by Kenny Soward
“Can you hear me, comrades?” she asked, and Yi nodded as her voice came through loud and clear. The others activated their helmets and confirmed their connectivity. “Good. For those of you who have yet to wear these new models of helmets, please pull down your visor.”
Yi lowered his visor so that it covered his eyes and was surprised to see a vivid green tactical screen blink to life on the extreme left of his vision.
“You will see the biomarkers of the entire team superimposed over a map of the surrounding area. I will place waypoints for us to follow, and this is how we will determine our course. The helmets have other uses, but this is all we will use them for today.”
Yi was proud to wear the equipment, another technological advancement that proved the New Block’s vast superiority over the Americans, and his chest stuck out as he prepared to hear the details of the mission. Katrya had not made the full details available, keeping them to herself except for the time of their departure. After leaving the lodge armed to the teeth, they’d navigated several mountain back roads to get to this location, and Yi estimated they had driven fifteen miles in total.
“We have a very important mission today, my comrades,” Katrya stated. There was still a hint of mischief in her tone, although the torture and death of the lodge family had somehow calmed the woman’s demeanor. She wore a businesslike expression, her attention focused. “Our information tells us that our enemies have established a shipping hub to deliver supplies to the northeast, and it is our mission to destroy it.” Her eyes beamed like lasers across the row of warriors until they met Yi’s. “My people will place explosives and lead the assault. Yi and his people will be in support. Can your people handle that, Yi?”
“We can handle it,” Yi said with a nod. “Is there a military presence there?”
“There is,” Katrya responded firmly, “although we do not have precise numbers.”
Yi gave a terse nod, while inside he was bursting with excitement. Finally, they would be fighting real soldiers and not just American citizens who barely knew how to hold a gun.
“We are a very disciplined team.” Katrya looked around at the hardened men and women. “I will provide everyone waypoints as needed, and I will give the orders. You will answer only when spoken directly to, and you will complete each objective as efficiently as possible. If you do this, we will be assured of victory.”
Everyone affirmed Katrya’s clear leadership with terse nods of understanding or “ayes” except for Ivan who only grunted as he locked and loaded his weapon. Many of Katrya’s people carried explosives and mortars on their backs, and at least two soldiers carried rocket launchers and bags filled with rockets.
Thus assembled, the long-legged operative strode out of the equipment facility and broke into an easy jog, moving northwest across an open field with her team following closely behind.
Yi’s group fell in behind everyone else, big Ivan running beside him on his right and Chen bringing up the left, with their three other fighters trailing. The late afternoon light formed a haze across the open field as the wind blew unabated in long, mournful waves. A sudden gust hit Yi so hard that he was knocked into Chen, then quickly recovered, stumbling forward until he regained his feet.
He glanced at Ivan and caught the big man’s grin.
Water dripped from Yi’s helmet, and everything still smelled like rain, though there was something in the air that Yi had not felt before. It was a chill that reached his skin even through his heavy battle gear. Yi relished the feeling, their small contingent of warriors traveling through an unknown land, pitting themselves against the enemy of their people.
For a moment, he even felt some camaraderie with Katrya, at least until she issued her next order through the helms’ communication system.
“Yi’s group, stick with me please.”
They entered a forest full of pine trees and saplings that were as tall as Yi while wavering underbrush danced around their boots. Their thick trunks offered more protection than the open field, and Yi breathed easier without the wind howling at his back. He raised his rifle to his chest and caught the comforting scent of gun oil that rain could never fully wash away.
Katrya suddenly stopped and crouched down along with her two personal bodyguards behind a small cluster of trees. Yi fell into the same position ten yards behind her while the rest of her soldiers melted into the trees all around them. Katrya put her hand against a small command pad attached to her chest guard, and her fingers began adroitly tapping on it.
