“Ready!” he shouted.
The ORPOs climbed into the two armoured trucks; smoke belching from their exhausts as they rocked forward. A hasty assault without any kind of planning or preparation, or any understanding of the strength they faced.
“It’s time! Let’s give these bastards what for!”
The trucks were a hundred metres from the library entrance now. Woody himself manned the fixed weapon system they had been building. He took aim at one vehicle, locked it in, and squeezed the trigger. Smoke and flames lashed out around him as the rocket soared from the barrel, shot out onto the street, and struck the front of the vehicle head on. It erupted into flames. The front axle sheered off, and the roof opened up like a tin can.
More rockets from captured shoulder-mounted anti-tank launchers rushed out from other windows. One narrowly missed the other truck, but the second hit the front quarter. The vehicle was thrown onto its side as it slid to a halt and caught fire. The doors were flung open. The ORPOs leapt out and tried to run.
“Hit them again!”
The scene was horrific, but none of the rebels felt that bad. They had suffered at the hands of the ORPOs too long to care for their lives, or even consider them human anymore. The rocket trail gushed from a window to his side and smashed into the crippled vehicle. It ignited into a fireball. Several ORPOs were set on fire as they tried to escape, and their screams were harrowing. Weathers didn’t enjoy seeing it, but neither did he feel any mercy for them.
“Hit them again!” The occupants of the first vehicle were still struggling to get free.
Nobody questioned it. Woody got back behind the sights of the fixed emplacement and took aim through the scope. He saw the face of an ORPO struggling to free his comrade. He hesitated.
“Do it!” Weathers yelled.
That was enough to tip his hand, and he squeezed the trigger. The rocket struck the vehicle. It was engulfed in a ball of flames, the likes of which none could hope to survive. He stepped away from the weapon system and looked out at the scene of carnage. It was surreal to see such open war on the streets of New York, and in Manhattan no less. Yet somehow, he knew it was always going to come to this. The flames were roaring, and more sirens rang out. There were screams of panic from civilians who were watching what was happening, but there was a brief breathing space. Then Woody noticed some heated dialogue coming over a radio they had set up.
“What is it?” Weathers asked.
“The ORPOs are falling back.”
“Yeah, I can see that!”
“SS are on their way!”
“Good, then it is time. Get the teams ready to repel them, and prepare to raise the flags!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
New York Reichsbibliothek, 476 5th Ave, Manhattan, New York
16th November 2017
“This is madness,” said Ray. They were watching a live news feed from outside the library and listening to the dreadful reporting that came with it.
“The terrorists have attacked this public building without provocation nor reason. This horrific attack on the people of New York attacks the very core values of this wonderful city. The cowardly terrorists attacked early this morning and have taken a number of hostages. The Police fought bravely to enter the Reichsbibliothek, but have been met with heavy resistance.”
“Damn it they are making us look like lunatics trying to disturb the peace.”
“Aren’t you?” Ray asked.
“Well, yeah, but not like they’re saying it. We’re fighting for a good cause.”
“And you expected the state-controlled media to explain that?”
“Well, no, but…”
“But what? I told Weathers this was too soon for such a huge operation. How can you have the support of the people, when they don’t even know who you are? For most folks watching, this will look like just another group of anarchists who will be put down before tomorrow’s newspapers are out.”
Even from across the room they could hear a flurry of activity on the police scanners.
“Reich units are being called in!”
“We can’t let this go on,” said Lisa.
“What can we do?” asked Charlie.
“Reach out to Weathers,” Lisa pleaded.
“Me?”
“Yes, he won’t listen to us, but he might listen to you.”
“Why? I told him the risks and what would happen here. He didn’t want to hear it then, why would he want to hear it now?”
“Because maybe now he’ll understand what you meant.”
* * *
Weathers rammed a new magazine into his Mauser and slammed it back onto the edge of the balcony. He was peppering the ORPO cruisers as many of them ran for cover. He emptied the entire magazine, retreating inside as bullets struck the stonework around him. He threw the magazine to the floor and went to an open crate stacked with hundreds more.
He stopped to listen to the radio. Woody held the headphones up beside his head to try and listen over the sound of sporadic gunfire.
“What is it?”
“I thought they would have hit us harder,” said Woody.
“They will.”
“Wait, hang on.” Woody listened in to the radio.
“We’ve got Reich units en route!”
“Good, finally we’re getting somewhere.”
He peered out onto the street. News vans were setting up alongside police spotlights, and the sun began to go down.
“Weathers, come in.”
It was Ray calling over the radio attached at his belt. He snatched the radio up.
“Damn it, I said radio silence.”
“You need to hear this.”
Weathers groaned, but he waited for Ray to continue.
“You have no back up. You’ve got serious trouble coming your way.”
“And it is for the whole city to see.”
“You have to get out of there while you still can.”
“No, we hold.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as is necessary.”
“Necessary for what? To get all of you killed?”
