"Right then, so what do we do?"
"Play it cool, Eddie."
He looked back to the others. You call me John, okay?"
They nodded in agreement as they reached the bar, and the barman began passing over the first two drinks. They were served in tall thin glasses and were a vibrant blood red, almost metallic. A metal stone of some kind sat in the bottom of the glass, and the beverage was warm to the touch.
"Redrock. Invented and brewed by the first of the Moon colonists, and popular ever since," added the barman with a smile. He passed over the other two drinks, and then put a credit chip scanner on the top beside them with their bill. Taylor reached into his pocket to pay but stopped, realising he could not use his name for anything. He looked to Eddie.
"Your time to pay, my friend."
Eddie sighed, and it was not at all put on. He pulled out his card and held it up before the scanner.
"I thank you kindly... Edmund Rains, how do I know that name?"
"Eddie Rains?" a voice called out.
Oh shit, Taylor thought.
They turned around. A man with a smile on his face was approaching. Taylor instantly recognised him as Doyle, one of the MDF soldiers he had fought alongside years earlier. He turned away and tried to hide his face.
"Rains, you're the man who flew food and ammo to us in our darkest days. I never got to meet you in person. You did good by us!"
He reached out his hand and shook it but stopped when he noticed Taylor trying to hide his face behind Lewis. Doyle stopped and had to make a second take. "Taylor?" he whispered. He leaned in closer, "What the hell are you doing here? You can't be here."
Taylor turned and faced the man, knowing he could no longer hide.
"Good to see you, too, Doyle."
"I don't think you understand, Sir..."
Taylor interrupted him before he could continue.
"I get it. I'm in UEN territory. I know. But are you not neutral?"
Doyle shook his head. "MDF signed up with the UEN when all this began, but once the EA broke away, Kelly told them where to stick it, and we've been disbanded."
"So you're being kept prisoner in your own town?"
Doyle nodded. "Pretty much."
"And Kelly?"
"Under house arrest. He caused some trouble early on, and now he's under constant watch."
"I knew it was a waste of time coming here," Rains muttered.
"Excuse me!" an authoritative voice called out in a German accent.
Their conversation immediately halted, and they turned to see the two UEN soldiers standing a few metres away in a clear attempt to confront the newcomers.
"They're with us, old friends," said Doyle.
The man who had spoken was a corporal; he stood tall and proud, with a square jaw and a formidably strong build.
"We'll be the judge of that," he replied, "Let's see your ID cards."
"We're just passing through. We aren't here to cause any trouble."
"ID cards now!" yelled the Corporal.
Taylor could already see there was no chance of talking their way out of it. He looked around the room at the antipathy and hatred towards the soldiers from most of those in the room. He recognised a few faces, and he could tell as he presented his face to them, many recognised him, too. He smiled, seeing he had the support of the room.
"Well, no problem, Corporal," he replied.
He was deliberately over friendly as to try and have the Corporal relax. He took a few paces closer, drew out his card from his pocket, and handed it to the Corporal. The man pulled out an e-reader from his chest pocket but stopped just before he scanned the card, looking at the name on it. He looked up just in time to see Taylor's fist connect with his nose.
To Taylor's horror the impact barely moved the Corporal’s face, and he quickly returned a punch of his own that felt like a freight train. Taylor was knocked back, and he sprawled over against the counter of the bar. He got back up and shook it off.
Damn!
The giant German rushed towards him in an opposing fashion. He stood a good bit taller than Taylor and looked more like a bodybuilder than a soldier. The exact moment he reached Taylor, a bar stool seemed to come out of nowhere in the hands of Robinson. It smashed into the man and broke his nose. He stumbled back unceremoniously. As he did, Lewis jumped towards him, kicked his kneecap out, and then struck down on his collarbone to drive him down further.
Despite the pain, the German got back up and drove a heavy uppercut into Lewis' stomach and another to his face that forced him back towards Taylor. He had now righted himself. The German Corporal reached for his sidearm, and that was all the indication Taylor needed. He ripped his pistol from his holster and fired a quick shot that struck almost dead centre between the man's eyes. The Reitech round went right through and hit a wall the far side of the room.
The man dropped dead like a stone, and Taylor quickly took aim at the second as he reached for his pistol. He stopped and froze.
"Don't even think about it!" Taylor shouted.
Rains was quick to slip past the man and grab his pistol from him. They looked around. At first the crowd in the bar ground didn't appear to know what to think until Doyle finally began to clap and cheer. The rest then joined in. He looked over to the two Brits who had leapt to his aid.
“You boys fight dirty,” he told them.
They smiled and nodded in response.
Taylor lifted his hand to call for silence, and he quickly got it.
“Listen up. You know who I am and what I’m about. The enemy leader is on Earth and in this very country. I intend to seek him out and end his life, but I need help.”
“What can we do?” Doyle quickly asked.
Taylor was glad to see everyone in the room seemed as eager as Doyle was.
“First we remove any enemy presence from the town. That includes freeing Commander Kelly ASAP. Second, we reform the MDF, and third, we take the fight to Erdogan. Are you with me?”
There was universal agreement around the room. He could see they were a people that had given up and accepted their occupiers for good. He had given them a glimmer of hope, but he wasn’t sure how fair it was. Though the way he saw it, they either risked their lives with him, or they accepted the end of them if they carried on as they were.
Discussion suddenly filled the room, as more than a dozen people started asking questions and double their number began speculating as to answers.
“Please listen to me!” Taylor boomed.
His voice carried throughout the bar, and all were silenced.
“Firstly, I can’t listen to every voice here, and we have to act quickly. So, Doyle, you’re going to answer my questions. If anyone has anything to add, put your hand up, and I’ll get to you.”
He looked to Doyle, and the man shrunk before him with shyness as all eyes turned to him.
“How many UEN soldiers are in town?”
“Uhhh…”
“Keep your answers simple, accurate, and as quick as you can,” added Taylor.
“Twelve,” he finally replied.
“Twelve, is that all? Are you sure? You didn’t sound sure.”
He looked around the room, and several nodded in agreement.
“Twelve, Sir, I’m sure. Commander Kelly had me keep constant watch and count all occupying forces. He was very clear about that when this began.”
“Okay, so what are their standing orders here, and what sort of rotation do they work?”
“They just guard Commander Kelly’s home and stand guard at the landing zone. That’s it.”
“And what sort of hours?”
“Uhh…eight hour rotation, and only four of them on duty at any time. Two at Commander Kelly’s home and two at the landing zone.”