Yi glanced left to the display screen on his helm and noted the seven biomarkers moving closer to a large, square field on the map. As Katrya typed, several dotted lines stretched from the biomarkers to new locations around the facility, and the soldiers began moving in their assigned directions. Yi was impressed with the deployment efficiency such equipment allowed, and he longed to coordinate his own team using it someday.
“Move in,” Katrya said, springing up and jogging forward.
Yi’s group leapt up and kept a tight formation, his grip on his rifle growing more tense as they approached the enemy. Would the Americans be waiting for them?
As they jogged, Yi saw the square field grow larger on his tactical screen, and the biomarkers spread out to take positions all around the target area.
Three minutes later, Katrya stopped at the edge of the field, and Yi looked on in wonder. The “field” was a large shipping lot filled with large eighteen-wheel trucks and vans. In the center of the lot, dozens of forklifts moved pallets of materials from a drop-off area into the backs of trucks, and floodlights illuminated every part of the grounds. It was an impressive display of manpower and machines, yet it also seemed very desperate.
Two Humvees, each with a mounted .50 caliber machine gun, bracketed the field, one on the north side and one on the south. Several soldiers walked the perimeter of the grounds, their shoulders hunched over in the cold rain, and they weren’t paying attention to Katrya’s forces as they waited in the shadows. Along with the Humvees, two helicopters were tied to the tarmac, likely unable to fly due to the unstable winds.
Yi watched the Red Blade tap more commands on her pad, and four of the waypoints were set near the center of the facility. It seemed they would be placing charges in closer to the middle of the bustle, a move that gave Yi’s stomach a nervous flutter.
He edged between Katrya’s bodyguards and leaned in, pressing the button on his helmet to turn off his microphone. “Do you think it would be better if we set charges on the trucks parked along the outside and then simply fire rockets into the center of the facility? Everything is packed in so tightly that we would only need a few rockets to set it all ablaze. Then we could blow the trucks up to mask our escape.”
Katrya turned to Yi, regarding him with ice-cold eyes as she switched off her own microphone. “We could do that, comrade, but where would be the fun?”
“This could easily expose us—”
“My people are the best operatives the world has ever seen,” she stated, her tone turning frigid and measured. “We’ve accomplished sixty-three missions since landing on this accursed soil. Yet you question my methods?”
Yi stared at the woman for a moment, unable to argue with her track record and feeling suddenly small under her gaze. There was both a bold strategist and a cold-blooded killer behind her eyes.
“Yes, of course, you are right.” Yi bowed and backed away, rejoining Ivan, Chen, and his three soldiers. He shared a look with Ivan before turning back to watch what was about to happen.
Chapter 17
Yi, White Pine, Tennessee
An explosion shook the air, and machine gun fire rattled in the gloom, causing Yi’s hands to grip his weapon tighter. A yellow mushroom of light blasted upward near the center of the material goods, and precious food supplies flew everywhere in a mangle of plastic and smoldering debris.
Yi felt the heat wave wash across his cheeks, eyes wide as he watched.
Based on his view of the
explosion, and glancing at the tactical map, it seemed that one of Katrya’s people had been caught leaving the area where they’d set their charge, and their last act on this earth was to detonate the explosives.
The three others were leaving the area, one shot at as they fled. Once the operatives were close enough to the woods, they set off their explosives, and Yi watched as three more detonations rocked the night sky. The American soldiers around the perimeter, now on high alert, fired after the fleeing operatives before turning their weapons to the shadows.
Three American soldiers crouch-walked toward their position, peering down their sights into the gloom. Katrya’s bodyguards raised up and fired several rounds at a steady pace. Two of the soldiers cried out and went down, while the other moved sideways and fired back in frantic, three-round bursts. Bullets zipped through the air, one of them hammering through the helmet of one of Katrya’s bodyguards and spraying Yi with blood.
Katrya stood up and raised her weapon at the approaching soldier. A single pull of the trigger sent the soldier to the ground with a cry as he clutched his gunshot throat.
