Without a word, John leads us down the hall to the left. The cameras on the walls sweep back and forth, mostly oblivious to our presence thanks to some technology and a little hacking. In the next main hallway over, we find more sturdy doors with the green and red lights of electronic locks beside them. Quickly, we approach the first red-lighted door.
“TJ, take care of this door,” John orders. “The rest of you keep your eyes open.”
I kneel and take a position next to the wall, covering the area we came from. One of the soldiers walks up and kneels in front of the keypad. He takes a data pad and some other equipment from his bag before getting to work. A few moments later, there’s a click as the door unlocks and swings open.
“Clear,” John calls just a few moments after he and TJ enter the room.
It would be too much to ask for it to be that easy, wouldn’t it? Luckily, there’s plenty more rooms in this building for us to poke around. I would love for them to stop casually locking doors for no reason, though. The next three cases of breaking and entering yield the same result.
As we reach the fifth locked door, I start to wonder how long it might take us to check every room in here. Hours, I’m sure. We don’t have that kind of time with the approaching snowstorm. It’s supposed to get pretty bad, dumping more than sixteen inches of snow overnight.
I once again take my position covering our rear as TJ sets about opening the door. His fingers tap controls into the screen rapidly as he decodes the security. Down the hall, I watch as a lone figure appears at the corner and strolls to the middle. He hasn’t turned our direction yet, but it’s only a matter of time before he notices us.
“Contact with weapon, five o’clock,” I alert the others quietly.
John glances over before returning his attention to the front. “If he starts this way, drop him.”
Almost as if he heard the conversation, the guard turns his body and begins walking in our direction, his gaze still locked the other direction. Before he has a chance to look our way, I squeeze the trigger on my weapon. The suppressed shot leaves the barrel with an urgent psst, flying down the corridor and striking the man down. No sooner than he hits the ground do I hear agitated voices down the hall.
“TJ? Sooner is better,” the lieutenant says urgently.
“Working on it… Done!”
The door clicks open and we all pile inside, closing the door before the inevitable gaggle of guards enters the hallway. Without a moment’s hesitation, my weapon is up and sweeping the room. On the far wall, two figures sit slumped with their hands and feet tied. They look tired and beat up, but otherwise fine. After ensuring that the room is clear, John walks over to cut them loose.
“LT,” the first man, who I now recognize as Jake, says as his mouth is uncovered. “Man, is it good to see you.”
“As if I’d leave a man behind. Donnie and Ty?”
Jake shakes his head solemnly. “They went down fighting. The bastards that run this place took the pilot somewhere else,” he says, now talking to me. “How long ago is fuzzy, but it’s been at least a few days. Sorry we don’t have better information about where.”
“What’s important is that you two are alright, relatively speaking,” I tell him. Besides, she’s still here somewhere. I can feel it.”
“Shall we search the rest of the building?” John asks.
“No. I think they’ll have moved her to the other one. Either way, we still have to get past the armed circus outside.”
“Intuition, huh? Let’s get to it, then.”
He hands his sidearm to Jake and I follow suit, giving the handgun strapped to my leg to the other soldier. We stack up on the door before slowly pulling it open. Back in the hallway, we’re quickly met with an exchange of gunfire. The guards responsible are quickly dispatched as we move back through the corridors and out of the building.
Outside starts a whole new nightmare. Snow has started to fall in thick globs, drifting from the sky with impressive density. The density of bad guys shooting at us is also pretty impressive. We duck behind bits of cover, throwing back gunfire as we advance down the street. The group of thick metal barrels I take shelter behind pings as shots bounce off them.
Both the snow and the bullets in the air get thicker as we get closer to the target building. I drop two hostiles as I move across the street before sliding into cover around a wall. The other soldiers continue to push forward, firing shots and knocking enemies out of the fight as they go. I pop a new magazine into my weapon before rejoining them.
After who knows how long shooting and ducking, we arrive at the second building. Two more armed combatants burst out of the front doors of the two-story structure before being gunned down by the lead members of my fireteam. We rush inside and secure the door behind us, hoping to buy some time.
The next several excruciating minutes are spent searching room to room. It truly seems like they randomly lock empty rooms just to throw off intruders like us. Several random guards appear as we traverse the network of corridors and are just as quickly sent to the ground. We might run out of ammo fighting this small army if this keeps up.
On the second floor, our encounter rate drops dramatically. Have they finally run out of people? I doubt it. As we reach a door near the end of the second corridor, we have yet to find anything. TJ sets about breaking the code on the door for the umpteenth time as we cover him. The door soon opens, and we enter, pushing it up so that it’s just barely open.
What I see within boils my blood to the point that it nearly evaporates. A lone, limp figure hangs bound to the ceiling by the wrists. There are cuts and bruises all over the exposed area of her skin—which, being honest, is most of it. Her head hangs down and pink-streaked blonde hair covers her face. She doesn’t seem to have even noticed that we’re here.
As I quickly cross the distance to her, my feet start to slosh in something. Looking down reveals a large puddle spread out. I only now take notice of the liquid dripping from her body onto the floor. Without wasting a further moment, I reach up and cut the rope suspending her from the ceiling, catching her as she falls and pulling her away from the massive wet spot on the floor.
