trees which they could use for cover. The Agents resumed their firing as they got closer down. Kaspar made a run for one of the trees. Another of Sanders’s men went down just as Kaspar reached the tree. Chunks of bark from the evergreen went up in the air as he pressed his back against it.

  When there was a break in the tree going up, Kaspar sidestepped and searched for a white hat to shoot at. He found one and held down the trigger. The Agent never stood a chance and went down. Kaspar had to be fast. Another Agent pointed his gun at him and fired. He made it the safety of the tree trunk just in time. That Agent was taken out by Buck. Kaspar never thought that Buck would save his ass.

  “You okay?” Buck asked from Kaspar’s right.

  “I’m fine. Thanks.”

  “Let’s move!” Sanders cried once again.

  Kaspar reluctantly left the cover of the trunk and ran. The blasts of gunfire echoed through the cold air. A couple of rebels stayed behind to provide cover. Once Kaspar and the others made it down some more, they turned at Sanders’s order to provide cover for those that stayed behind. Kaspar took out two more Agents before the rebels made it.

  “Move it!” Sanders cried.

  All but two turned to run again. The two that stayed took out several more Agents before the enemies managed to take cover behind the trees. One Agent reached for his flak jacket and blind tossed a frag grenade in the air. It landed next to Kaspar.

  “Grenade!” Kaspar cried once it hit the ground next to him.

  A new kind of adrenaline rush entered Kaspar. He ran harder than he knew he could. After a few steps, he dove forward and the grenade went off. Shrapnel flew through the air and a piece of it slashed the side of his face. He cried out in pain, but quickly got up with the help of Harvey.

  “You all right?” Harvey wondered.

  “Let’s just get out of…”

  More gunfire. Kaspar turned and fired on an Agent who slipped through. Five rounds hit him in the chest before Harvey aimed for the head. Everything was going to hell again, Kaspar thought as he and Harvey jolted forward. Why couldn’t anything they planned just go according to that plan?

  The gunfire continued. All the rebels were now in a line, down low in the snow. Sanders ordered them to hold the line. Kaspar emptied the mag in his PSD and grabbed a fresh one. Fully reloaded, he awaited Sander’s orders to fire. The Agents were still moving in their positions around the trees for cover. There were about eight of them left, from what Kaspar could tell.

  The rebels fired away at the trees, but the Agents had a solid position now behind them. They would have to make a bold move and try to ambush them there. Kaspar started to doubt Sanders’s leadership. They were now without any cover; that was left behind where their enemies were now. Sanders yelled for them to take their grenades and throw them towards the trees. Kaspar grabbed a hold of one and yanked it from his flak jacket. He pulled the pin and threw it. The explosives went off and the Agents scattered from behind the trees.

  Out in the open, the Agents fired towards the rebels. The rebels in turn fired back. After a long moment of straight gunfire, gun smoke filled the mountain air. When the smoke cleared, all the Agents were either dead or bleeding to death on the snow. Some were taken out by the explosions, but most by the gunfire. On the other side, two more of Sanders’s men went down. All that remained were Sanders, three of his men, Harvey, Buck and Kaspar. The threat seemed to be over for now.

  They had a long hike downhill to deliver Krys the bad news.

  .34

  Krys took the news of the failed mission about as good as anyone could take a death sentence. She just went silent and remained that way as they made their escape from the mountain. Two hours passed in the back of the vehicle and still no words were spoken. Kaspar rubbed at his cheek where the bandages had been placed. The bits of shrapnel that fileted his face had given him one large, nasty gash and several other scratches all across the side. It hurt like hell when Sanders used the tweezers to get the small pieces of razor sharp bits out.

  Across from him, Krys lay down on the bench, all bundled up under the blankets. Kaspar grew haunted by the wide eyed, emotionless look on her face. The only thing that remained to occupy his mind, until Krys felt like talking, was the mystery of what exactly happened. Those were USR fighter jets, that much was certain, but why would they do this?

  Kaspar had to accept where they were at this point. Krys, as much as he hated to admit it, was likely to die within…hell, he didn’t want to speculate. There was nothing he could do to save her any longer, unless there was a miracle waiting somewhere at the end of this darkness. Somehow, he doubted it. Too much was wrong with this world to hope for something as impossible as a miracle.

  He started to say something to her, some type of motivational talk, but held back. The way he figured it, she needed the time to sit and think. As much as he loved her, and as much as he wanted to, there was nothing he could say to make the poison go away. Instead of talking, he got up from his seated position and moved to a seat right next to her head. He moved his fingers to her strands of hair and played around with her soft locks. Krys slowly moved to her side, her breathing heavy, and looked at Kaspar with those wide, brown eyes that Kaspar loved. There was no room for smiling, though, not right now.