A roar of engines drew Yi’s attention, and he watched as the Humvees came to life and drove toward the north and south sides of the field, spitting fire from their powerful machine guns. If those were allowed to continue firing, Katrya’s forces would be massacred.
Yi started to get up and rush toward the south side Humvee, and Katrya reached back to stop him. Yi glanced at the tactical display and saw some activity on the map as Katrya clicked new waypoints to the team.
Two of the biomarkers were red, an indication that they’d lost two operatives.
“Jens and Tagger, please take out those Humvees,” Katrya said as she flashed two of the green biomarkers and then raised her eyes to the armored trucks.
Within twenty seconds, two rockets zipped through the air and hammered the Humvees on both sides of the field, setting them ablaze. The rockets then turned toward the center of the lot where the remaining supplies burned.
Yi was impressed with their accuracy, and he had to give credit to Katrya’s superior soldiers.
“We should have brought more rockets,” Katrya said, standing up and flashing Yi a grin. Then she stepped from her hiding place and strode onto the concrete field.
“Where are you going?” Yi asked, half standing to follow her though not wanting to expose himself to enemy fire.
“I’m not going to let everyone else have all the fun.” The agent let out a laugh before she jogged onto the field, heading toward a group of US soldiers running through the fiery haze toward them.
“What should we do?” Ivan asked him.
“I would have already called for a quick exit after such a successful mission,” Yi said, wincing as more rockets soared through the air to slam into some of the semi-trucks packed with goods. “I suppose we should—”
Yi saw movement on one of the burning Humvees as one of the American soldiers climbed behind the machine gun. It was still operational despite the vehicle being partially on fire and incapacitated, and despite that the ammunition might explode at any moment. Yi was both impressed with the man’s bravery and horrified as the man turned the weapon in Katrya’s direction.
Leaping out from the protection of the trees, Yi sprinted across the lot. He raised his rifle and rested his cheek against the stock, firing careful shots at the soldier even as the soldier squeezed the trigger on the .50 caliber weapon. The machine gun spat a single burst of rounds just before Yi’s bullet found a home in the man’s throat, causing him to flail and collapse into the vehicle.
Yi then turned his weapon on the approaching soldiers along with Chen, Ivan, and the rest of his dragons. There were a dozen of them by now, using a tactical approach that made them difficult to hit in the gusting winds. And they were firing with accuracy better by several degrees than what Yi was used to. Bullets zipped by his face and pinged off the ground. Something stung his leg, and one of his dragons cried out in pain.
He turned back to see his soldier on the ground, clutching his chest with a blossom of blood soaking his uniform. The brief sense of victory Yi had felt a minute ago was drowned out by the insolent mistake of charging in unnecessarily. The rockets stopped firing as their ammunition was depleted, and more US soldiers poured in from the other side of the field.
Katrya was standing in the middle of a group of six dead Americans, her hands and face splattered with their blood. Even she saw the odds stacking up against them and finally called for an exit. “Retreat to the final waypoint,” she said and then backed up under the cover fire of her remaining bodyguard.
“Pick him up,” Yi commanded the other two soldiers as he nodded at their wounded. “We will cover you.”
His warriors did as they were bid, and Yi, Ivan, and Chen held off the Americans until they were all back into the cover of the forest. Still, the Americans pressed hard, their bullets chewing up pine tree trunks as Katrya and Yi’s soldiers fled back to the equipment barn.
“Grenade,” Yi said with a glance at Ivan. They both jerked a grenade from their belt, pulled the pins, and tossed them at nearly the same time. The pear-shaped balls struck the concrete and bounced toward the oncoming Americans, scattering them before the pear-shaped devices exploded in a blast of shrapnel.
By that time, Yi, Ivan, and Chen were sprinting to catch up with their comrades. Yi glanced into the tactical display as he ran. Most of Katrya’s forces were out of direct danger and moving back to their vehicles. All except for the two dead ones.
