by Jim Roberts
Joe managed to lift his head amidst the barrage to take stock of the situation. The Centurions on the helipad had finished loading the Ranger POW's onto the MI-M8 Helo; it would be taking off any second now.
Joe leaned up to try to signal Krieger to cease fire. If the Russian saw him, he paid no attention and just continued shooting. Damn nutcase! Joe had to hope Krieger wouldn't think of firing on the jetpack troopers, as they were too close to the helicopter and the Dushka would easily pass through the troopers and into it.
Krieger may have saved them from the massed reinforcements, but it was forcing Joe to miss his chance at reaching his men.
THE FINAL C4 detonation rocked the yard of the fortress with the suddenness of an earthquake. The helipad began to teeter and for a brief, terrifying moment Joe thought it might collapse. The helicopter pilot gunned the bird's engine and the vehicle began to lift.
Joe shouted aloud, "NO!"
He was too late. They were getting away. The flying troopers were almost in the air now. The good news was, they were no longer in front of the helo. Joe raised the AK and fired at the nearest Hastati trooper. The bullets hit the Volare flight pack, forcing the Olympus soldier to make an emergency landing back onto the helipad.
Joe could only watch helplessly as the helicopter lifted into the air, its powerful rotors driving it higher into the sky.
A burst of rage exploded within Joe. He was so close and now his men were lost to him. Joe roared as he fired his AK towards the remaining two flying troopers, heedless to his own safety. The Hastati troopers were now flying into the sky, hovering over the fortress. It would only take seconds before they had a perfect shot on Joe's position with their concussion rifles.
Chapter 13
Balls to the Wall!
KRIEGER DEPRESSED the trigger, having counted an even ten Centurions he had successfully blown apart with the Dushka. He stuck a finger in his ear, trying to stop the relentless ringing the loud gun had caused to his eardrums. He had known that there would be no way for them to stop the helicopter without destroying it; this way he had ceased reinforcements from entering the yard and had fast access to an APC.
Poor Joe, he thought. He is good man but allows his emotions to get a hold of him at important times. Still like him better than last commander, though.
There were two remaining Hastati troopers who would certainly by now be bringing their concussion weapons to bear on their ground targets. The Dushka's firing arc was too low to be able to reach the troopers, so it was time to leave his position. He waved over at Joe, trying to catch the American's eye.
JOE'S RAGE burned brightly.
Damn that Russian sonovabitch! If it hadn't been for him he could have got to his men. Doctor Yune patted Joe on the shoulder, pointing at Krieger's position. Joe looked angrily and saw Krieger gesturing at the APCs behind him.
He wants to leave. Wants to hightail it now that my men are gone.
Joe bit his tongue and grabbed Yune by the collar. At that moment, one of the flying troopers fired an explosive concussion round towards their position. The blast lifted the Humvee off the ground and sent it spinning through the air in a spiral of flame. Joe and Yune barely missed being crushed as the truck landed. Instead, the concussive wave knocked both of them off their feet, sending the two men flailing to the dirt. Joe's rifle was knocked from his hands and clattered into the dust several feet away.
A rush of air behind them told Joe that the hovering trooper was directly above them now. Joe looked up and saw the trooper loading a fresh charge into his rifle. Arming the weapon, the soldier aimed where Joe stood; ready to vaporize both him and Doctor Yune. Joe knew the bastard was probably smiling.
This was it. Everything we've done to get here and now it would all be over in a flash of fire.
A GUN did indeed fire, but from the fortress entrance, not the trooper above them. Joe watched as the flying trooper was riddled with bullets, tearing into the suit and detonating the jetpack. Joe grabbed Doctor Yune by the collar and pulled him out of the way of the falling wreckage.
Grabbing cover, Joe looked towards the fortress at their savior.
Danny Callbeck. Did I really have to guess?
Whisper stood at the door, a Centurion's smoking XM8 carbine in his hands.
Joe called over to the armor-wearing Canadian, "What kept you?"
"Had a run in with a very angry lady," his raspy voice croaked from behind the helmet. Joe looked at Danny in amazement. His friend seemed to wear the suit as if it was no different than a pair of trousers.