  Krys coughed then said, “I’m sorry.”

  Kaspar raised an eyebrow. “You’re sorry? For what?”

  “I’m sorry that you couldn’t save me. I know how badly you wanted to.”

  Kaspar moved in close and gave Krys a kiss on her lips. Krys didn’t have the strength for any kind of intimate kiss, but Kaspar didn’t care. Any kind of kiss from the woman of his dreams was good enough for him. He cherished the kiss and, after their lips left each other’s, he could feel a single tear run down his left cheek. Krys moved her hand up and wiped it away just as tears started to flow from her own eyes. With a strong tug, Kaspar pulled her close from under her arms, and she rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head then looked straight ahead. Only one thought ran through his mind at that moment.

  The USR would pay…in blood.

  ***

  The two old war veterans sat by themselves in the back of Sanders’s tank. They had their laptops turned on, wired in to the news stations which were rapidly reporting the news of, what they called, the worst act of terrorism ever committed against the USR. Several of the Consuls from all over the country were condemning the resistance and the old way of life which led to this atrocity. Harvey had to slam his laptop shut as he couldn’t stand to listen to it anymo
re.

  “Hell of a thing to do,” Sanders said, eyes still glued to his large computer screen.

  “What?” Harvey demanded.

  “This, the USR, its one helluva power play.”

  “We were setup all along, weren’t we?”

  Sanders nodded his head. “No doubt about it. They destroy the cure, which was probably leaked to your guys on purpose, get us on video heading in that direction. Then, the big bad Agents move in to save the day. Like I said, helluva power play.”

  “You don’t sound a bit surprised.”

  Sanders shook his head. “I’m not surprised. I could smell this trap from a mile away.”

  “Why’d you agree to help us then?” Harvey demanded. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Sanders didn’t reply.

  “How many men did we lose today? All on some farce that you saw coming? Now, Krys is about to go. No way we’re going to be recovering from this for a long time.”

  Sanders sighed, “So easy to give in to defeat you are, Sam. There are still others like us. Units that the USR built to expand their influence. We’ll strike back at them hard. They won’t even see it coming.”

  Harvey shook his head and leaned back in his chair. Sanders was talking all crazy again. The cure was the one thing that the resistance could possess that could’ve changed the tides in this war. Now, that trump card was gone, and all they had to show for it were the lives of brave men. There was nothing else they could do. Not right now, anyway, with their unit all beat to shit.

  “Stop shaking your damn head,” Sanders said. “I’ve known rookie pukes with more dedication to the mission than you.”

  “Rookie pukes don’t know better, either.”

  “So, what now, we just fold our tents and pack it in?”

  “Not forever, just until we rest up and maybe find some more guys.”

  Sanders stood and walked over to the side of the vehicle. With his arm rested against the cold steel wall, he buried his head into it. After several sighs he faced Harvey again. Harvey could sense the sadness in his new partner’s eyes. It was a sadness that he could understand. The war seemed more and more like one they couldn’t win. He wondered if Sanders could sense the same thing. If they couldn’t win, Sanders seemed like the type to give them as much hell as possible before the end.

  The two soldiers remained in what would’ve looked like a trance like stare to the uninformed. The whole time, Harvey tried to get a read on what exactly Sanders was thinking. He obviously had something in mind, the only thing that bothered Harvey was how much trouble they were about to get into.

  “Let me ask you something,” Sanders finally said. “Soldier to soldier, have you looked in the mirror lately?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Harvey wondered.

  “Nothing philosophical or any of that bullshit. I mean literally, have you looked in the mirror? We’re getting old…we’re already old. How much time do you think we have left?”

  Harvey sighed. “I know we’re not young anymore. But, just because we’re old doesn’t mean we need to be fool hearty.”

  Sanders slammed his fist on the side of the vehicle. “Who’s being fool hearty?! I’ve got just a few more years left, you get me?”

  “I understand, but we’ve just suffered a major loss. Let’s take some time…”

  “There you go with time again.”

  “What do you propose?” Harvey asked.

  “We’ve got that geek of yours in that other vehicle, right?”

  Harvey shook his head. “We can’t trust any of that, not after today.”

  Sanders slammed his fist one last time before he took a seat. Harvey felt pity for the old soldier. It was never easy to suffer a defeat. Everyone dealt with it differently. For Sanders, it was always about the next fight. That was the way his mind operated. Sanders rubbed his hands together as he sat.

  “How about something we do know about…for a fact.”

  “What’s that?”

  “D.C.” Sanders replied. “The Capitol.”

