“That’s a very personal question, Maxim.” She took a deep breath. “Stop what you’re doing for a minute, all of you, and gather round.”
“But…” Tina spluttered. “The lens!”
“This is important, Tina,” Jean stated. “We are up against an army of hundreds here. Make no mistake—the enemy does not care if you are children.”
“Sorry,” Tina apologized. “I’m listening.”
Jean leaned back against the workbench opposite the one they were using. “We could abandon the facility, but that’s not how we roll. There are innocent people here who will die today if we don’t step up and defend this place.” She pointed to the scientists and techs rushing through last minute preparations for the evacuation. “These people. You’re all growing up—too fast if you ask me—but this is the situation the Brit bastards have put us in.”
She looked them in the eyes, one after another. “If you can’t handle it, that’s fine. Not everyone is meant to be on the sharp edge of things. But I’ll tell you something: I will fight to protect every single person in this castle. I fight to protect our Queen, to stop our fledgling empire being attacked by the greedy fat cats down here. I would fight and I would die for each and every one of you kids.”
“Same!” Guardian James called as he fastened the last piece of his armor.
Aleksi held a hand up for permission to speak. “What about the soldiers? They are just following orders.”
Jean sniffed at that. “I’m sure you’ve all heard at least one person back home say this, but I’m going to make sure you all understand. All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to stand by and do nothing. ‘I was only following orders’ is not an excuse for committing atrocities. They know there are kids here, and yet they’re moving into position to attack us as we speak. All so they can get their slimy hands on our technology.”
Tina snorted. “Not on my watch!”
“Nor mine!” Maxim cried fervently.
Ron and Aleksi agreed.
“Good,” Jean said. “I’m glad we all know where we stand. Now, can I give you a hand with that cannon or have you got it?” Her tablet bleeped. “Oh, hang fire a minute. John’s calling me.”
United Kingdom, North Wales, Llandudno, The Great Orme
John approached the last door, the one he hoped the Llewellyn family were behind. He grasped the heavy padlock and pulled it free with no effort whatsoever, then opened the door.
Hugh Llewellyn pushed the two small children behind him, protecting them with his body. “You leave us be!”
John held up a hand, keeping his voice low so he didn’t scare the kids any more than they already were. “It’s okay, Hugh. My name is John Grimes. Laura sent me. I’m not with the bad guys.”
Hugh narrowed his eyes, John’s American accent not what he was expecting. “What’re you doing in here, then, eh?”
“Getting you and the kids the hell out, Hugh,” John replied calmly. He knelt to make himself less threatening and spoke directly to the children. “You must be Leo and Lexi. Your mom sent me to rescue you and your dad. I’m going to take you to her, okay?”
The EI spoke into his ear. “The police have arrived, and are cordoning off the parking lot outside.”
“Is there something nearby you can blow up safely to cause a distraction?”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Do it, then bring the Pod to the entrance as soon as they leave.”
The children clung mutely to their father’s legs, dazed with shock from the trauma of their ordeal. John got to his feet and gestured to Hugh. “Follow me. You should probably cover their eyes,” he added to Hugh in a low voice. “It’s pretty messy out there.” He turned back to the door, making sure it was safe to proceed.
Hugh picked up the children, one in each arm, and followed him, pressing their heads into his neck so they didn’t see the gore-washed rooms beyond. “Jesus, what happened in here? I heard the racket, but…”
John said nothing, letting Hugh draw his own conclusions. He felt a brief ripple in the ground as the EI created the distraction and started walking toward the exit. “Come on, we haven’t got long before things start getting difficult.”
United Kingdom, North Wales, Conwy Castle, Battlements, East Barbican
Mischa growled in frustration. “Ow! That’s another nail gone!” She threw the wrench down in frustration, stamping her foot. “If I wanted to be a spanner chimp I would have made more of an effort in engineering class!”
Craig cackled. “I think you mean a grease monkey, Mischa. Let me see. I’m done here.” He put his welding torch down, then leaned over and applied his own wrench to the problem bolt. “There, it’s tight.”