The whine of the last flying trooper above them shocked Joe back to reality. He spurred Yune on towards Krieger's position. As they ran, Whisper seemed to take stock of the situation. The last flying trooper was swooping in, probably hoping to get a good shot at all of them clustered together in the motorcade. Whisper made a quick judgment of the angle and height that his enemy was approaching and decided on a crazy maneuver. He ran forward, the suit charging up his kinetic energy. As he approaching the flaming Humvee, he leapt up onto it and, using it as leverage, propelled himself into the sky towards the flying trooper.
Noticing the leaping cyber warrior flying towards him, the Hastati trooper was too surprised to respond. Whisper landed in a bear hug, holding onto the trooper with both hands. The two airborne enemies zigzagged through the air, fighting for supremacy of the jetpack.
Below, Joe watched this all unfold with a bewildered fascination. Suddenly an enormous explosion wracked the fortress behind him. The stone walls began to split and the roof caved inward; the entire place was going to collapse on itself.
Krieger hollered over to Yune and Joe, "We have to get out now my friends! Follow me!" The Russian leapt off the technical and bolted over to one of the parked LAV's, a heavily modified Russian BTR-80 APC. The eight-wheeled, armored vehicle would be their best chance at making it out of the mountain range alive.
Joe pushed Doctor Yune towards the motorcade, following behind while keeping an eye on Danny. His friend's insane stunt seemed to be paying off. Whisper slammed his helmeted head hard into the Hastati, knocking the shock trooper momentarily senseless. The jetpack, unbalanced for two occupants began to pitch and yaw dangerously. Whisper, after a quick inspection, hit the emergency release button on the jetpack straps holding the trooper in place. Abruptly, the straps released the soldier, who dropped down nearly fifty feet to land with a bone-crunching thud on top of the burning Humvee. Whisper, hanging awkwardly onto the jetpack, keyed a quick command into the control panel. The pack quickly began to descend, landing Danny just in front of the APC.
Krieger, who had stopped for a moment to watch, yelled out, "Well I'll be a sonovagun! Who would have thought?"
Joe and Yune reached the APC. Joe opened the passenger door to the back, "OK Doc, in you go."
Yune nodded and looked back at Whisper. The Canadian nodded in silent reply. Yune smiled before getting into the APC. His suit was working better than he could have hoped. Danny had definitely proven to be the best choice to operate it.
After making sure the Doctor was tucked away inside the APC, Joe ran over to Whisper, shouting as he ran. "They took our guys Danny. What should we do now?"
Whisper hefted the jetpack up and strapped it on. It was extremely bulky, but would work for the time being, "There will be time to get them back later Joe. They wouldn't go through all this trouble just to kill them."
Joe glowered at the thought of leaving them, "What are you going to do?"
Whisper hit the engine ignition on the rocket jetpack, "I'll fly reconnaissance...keep in touch and head south. We need to get to the border and contact the Coalition forces."
Joe nodded, "Are you sure you can fly that thing?"
"Just like riding a riding a really futuristic bike," Whisper rasped, "Get going, Joe. See you in Afghanistan." Before Joe could turn away, Danny remembered something. He pulled the disc he'd retrieved from the mainframe room the small compartment in his suit, "
Give this to Doctor Yune. Whatever it is, these guys really want it."
"What is it?" asked Joe.
Whisper looked over at the crumbling fortress, "No time, I'll explain later. Get going!"
Joe slid the disc into a pocket in his fatigues and gave a quick half-salute in reply before running to the APC. Whisper pressed a key on the control pad and the pack began to lift into the air.
A loud rumble to his right made Joe look towards the prison. The entire superstructure had collapsed upon itself. The ground of the yard suddenly split apart in a crevasse, pulling the burning wreckage of the Humvee and several bodies of Centurions into the abyss of the C4 ravaged basement.
Joe pulled himself into the APC. Krieger was at the controls, hot-wiring the engine. The vehicle powered on. The Russian yelled out a howl of success and gunned the engine. Joe shut the door and jumped into the front seat. He tapped the Russian roughly on the arm.