Her eyes drift open as her head lands against me. “Rion, you came,” she mumbles quietly. “Is it over? Did I make it through? I tried so, so hard.”
“Yes, it’s over,” I tell her. “You did well.”
Her eyes close and her head rolls up against me as she passes out again. Her skin is cold, despite all the sweat drenching her. Not just sweat, I realize, my nose twitching. I have to close my eyes and take a deep breath to keep from going on a rampage on the spot.
“We should move soon,” the soldier watching the door says urgently.
“Hang on, I need to get her cleaned up. She’ll freeze to death before we get anywhere like this.” I look around the room for something to help with that endeavor. It would be nice if there were a conveniently located change of clothes or something. “Someone pass me those towels over there.”
“Make it quick,” John says, handing them to me.
“Can you guys all turn around for a bit?” I ask. “Hitomi? I’m going to have to finish undressing you to get you cleaned up. Is that okay?”
She nods, not even opening her eyes. I get to work, first peeling off her drenched underwear. In the next motion, I grab the towels and start to dry her off, wiping away sweat and blood. By the time I have her completely dried, the towel has changed colors. I unstrap my body armor, sitting it beside me before taking off the thick jacket beneath. I slip her arms through the sleeves before wrapping it around her and zipping it up.
“Sorry, but you’re going to have to go commando for a while. It’s a little cold outside, but we should be out of it soon enough.”
“Just don’t let anyone else see my goodies,” she mumbles passively.
“How are things over there?” John asks as I secure my body armor over my T-shirt.
“Done. Just kitting back up.”
&nbs
p; “Good. And how are you?”
“The honest, unfiltered, and unprofessional answer? I want to put a bullet in the heads of everyone responsible for doing this.”
“Their time will come, and they’ll pay for their crimes. For now, I need your head still in the game.”
“I’m still here,” I assure him. “We’re not out yet. Let’s get moving.”
I toss my rifle and its remaining ammo to Jake before picking up Hitomi, tucking the too-large jacket under her as I fall into position. We exit the room and traverse through the halls toward the rear exit, taking down two more guards on the way. Our group bursts out the back of the building to quite the spectacle.
The heavy snow has turned to a full-on blizzard. Visibility is poor, and walls of thick snow blow sideways in the intermittent high winds. All I can see of the many enemies I know are still waiting is the beams of their flashlights. I hold Hitomi tighter as the abrasive wind assaults my exposed arms and her bare legs.
We take advantage of the low visibility to make our escape. By the time the enemies notice our presence, we’re past the majority of them. The soldiers around me return fire as we continue to hurry away from them, eager to escape the hornet’s nest. A bullet whizzes past my head as we skid behind the cover of a building.
“This is Zephyr Actual requesting immediate evac,” the lieutenant puts out over the radio. “Packages in hand, but area is hot.”
“Negative, Zephyr Actual,” comes the response from command. “Visibility is too poor to risk pickup in a hot zone full of buildings. Proceed southwest two klicks to new LZ for pickup. Location data is being sent to you now.”
“They want us to go that far, in this weather, with that many people chasing us, carrying a half-naked, incapacitated member? That’s harsh,” Jake says.
“Yeah,” John replies as our wrists ping for the new information. “Get that car over there up and running while we hold them back.”
Jake runs over to the car in question, a high capacity armored one, and gets to work forcibly borrowing it. The others continue to fire shots, barely keeping the advancing enemies at bay. Meanwhile, I try to keep Hitomi warm and prevent the frigid air from getting to sensitive places any more than it already has. Behind us, an engine revs to life.
“We’re in business!” Jake calls.
“Go,” John says.
I sprint to the vehicle with the others close behind, practically diving through the open rear door. The rest of the team piles in and I pull Hitomi onto my lap to make room. Before the doors have even closed properly, Jake floors the gas, forcing me back into my seat as the tires screech and we lurch forward.
Hardly a thing is visible outside the windows as we speed toward the group of lights I assume is the front entrance. There’s a crash and the car rocks as we smash through the gates and race down the road. Headlights carve through the snow behind us as the enemies give chase. At the end of the road, we take a hard turn and blaze through the edge of the city.
Gunfire rattles off the armor plates as the hostiles behind us open fire, getting closer with each passing moment. Visibility is almost nothing at this speed in the blizzard, so I don’t know how they’re even brave enough to stick their heads out in it.
“Hang onto something!”
I’m pinned against the door as we turn at high speed, skidding around a bend on two wheels. Behind us, one set of headlights disappears as it smashes into whatever we just swerved to avoid. The other set sticks to our tail, wobbling as the vehicle regains control.
“Zephyr Actual inbound on LZ, twenty seconds. I’ve got bad vibes stuck to my ass.”
We speed into a large clearing, visibility made a little clearer by tall hills on two sides. Ahead of us, the hulking form of a helicopter appears through the storm. Lights blaze from it as it lets loose fire from its nose-mounted machine cannon. The shots shred our pursuer, turning them into a bright explosion.