Weathers went silent and looked to Woody. He had to speak his mind, even if it was on an open channel.
“The people will rise. Mark my words, give them long enough, and they will fight the Reich with us.”
“You’re dreaming. One day maybe, but not yet.”
“Have faith in the people of this city. We are staying put. Today will be remembered as a great battle that turned the tide. Weathers out.”
Woody looked concerned, and Weathers fully understood why. As much as he wanted to believe the plan was going to work, the stakes were so high it was terrifying.
“They know you’re here, and they know the resistance leader is in this building.”
“Good, then let them come,” he spat back.
* * *
“Goddamn it!” Ray threw down the radio receiver angrily. It bounced on the table and struck a man who had been stationed there all day.
“Sorry,” he added faintly.
“You must have known this is what he was going to do?” Charlie asked.
Ray was shaking his head in despair and disbelief.
“Did you?” he asked Lisa.
“Weathers is a man of principle. He’s been wanting to make a big statement like this for months, maybe even years.”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes, I knew, and don’t tell me you didn’t. It was pretty damn clear what was happening here. You don’t send a well equipped army in for a quiet operation.”
“He’s going to get them all killed, you know that?”
“I don’t know anything for sure, and neither do you.”
“Yes I do. I’ve seen it all before. I have seen what happens when the Reich’s machines of war get moving. They go on the rampage like you cannot imagine. Sure you can take on the ORPOs in a determined and well planned ambush, but taking on the real soldiers of the Reich, you hav
e no idea.”
Ray paced back and forth in anger. He was sighing and cursing, trying to decide what to do. He stopped as he noticed the Mauser rifle he had been given.
“Ray, what are you doing?” Lisa asked.
“Fuck it!”
He snatched up the rifle and slung it onto his shoulder. He noticed a satchel lying close and emptied the contents, loading it with magazines.
“What do you think you are doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m going out there to lend a hand before Weathers gets himself killed, and the others with him.”
“We had strict orders to stay put.”
“You think I give a damn! I never signed up to any of this, and I don’t see any chain of command.”
“But you agreed to help us, and we follow Weathers.”
“Good, then you’ll help me save his life?”
He wasn’t going to back down, but he also wanted help.
“Look, I am here to help. I didn’t ask for it or particularly want it, but I do believe in the cause, and I know I can help. If we leave them out there, they are going to die. I’m going whether you like it or not, but I can’t do it alone, so who is with me?”
None of them looked keen to move. He couldn’t tell if it was out of fear, or some loyalty to the orders they had been given. He huffed as he paced back and forth. He had to get them onside. He suddenly stopped as he noticed a faded and tatty old Gadsden flag on the wall. The yellow was so old and dusty it blended into the wall, but the rattlesnake and text could still be made out.
“Don’t tread on me,” he muttered to himself.
He pointed to the flag.
“Don’t tread on me, do you know the significance of that statement?”
“Of course we do, all of us do,” replied Lisa, as if annoyed at his patronising accusation.
“That’s what you are all doing here, that is what you are fighting for, just like our forefathers did. If we don’t go out there to help Weathers and his people, this is all over.”
“He knows what he is doing.”
“No, Charlie, your boss has some great drive and more than a few skills, but in this he is not experienced. I’ve fought a war like this, and I can tell you the way he’s going about it is going to get you all killed.”
As he fell silent, they heard the calls of more enemy troops coming in over the radio.
“We have to go now. It’s now or never.”
“Those are Weathers’ words,” Lisa smiled.
“That’s right, and in this case he’s right. I know he told you to stay put, but this is new for all of you. The last thing I want is a chance to get my head blown off. But I also believe in what you are doing here. I believe it enough to put everything on the line, and I don’t want to see any of you get hurt. I am not going out there because I want to, but because I need to. If you want this rebellion to last till tomorrow, you will, too.”
He threw the satchel of magazines over his shoulder and picked up his rifle. The rest looked to one another, and lastly to Lisa for leadership. It was all coming down to her now, and she groaned.
“Weathers may be in charge, but he does not always know what is best, and he brought Ray into this for a reason. For his experience, and I say we learn from that experience today. We all know what is about to happen if someone doesn’t help Weathers and our friends. I’m going, too, but I am not asking any of you to come. You do what you want to do, but I will appreciate any help you can give.”
She put on a rucksack filled with ammunition and other supplies and took up her beaten old M3 grease gun.
Charlie leapt to their aid, and many followed. The two young men at the radio didn’t look eager to move. They looked like they should still be in high school.
“Stay put. Stay at the scanner, and let us know of any major changes, you hear?”
A dozen more grabbed their weapons and headed for the exit. Lisa led the way. It would be the first time Ray had walked in the open air above ground since they made their escape from the ORPOs. They came out at a covered vehicle bay that was unlit. There were a couple of beaten up cars that looked like they would struggle to run, and an old school bus. The yellow paint had faded badly, and rust ran along much of the body. But the tyres were still inflated and it looked like it had recently been in use.