"If we get out of here alive, you and I are going to have a serious talk."
Krieger smiled, "I promise to help get your friends later, but for now, let's focus on the alive part."
Krieger accelerated the APC up and out of the motorcade. Joe opened the hatch directly above him and stuck his head out. Directly behind them, the widening crevasse pulled the remainder of the base into the depths of its interior. As he watched, he thought he saw movement at the prison door; probably some poor luckless Centurion trying to flee from the crumbling base.
"Gun this thing now!" Joe yelled as he closed the hatch and returned to his seat.
Krieger put the pedal to the metal. The Russian piloted the APC straight towards the entrance way of the fortress - a large two-prong door that thankfully hadn't been properly closed due to the Centurion's hasty retreat earlier. The APC smashed into the doors full force just as the crevasse split apart the rest of the base; crumpling the fortress in on itself in a cataclysmic implosion that shook the ground for nearly a kilometer in every direction.
After days of torture and abuse, they were finally free of the Olympus fortress.
AS THE APC sped away from the ruined stronghold, a stout figure pulled itself to its feet amidst the collapsed fortress interior.
"No my friends," said Dante, dusting off his body armor, "No one escapes from Olympus."
Forty feet below the collapsed yard, Dante had slid into the crevasse but had managed to hold onto a piece of exposed rebar, allowing him to avoid the brunt of the destruction. However, his girth was too much to allow for any climb back up and he was stuck now in the bottom of the collapsed yard. He switched on his comlink.
"Agrippina, are you there?"
No answer. That blasted woman had better not be ignoring me. He spoke again, louder this time, "Agrippina, respond now!"
"What is it, fat fool?"
Dante sneered, but was inwardly relieved, "Send down a Hyperion transport immediately and get me out of this hole!"
Agrippina's voice returned, haughty and superior, "Did the big men destroy your little outpost, Dante?"
Dante was so angry, he could barely put words in front of themselves, "I know you detonated the C4 you goddamn..."
"Save your anger for those who deserve it, pig. I am going to interdict them myself. Trust me they will not get far."
Dante picked at the ruined husk of his nose. His ear was still bleeding badly from Joe's on-the-spot amputation. That bastard Braddock had almost ruined it completely, "What about me? I order you to come and pick me up!"
Agrippina's reply was dripping in delight, "So sorry Dante. The Lord Commander is sending a Hyperion to come and get you. When it arrives, you can explain to him how you lost the soldiers AND Doctor Yune."
"You do have the Code don't you?"
Silence.
Dante almost laughed, "You let them take it?"
Agrippina waited a moment before answering, "Like I said, they will not have it for long."
"You had better pray you get it back. You know what He will do to you if..."
"Cut the small talk. Once I have dealt with those fools I shall meet you back at Fortress Liberatio ."
I can't wait, thought Dante. The thought of crushing that bitch's head in his hand warmed his heart considerably.
AGRIPPINA SWITCHED off the comlink and rolled her eyes. What the Imperator sees in that fool, I'll never know. She sat in the passenger seat of the Hyperion transport as it rose into the sky - hovering as it awaited the arrival of its backup. A HIND-E helicopter was on route from the northern outpost and would meet them within two minutes.
Despite her little spat with the inept fool Dante, the Olympus harlequin was barely able to contain her excitement. It had been so long since she had had any sort of a challenge. These soldiers were so...unlike any she had ever faced. It warmed her blood knowing she would be spilling theirs soon.
Agrippina looked at the pilot of the Hyperion and barked an order, "Intercept that APC immediately. We have wasted enough time here."
The pilot was unsure of the command, "But...shouldn't we pick up the Commander?"
Agrippina fired a blistering look at the fool that dared question her orders. "If you don't wish for your head to be introduced to your colon, I suggest you obey my command!"
The pilot shrank back into his seat and adjusted the controls to bring the Hyperion out of its hover state. The obsidian wings rotated gradually as the VTOL system began to accelerate the craft forwards. The pilot received a message over his comlink. He looked over at his boss, stating, "The reinforcement HIND-E has arrived, Commander."