Our car skids to a halt as the helicopter comes down to land. I fling open the door and carry Hitomi through the deep snow toward our ride. The rotors, despite rotating slowly while grounded, kick up a mass of snow and ice that makes things ever more difficult.
I finally reach the chopper and climb inside, securing her in a seat before sitting down next to her as the others enter and shut the door. As our ride takes off and rocks violently in the wind, Hitomi slides sideways, her head coming to rest on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and rest my hand on top of the length of jacket between her legs, lest the turbulence expose her secret bits to the world.
“You love her, don’t you?” John asks. My look is all the answer he needs. “I figured as much. Good commander or not, there’s no way you’d volunteer to come all the way out here to rescue her if you didn’t. I would advise the two of you get far away from this war as soon as you can. Things like this can’t be easy.”
“We bear that pain so that someone else doesn’t have to,” I tell him. “That’s what it means to be leaders. If not us, someone else would be thrust into this hellish mess. They would have to make decisions that make them question their very selves and take responsibility for the lives of everyone under them. They’d have to learn to throw lives at problems, not sure if they’ll even come back. That’s not something I think many people should have to learn. That’s also why I’m intent on ending this war sooner than later.”
“Spoken like a true soldier and commander. Let’s do just that.”
I nod and lean my head back against the wall. For the first time in days, I drift off into sleep as the Shadow Hawk ferries us the long way back through the storm to the James Lee.
Chapter 17
Lt. Col. Orion Tachibana
January 14, 2113, 12:25
The hangar onboard the James Lee is abuzz with activity as mechanics and crews rush around taking care of some last-minute errands. I sign the equipment transfer documents and hand them to the lead mechanic before walking out and preparing to disembark. Up on the flight deck, the familiar sight of Misawa grows closer as we coast into the dock.
“Home, sweet home,” Saika says as she walks up next to me with the rest of the team.
“Yeah,” I reply. “It’s good to be back. I’m not sure I much liked this particular cruise. Nice drinks, though.”
She laughs as they reach me, her and Hitomi standing to either side of me. “What are you looking forward to most?”
“You mean besides the joy of bossing around more than three times as many of you? My own bed. Ship beds are hard, even in the officers’ quarters.”
As the carrier finishes sliding into its slot at the dock, my jacket pocket vibrates. I pull out the force-issued phone located there and, seeing Colonel Feng’s ID, answer the call.
“Tachibana. I know you just got back, but I’ve got an emergency sortie and some complications on the runway are blocking me sending anything airborne. I already cleared it with the admiral, so I need you to get a squad in the air. They’ll be briefed en route.”
“On it,” I reply, ending the call.
“Trouble?” Kat asks.
“Always. Colonel needs us to sortie a squad immediately.”
“Let me go get my flight suit,” Hitomi says, starting to walk away.
“You’re not going anywhere, young lady.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Smith offers. “Our planes are already on the way up.”
“Thanks. I’ll leave it to you.”
He and Saika run off toward the lifts with the other two members of their squad. Luckily, they’re still wearing their flight suits, so all they have to do is get in. Actually, all of us but Hitomi are wearing them, for good reasons. As the others reach their planes—and with Kat and Akane distracted—Hitomi turns and whispers urgently to me.
“Yo, what’s the deal? You’ve sent them on the last three sorties by themselves.”
“In case you forgot, you’re still recovering, Hitomi. I’m not about to send one of my pilots up like that, so you’re grounded as long as that t
akes.”
“But I’m fine now. Did you forget how much endurance I have? I can do anything with as good as I feel.”
I smack my hand on her back firmly, but not hard. The impact causes her to jump nearly a foot in the air and cry out. Just as I thought. This is what I was trying to avoid. I let out a long sigh.
“The hell was that for?” she complains.
“Go home, Hitomi.”
“Well, I can’t very well get to my room until we finish docking, can I?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m sending you home. Go spend some time with your parents and recover.”
“Oh, hell no. You are not about to send me home to wallow in self-pity while everyone else runs around risking their lives. I don’t do idle. You know that better than anyone.”
“I know. But you’re in no condition to fight and it’s precisely because I know you that I’m not going to sit you behind a desk doing paperwork.”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
“And I’m telling you that you’re not. Those painkillers don’t make the injuries go away. Trust me on that one.”
“Rion…”
“Go home, Hitomi. That’s an order. Don’t make me tell you a third time.”
She turns and storms off across the flight deck. It’s not that I don’t understand what she’s going through, but she can’t fight like that. Period. When she cools down, she’ll understand. I hope. Kat turns to me and raises an eyebrow quizzically.
“That was about exactly what you think,” I tell her.
“You sent her home, huh? She’ll come around. She knows you’re doing what’s best for her and the squad.”
“Yeah. I do get it, though.”
She reaches over and rubs my arm comfortingly. “Look on the bright side. This tour is over in, what, two months? You can make it up to her while we’re on leave.”
I nod and thank her as the huge ramp down to ground level lands on the flight deck. After it’s secured, I grab my bag along with Saika’s and Hitomi’s—which she conveniently left behind when she stormed off—and descend down to the dock. Julie, one of the squad leaders that joined the squadron with the rest of us, meets us at the bottom and gives me a rundown of everything that happened while we were gone.
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