“I’m done with the hairy-ass projectile guns over here,” Masha called from farther along the parapet. “Mischa, quit whining about your nails! This is war, not a catwalk, and if we don’t get this done right now we won’t be ready when they bring the cannon up.”
“I can’t believe we get to fire a laser cannon,” Craig marveled.
Mischa stuck out her tongue at him. “Nobody will be firing it. Ron and Aleksi will control it from their tablets. If you’re lucky, you might get to fire the projectile guns. Just keep your hands away from the boom-y end, hey?”
Craig stuck his tongue out in return. “My hands grew back quicker than your nails are going to. Especially if you don’t improve your ‘spanner chimp’ efforts.” Mischa punched him in the arm. “OW!”
“Serves you right,” Mischa said, rubbing her knuckles.
“Both of you, quit it,” Masha hissed. “Look!” She pointed across the river to where six tanks were pulling up on a grassy expanse between the river and the road. “Where are Ms. Dukes and the others? It’s starting.”
“I’ll call,” Craig said, dropping his wrench and fishing in his pocket for his tablet.
“No need, I’m here,” Jean said from behind them, and all three of them jumped out of their skins. She placed the box of equipment she was carrying on the floor next to them. “Is the cradle ready?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they replied smartly.
Maxim, Halli, Tina, and Ron arrived on the parapet, carefully carrying the laser rig they’d built.
“Watch that lens!” Jean warned. “We haven’t got a spare. Get this set up. I’ll be back to check on you as soon as I’ve programmed Bethany Anne’s Pod to take out those tanks if they fire on us.” She sped off, not waiting for a reply from them.
Tina clapped her hands the way her mother did when she wanted to get people moving. “You heard Jean, let’s go! Lift the rig into the cradle. We’ve got a laser cannon to bring online!”
They lifted the bulky apparatus onto the heavily reinforced bars.
“Next, attach here, here, and here,” she commanded, pointing at various spots where the rig and the cradle met. Craig stepped forward with the welding torch in one hand and the wrench in the other. “Pick one, Craig,” she told him.
She whirled around. “Aleksi and Ron, are you up and running yet?”
Aleksi nodded. “The laser cannon and the mini-missiles are linked to the Bootstrapping app. I have the EI feeding it real-time data using TQB satellites so we will know the enemy’s precise movements at all times. All we have to do is launch the end phase of the game when they start to move in.”
Tina smiled. “Good. Now we wait on word from Jean to begin.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
United Kingdom, North Wales, Conwy Castle Courtyard, Bethany Anne’s Pod
Bethany Anne’s eyes popped out at Jean’s report. “Those low-down snaky little spam-humpers! Jesus, Jean, that’s a lot of troops approaching your location. Do you need me to come down there? I’m a little preoccupied with Majestic, but I’ll drop everything if you and the kids are in danger.”
Jean shook her head. “Go stamp those Illuminati wannabes out, BA. We’re good. The armor Laura had stashed will be enough to get us through. Hang on… Look at this!” She sent the video
she’d made while the kids were building the laser cannon.
Bethany Anne gave a low whistle. “Wow, that’s one kick-ass cannon.”
“I know, right? They’ve come up with other stuff, too. We’ve got this, and the kids will be fine. If it gets to the point where I think they’re in danger, we’ll evacuate them up to the Meredith Reynolds immediately. Until then, I’d like them to get a chance to feel empowered. I’ve heard them chatting about what happened in Mongolia. It knocked their confidence in their own abilities a little.”
Bethany Anne nodded. “You’re right, but don’t tell Diane and Dorene I said that. You know they’re going to give us all an ass-chewing for this, don’t you?”
Jean laughed. “I’d like to see them try. There’s always an airlock nearby if they get too sassy.” Bethany Anne laughed at that, and Jean continued, “What would help is if you make it clear to the army that they are about to attack our children. At least give them a chance to turn back. I don’t want to kill military people who aren’t aware of what their brass have gotten them into.”