Agrippina nodded, "Outstanding. Have it take point. I wish to...watch for the time being."
The pilot complied, relaying his commander's orders.
Agrippina ran a hand through her silken black hair, still perfectly held in place. She tapped her finger absently against her slender leg; impatient at the thought of once again facing that man in the suit. She turned to look out the side window, concealing a smile that tugged at her lips.
Whisper.
He had seemed so...strong, so confident. She had no idea what the man looked like underneath and frankly didn't care. His spirit was so...alive. She had felt it radiate from his presence, as real and palpable as a waft of Old Spice.
Finally...a man worth killing.
The APC powered down the path leading from the mountain fortress. Krieger piloted the armored transport with marked precision; another talent the secretive Russian decided not to show until the time was right. Joe looked down at the canyon below them; plunging nearly three hundred feet straight down. Through the small window, Joe checked the position of the sun. He guessed it was around 07:00. The entire night's events had begun to merge into a haze for the Army Ranger. By now, he had been awake for almost 24 hours, not a difficult task for an Army Ranger, but not one he enjoyed.
He looked over at their driver, "Do you have any idea where we're going?"
Krieger checked the sun, made a quick calculation in his head and turned to Joe, "No idea at all my friend."
Figures, thought Joe.
"Well, are we at least headed south?"
"Not really, have to get out of mountains first."
Joe unhooked the Bluetooth earpiece. He clamored out of the front seat into the back passenger area. Dr. Yune was sitting in the uncomfortable metal seats, rubbing his sore ears. The Dushka may have ruptured his ear drums.
"You okay Doc?" asked Joe.
"I am alive Sergeant. I suppose that will do for now."
Joe grinned, "We're out of that shithole Doc, you're doing great. Here..." he gave Yune the Bluetooth receiver, "...keep in touch with Danny, I'm going up into the turret."
Yune took the earpiece and put it on. Joe gave the Doc a comforting tap on the arm before opening the turret hatch. He climbed up and looked out. The sweet smell of freedom washed over him; he'd never been so glad to breathe a lungful of Middle Eastern air in his life. Up above the APC, the whine of the jetpack told him Whisper wasn't too far away. Placing a hand ov
er his eyes, he searched for his friend and spotting him following behind. Joe had to marvel at his friend's resilience; having gone in the span of fewer than ten hours from a blind, scarred man to...well...that!
Joe shook his head and checked the turret-mounted machine gun. He sucked in a breath. In their haste in leaving, it hadn't even occurred to Joe if the LAV was armed. The turret had been retrofitted with the same 12.7 mm Dushka as the technical back at the fort. He opened the ammo crate latched to the side and breathed a sigh of relief; fully stocked.
Excellent.
Krieger peeled the APC at nearly forty miles an hour along a rapidly narrowing road. Joe yelled back inside the APC, "Krieger! Slow it down, dammit! You'll send us over the ravine!"
A laugh from inside told Joe what Krieger thought of his sage advice. Joe felt a tug on his pant leg. He lowered himself back down the turret. Yune handed him the Bluetooth comm, saying, "Whisper needs to speak to you!"
Joe clicked the comm to his ear, "This is Joe, go ahead Whisper!" He had to smile at himself for calling his friend such a strange name.
Whisper's raspy voice came through the comm, "Joe...we have company."
Joe's smile vanished, "What direction?"
"Directly behind us, maybe a mile off and closing fast."
Damn! So much for an easy escape.
Joe leaned forward and shouted above the racket of the APC engine, "Krieger we've got incoming!"
"No big surprise there!"
"Forget what I said," yelled Joe, preparing to climb back out, "Crank this sucker!"
Krieger did a mock salute, "Da, ser! Your command is my wish!" He put the pedal to the metal and the APC roared forward.
Joe climbed back out, looking back the way they’d came. The mountain wall was obscuring much of the view, but every so often he thought he could glimpse several dark shapes moving in quickly. Helicopters most likely. He tapped the comm, "Whisper do you have a visual where you are?"