“Does this heap of junk even run?” he asked.
“She’ll run.”
They piled onto the bus, and Lisa took the driver’s seat. She turned the ignition on, and the engine began to turn over, but it was weak and slow as if the battery was about to die.
“Come on,” she whispered.
She didn’t seem to have a lot of faith in the old vehicle either. But the engine slowly spun over time and time again, eventually firing into life. A fog of oily black smoke belched from the side of the bus, and fumes poured into the cab, the fan belt squealing as they lurched ahead. Lisa put the power down, what little there was, and they were soon crashing through the dimly lit wasteland. They hit the potholes hard, and she struggled to keep control, but nobody questioned her driving. After a short time they pulled out onto the open road and picked up the pace.
“We’re not exactly inconspicuous in this old tank,” he said.
“No, but right now they’ve got bigger things to worry about than us.”
“Or you hope they do.”
“Yeah, I do.”
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Queensboro Bridge and the same barrier that Weathers had to get through. The small barrier was still down across the road, but there were no ORPOs or their cruisers in sight. She didn’t lift off the pedal and stormed towards the feeble barrier, blowing right through it. The metal bar was wrenched off its hinges and tossed into the air.
They blasted over the bridge and onto East 60th street and made a couple of blocks, when they saw lines of armoured vehicles up ahead, and ORPO cruisers parked all around.
“Turn here!”
Lisa tugged hard at the wheel, and they were thrown to the side when she turned sharply into Lexington Avenue. She soon slammed her foot on the brakes, but the rusty old drums were not strong enough to lock the wheels, and they were brought to a smooth halt. More ORPOs and armoured vehicles were ahead.
“What are they doing?” Charlie stepped up between them.
“No idea, but it’s gonna be tough getting through. Take a right here.”
They pulled into a small side street but soon found the road blocked by delivery a truck. They drew up close behind it. A couple of people were working beside it.
“Here, hold this.” Ray handed his rifle to Charlie.
“What are you doing?”
“Come with me, just you, and leave that behind,” he said, looking at her gun.
She groaned but did as he asked, hit the tarmac, and casually approached the vehicle. As they drew nearer, they saw that both men wore pistols on their belts. They were armed guards of some kind and had uniforms not so different from the ORPOs.
“What are we doing here?” Lisa whispered.
“Whatever we need to.”
They approached quietly. They got within a few metres before a man noticed them.
“Can I help you?” he asked, his tone authoritative.
“I hope so. We’re trying to get…” began Ray.
He didn’t slow down as he approached, apparently without presenting any threat. But as he did so, he reached into his left cuff with his right hand and drew out a stiletto knife. He thrust it into the man’s neck. The strike seemed to come out of nowhere, and the man didn’t even see it coming. The other reached for his gun, but he was slow from the shock and surprise of it all. Ray pushed down on the man’s hand as it reached for the gun and kept it forcibly in the holster. He drove an elbow into his face, a brutal blow that knocked him back. His head bounced off the side of the truck, and he keeled over from the injury. Ray took hold of his head and snapped his neck in one, dropping him to the ground. Lisa hadn’t move an inch, and a look o
f horror had overcome her face.
“Why? Why did you do that?”
“These are city officials. They work with the ORPOs.”
“But you didn’t have to kill them!”
“This is a war, and you know it. It is kill or be killed. They would have done the same to us if they knew who and what we were.”
He looked up and down the empty street. They were sirens in the distance, and vehicles thundering past on adjacent streets.
“We need to go on foot.”
He gestured towards Charlie for the rest of them to advance. They didn’t seem bothered by the bodies, but he recalled they hadn’t witnessed how he had dealt with them.
“Come on, move!” Ray took his rifle from Charlie.
They ran, sprinting along the alley until they reached the opening to the next street.
“This is the way the war is going to be fought, isn’t it?”
“You thought there was another way, some honourable way?”
“I guess I hoped so.”
“But you’ve killed people, haven’t you?” Charlie asked.
“Sure, from afar when our survival was at stake.”
“And it was here,” Ray added.
She still looked a little pale and sickened by it all.
“Keep it together, and we will make it out of this.”
Without another word, he took one last look out into the street and rushed across to the adjacent alley. They carried on like that for block after block, expecting to be spotted any moment. But it seemed everybody was too focused on what was going on at the library. They heard the echo of gunfire and knew they were near. They stopped when Charlie listened into his headset.
“This is it. The police are preparing to assault.”
“Come on!” Ray yelled and rushed on with a new turn of speed.
They reached the end of the alleyway and stopped when they came to a line of vehicles and troops. These were no ordinary cops, but the SS, and fully equipped for a battle. Echoes of rotors rang out overhead. A twin-engine tilt rotor aircraft was hovering overhead, with Luftwaffe insignia emblazoned across the fuselage.
Soldiers of Tomorrow: Iron Legions Page 11