“Sure.” Bethany Anne looked away a minute. When she returned her eyes were red. “Jean? ADAM has just told me that all approaching units have been instructed to take you out and subdue the kids by ‘whatever means necessary.’ They want the armor, and they want your guns. They don’t care.”
Jean’s face set in a hard mask. “Extreme prejudice it is, then,” she growled.
“Fine by me. Have fun!” Bethany Anne’s face vanished from the screen.
Jean stepped out of Bethany Anne’s Pod and into the courtyard where Guardians James and Donal waited. She took a second to watch as the Pod rose into the sky and the exterior rippled and faded out of sight as the prototype cloaking device activated.
Jean grinned. “You know, BMW might not be able to find their own asses with two hands and a radar, but they manage to come up with some stuff that amazes the hell out of me!”
The two Wechselbalg laughed heartily.
“Come on, we’d better check on the kids.”
As they were about to go inside, Donal stopped dead and sniffed the air. “Get DOWN!”
Jean heard the whistle of an incoming missile in the next second and dived. “Gott Verdammt!” Her quick reactions saved her from a burning metal shower; the Pod pucked the missile just before it began its downward arc.
“They’re moving in!” Donal cried. “East barbican gates!”
She tucked and rolled to her feet, pistols drawn. “Oh hell, no! THAT DOES IT,” she roared, dialing her pistols up to eight. “I’m going to make them all wish they’d never been born!”
United Kingdom, North Wales, Temporary HQ Opposite Conwy Castle
Broadbent held the field glasses up to his eyes, watching as the first missile was intercepted. When the burning debris fell on the castle, he held a hand to his stomach to quell his physical reaction to what was happening.
He clearly saw the children on the parapet at the east barbican, although for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why TQB would allow them to be there while the castle was being attacked. But he had orders, and he would carry them out to the letter. Let nobody say that he didn’t have the stomach to do his duty.
The first wave of soldiers moved into position at the base of the wall, ready to blow the gate and storm the castle as soon as the missile hit the east barbican wall.
Broadbent watched in disbelief as a projectile came out of the sky and detonated the next missile in midair. His nightmare got worse barely a minute later when the barbican gates slammed open and his troops began to die in misty explosions. It was the engineering woman, Jean Dukes! She was shooting those blasted guns of hers, and the audio channel was filled with screams and gurgles.
He pressed the button on his walkie-talkie with a shaky thumb. “Perkins? What the hell is going on? Over.”
“It’s not going well so far, is it, sir?” the analyst replied. “Over.”
“You have a gift for understatement, Perkins. Perhaps a job in politics would suit you after the MOD give us both our marching orders. Over.”
Perkins harrumphed. “Nobody warned us about the Dukes woman, sir. Over.”
“Send in the reinforcements. That ought to do the job, Perkins. Let’s get this over and done with before someone from up there comes down here. It’s only a matter of time, and we’re not going to be getting those guns from her. We need to get what we can and scarper.”
“The armor at least, sir,” Perkins agreed.
Broadbent trained his field glasses on the bridge where the Special Forces teams were getting into position, but he couldn’t see a thing. “Damn those boys are good,” he muttered. He swung back to the castle, his heart falling when he saw the short work the Dukes woman was making of his men.
Broadbent didn’t think it could get any worse, but then a hail of projectiles hammered down from the battlements where he’d seen the children. Nothing happened, then the Dukes woman turned to the bridge and fired her infernal pistols.
He heard a low BOOM come from the direction of the river.
The rail bridge collapsed in front of his eyes, crushing the Special Forces teams as over a thousand tons of concrete and cast iron crashed into the river.
His shock turned to rage when he saw both the children and the Dukes woman celebrating.
Broadbent worked his mouth as he processed what he was seeing. “Those little bastards! They're dancing! Perkins, send every single asset we have in. TELL THOSE POXY ARTILLERY MUPPETS TO GET OFF THEIR LAZY BEHINDS AND DO SOMETHING WITH THOSE BLOODY TANKS!”