  Harvey was shocked at the mere mention of the Capitol. Almost anyone who was a leftover knew about D.C. Right at the beginning of the USR’s reign, they blew up the White House, the Capitol building, all of the old monuments, everything in “old D.C.” was now in ruins. It was a way of saying that the old ways were over. The rubble from the explosion was never cleaned up. There were still chunks of the old structures stuck into the ground. In its place, the USR built a smaller, five story structure which also served as a way of saying the United States was defeated. We are here now. It was a key structure for the USR. One that, if the resistance brought down or took over, would cause serious shockwaves through the USR’s leaders.

  “No,” Harvey said with a shake of his head. “Absolutely not.”

  “Why the hell not?” Sanders demanded.

  “We don’t have the man power to carry out such an operation, for one thing.”

  Sanders smiled. “I’ve got connections, too, you know. We can assemble a squad large enough if we wanted to.”

  “What about the repercussions?”

  “There will always be repercussions, you know that, Sam.”

  “Not like this. The USR will up the ante if we succeeded.”

  “We’ve got to do something. We can’t just roll over and play dead for a while. They certainly don’t give a damn about harming—killing—their own people as we saw tonight. They need to be reminded that we’re still around and not playing their fucking games.”

  “So, this is about us proving something to them? It’s too risky.”

  “Of course we’re trying to prove something to them. Not only that, but if we could do something…drastic like this, it will motivate the other patriots out there. Besides, you want the USR to think that they can just do this shit and get away with it? Not me. No, I’m going to get on the phones with my contacts. You want in? You can join us. I’ll let you think about it.”

  With that, Sanders sat back down in front of his computer. He grabbed a pair of headphones and turned the volume up. All Sanders wanted right now was to be alone, but being stuck in the vehicle with Harvey made that impossible.

  Harvey walked over to one of the benches and lay down on his back. The thought of striking back at the heart of the USR was intriguing, he just couldn’t get past the feeling that it was too soon. They still needed recovery time. But, maybe Sanders was right for once. He wasn’t getting any younger and the USR was only getting stronger. If they could succeed in taking over that building, that could send the right message to all the other resistance units around the country that there was hope. Harvey forced his upper body back up. He looked in Sanders’s direction and his partner looked back. With a thumbs up, the message was clear.

  Harvey was all in.

  .35

  “Ryan, I think something’s wrong.” Krys said.

  Those words jolted Kaspar from his sleep. For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming as he saw Krys fall off the bench. He moved over to her with swiftness and picked her up. Her entire body shook and her lips trembled. When she started to gag, he reached over for the orange bucket next to them. Once he placed it in front of her, she started to vomit into it without control. The vomiting was so fierce that she only had a few seconds in between each evacuation to breathe.

  This was it, Kaspar thought. There was a feeling of guilt inside when it didn’t hit him as hard as he thought it would. However, he told himself that he had been anticipating this moment for so long that he was almost desensitized to it. Still, there was a massive feeling of sadness that gripped him on the inside. He fought back the tears in an attempt to be stronger for her.

  As he held her, he reached into his pocket for his walkie. He cried into it telling everyone to stop and pull over if it was safe. Krys was very sick and she needed some kind of medical attention. When the words were said into the device, he could feel the vehicle stop dead in its tracks. Krys finished vomiting and wiped her mout
h with her sleeve. In all the times that she was sick, she never looked this bad. Her face was pale and her lips were blue. She was gasping for breath.

  The doors behind them opened and the rest of the crew filed into the back. Kaspar saw Harvey, who had a concerned look on his face. With a simple shake of the head, Harvey’s eyes dropped. The rebel leader had a syringe in his hand and moved in on Krys.

  “No,” Krys said at the sight of it. “No more, please. I just want to rest.”

  “Are you sure? This can make you feel better.” Harvey replied.

  “I said no. It’s over, Sam. Just let me be.”

  Harvey nodded his head and turned. He told the others to file out and give the two inside some privacy. The door shut behind Kaspar and Krys again. Kaspar looked deep into his lover’s eyes and tried to picture her healthy, happy, and free once again. His heart was sinking at the thought of this being the last image of her that he would ever see.

  “Not yet,” Kaspar said. “Not like this. Take the meds.”

  “Why?” Krys asked.

  “It’s to help you.”

  “Ryan, I’m ready to go. I’ve been suffering for so long. I just want it to end, the suffering, I just want it to end.”

  Kaspar could not fight back the tears any longer. His grip on her body grew stronger. He lifted her head close to his. He didn’t care if she had just been sick. He brought his lips close to hers and kissed them. After the kiss on the lips, he gave her several pecks on her cheek. He then moved his forehead to hers. She was so cold, that was the one thing that struck Kaspar more than anything else. He never realized that a person could get this cold and still breathe.

  “Ryan,” Krys said with trembling lips. “Promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t stop fighting. And, don’t fight just to avenge me or your mother. Find the real reason behind what we’re doing and fight for that.”