When Yi and Ivan reached their soldiers, Chen saw that the man who had been shot was jogging along nearly under his own power.
“My chest guard saved me,” the man gasped, seeing Yi’s look of concern. “It is just a surface wound.”
“You are very lucky,” Yi said through clenched teeth. “Let us hope our luck holds out until we return to our vehicles.”
They entered the open field, and Yi saw that most of Katrya’s forces were already converging on the equipment barn. For a moment, Yi saw Katrya’s ice-blue eyes in his mind, and he imagined that she might leave Yi and his soldiers behind.
“Hurry,” Yi commanded his soldiers without further explanation, surprised at his sudden and unexplainable fear of betrayal.
They picked up the pace, wind whisking across the wet grass to blow rain sideways into their faces. Their injured comrade coughed and stumbled and nearly went down, but the other soldiers were there to lift him up. They were twenty yards from the equipment barn when Yi heard the starting of engines. Gritting his teeth, he ran out ahead of his soldiers and ducked into the facility.
The wind’s fury fell to a mere whimper as Yi expected the vehicles to go flying by. Katrya’s soldiers were in their SUVs, and Katrya stood leaning against one of the hoods with her helmet off.
“You’re slow,” Katrya smirked.
“And you are foolish,” Yi countered, whipping off his helmet and walking straight up to the woman, his face just inches from hers. Any other soldier, no matter how hardened, would have backed away from Yi’s fierce glare and the dangerous tone of his voice. Katrya only stood taller and smiled.
“Foolish how?”
“You could have employed a much simpler strategy and preserved the lives of two soldiers.” Yi’s tone was fierce and gave no quarter. “And my soldier could have avoided a bullet to the chest.”
Katrya’s eyes narrowed, and her tongue came out to lick lightly at her lips. “Normally, such blatant disrespect in a private setting might earn my respect and adoration, but I will never tolerate it in front of my soldiers.” Katrya stepped closer, and Yi felt her body tense like a lioness prepared to spring. He recalled the six American soldiers lying dead at her feet, and a shudder of dread ran up his spine. “Consider yourself lucky that we do not have our helmets on and our communications linked, because I would have to kill you if anyone else overheard what you said to me.”
“What about the equipment we left behind with the dead?
It is now in the hands of our enemies.”
“No worries there, comrade,” Katrya said. “The helmets are set to self-immolate when their wearer dies. All the Americans will find are corpses with a head that looks like melted plastic and flesh.”
Yi kept his gaze fierce, fully aware of a dozen pairs of eyes staring at them. If he pressed his luck, he might end up dead and his soldiers along with him. At the very least, his posturing could put their cooperative efforts at risk by dividing their soldiers, and that would undermine everything they’d worked for.
A grin slid slowly across Yi’s lips, and he was relieved when Katrya grinned back. To their soldiers, it would look like the two leaders had resolved their disagreement after a brief, yet tense, confrontation. It would bolster everyone’s resolve and show that their leaders were passionate about their cause.
His two soldiers brought the injured man out of the rain. Yi gave Katrya a brief nod before stepping back and turning to his men.
“Get him into the truck and get the bleeding stopped,” Yi told them. “We return to the lodge.”
Yi faced Katrya once more, her grin holding steady as he walked away from her without another word.
Chapter 18
Jake, Providence, Rhode Island | 1:30 p.m., Friday
Jake worked on his humanitarian daily ration, or HDR, using the plastic spoon that had come from the meal package to scoop up some pasta and tomato sauce from the food tray. He put the cold food in his mouth and looked over at Marcy with a gruesome expression as he chewed.
Marcy put the back of her wrist over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “It’s that good?” She sat on the next cot over, picking through the snacks that came with the meal.
“Yeah, menu number four,” Jake chuckled. “Seriously, though. It’s not bad at all. It would just be better hot.”
“If they’d only let us have the supplies we’d gathered from around the city,” Ashley said from her cot on the other side of Marcy.