“You’re shouting, sir,” Perkins complained.
He took a breath to calm himself. “My apologies, Perkins. I asked for mercy for those little monsters, and just look what they’ve done! Time for a change of plan. Patch me in to Myerscough. Over and out.”
The walkie-talkie crackled. “Myerscough here. What is going on down there? Looks like a godforsaken shambles! Over.”
“This whole damned operation has been a shambles,” Broadbent muttered to himself. He thumbed the button again. “Get me three of your best men and an airlift, Captain. I’m going in as soon as I can get a ride. Over.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Battlements, East Barbican, Conwy Castle
The puck slammed into the missile high above the courtyard, creating a brief shower of molten metal that lit the twilight like a firework.
“Comms active, stations ready!” Maxim commanded, taking the lead. He glanced at the group, seeing grim determination painted on their faces. He knew his own would look the same if he could see it.
Craig and Mischa took the projectile guns, and Masha and Halli took the improvised missile launchers. Tina tended to last minute checks on the cannon, making sure each of the eight lasers sat flush with the lens, and that there were no scratches in the ceramic polymer Ron had cooked up to coat the sides of the flat-topped cone to prevent the concentrated laser beam from splitting and burning them all.
“I don’t know how we managed to convince Jean to let us build this incredibly dangerous piece of equipment,” Craig remarked offhand.
“You don't know?” Mischa called. “We just had to promise not to let you go near it!”
“Hey,” Craig protested as they all dissolved into laughter. “I can handle a laser!”
“Come on, Craig.” Tina giggled. “Haven’t your hands suffered enough?”
The tension broken, they got back to work. Maxim asked Ron, “Are we ready to launch the app?”
Ron gave him a thumbs-up. “Good to go.”
Maxim nodded, a strange calm settling over him. “Then we launch.”
“You need to see this,” Tina called, looking over the edge.
Everyone leaned over the edge of their station, craning to see what Tina was so excited about.
Maxim looked down. He saw the soldiers approach the castle from the outside, and Jean striding toward them from the courtyard.
“Whoa, she’s going to take
all of them on by herself!” Aleksi gaped. “There’s like a hundred of them!”
“Jean could do this before breakfast. Watch and learn, Aleksi.” Tina snickered, angling her tablet to get video of the smackdown that was about to occur. “If they weren’t here to trash the place and steal from us, I’d almost feel sorry for them. They obviously don’t know enough about her to run while they still can.”
Jean struck the gates with her armored foot, raising her guns and beginning to fire before they’d even finished clattering open.
Maxim watched as the first salvo annihilated fully ten percent of the enemy soldiers before they were even aware of what was happening. Soldiers fell left, right, and center as the guns of Jean Dukes sounded their greetings to the intruders.
The sudden decimation shook them, many losing focus as they were sprayed with the fine pink splatter that was all that remained of their brothers- and sisters-in-arms. They were the lucky ones; the ones who were spared the final sight of Saint Payback advancing upon them wearing the hell-hath-no-fury face of the former chief gunnery officer.
Maxim’s attention was drawn to a movement in the shadows underneath the rail bridge across the river. “Get on the guns!” he cried. “The bridge. There’s somebody under there!”
Craig and Mischa swiveled the mounted guns and fired. The projectiles flew fast and true, slamming into the bridge in a cloud of concrete dust.
A full minute later there was a low boom as the supports collapsed in a cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, the bridge lay twisted and ruined in the river.
“Oh… Oh, shiiit!” Craig whispered. “I think we killed them.”
Maxim shook him. “There is no time for that, my friend. Use your senses; there are more soldiers coming through the trees. We must defend the people inside. They are depending on us until John gets back and we can all escape.”
Craig turned back to his station, pulling himself together. “You’re right, Maxim. I’m sorry.”
Maxim chuckled. “Do not be sorry, my friend. Be awesome! You’ve got this!”
Alpha Class - Discovery: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Etheric Academy Book 3) Page 14
