"What the hell happened?"
"It was a trap, Eddie!" replied Taylor.
"Well, thanks, you just lost me another bird!"
"I'll be sure to note it in the report if we make it back!"
He knew the distance they had to descend was pushing the limits of their suits and would be all the juice they had if they did make it. He heard an engine roar overhead; a gunship was descending towards them.
"Oh, hell!"
He lifted his rifle and fired but couldn't get any accuracy with the turbulence.
"Into the building!"
"You what?" screamed Rains.
"Bank now!"
Taylor banked hard into the side of the building they had leapt from and fired a burst of shots at the reinforced glass they were heading for. It was just enough to weaken it a little as he put his arms up in front of himself for protection and hurtled through the glass, sliding ten metres into an office. There was no finesse to it, and he landed hard.
"Everyone here?" he asked.
He looked around to see only four of his comrades were in sight.
"Who's missing? Rains?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Silva?"
"Here."
"Acosta?"
"Here."
"Jones?"
No response came.
"Jones!" Taylor shouted again.
They heard the thunder of boots rushing towards them. He turned back to the window they had come from in the hope they could once again make a jump, even if it would mean leaving Jones behind. But as he made a step to do so, the gunship raised into view completely blocking they path.
"Whose clever idea was this, again?" Eddie asked as Silva helped him to his feet.
Taylor looked at the gunship and noticed it was in US markings. He knew he could use that to his advantage as he turned around to oppose those coming for them. Taylor didn't try and run for cover or raise his weapon when several troops burst into the room. They were all MPs with their rifles held high and screaming at the tops of their voices. It didn't intimidate Taylor or his team; they looked unbothered by their presence.
Through the middle of the MPs strode an officer. He walked with an arrogance and self-importance that made Taylor think they had met before, but then there were so many MPs like him, it was hard to tell.
"Colonel Taylor, you are under arrest for the charge of absence without leave, and insubordination, along with a series of other charges to be determined prior to your court martial. You are to lay down your weapons and come with us."
"And if I don't?"
"I have been instructed to inform you that should you come peacefully, charges will only be made against yourself, while your collaborators will suffer only a warning. Should you not come peacefully, your entire outfit will be put to court martial, including all who remained in the United States throughout."
What a bastard!
Taylor could see the man was a Major, and he didn't like the fact he hadn't shown the courtesy of introducing himself, but he let it slide in the hope of getting through to the man inside.
He is a marine, after all.
He thought it was worth a shot to try and make the officer see sense.
"Do you know what is at stake here, Major? Do you realise what we're trying to accomplish here? We have a chance to end this war. A war that the United States will get dragged into, whether it wants to or not. You have a chance to help us end it all here."
"It's not my job to interfere with the politics of the World, Colonel, and neither is it yours. We have rules for a reason, and when you signed up to the Corps, you signed on to abide by those rules."
"Fuck sake, Major! Pull your head out of your ass and open your eyes. This is about more than your shitty little job!"
He knew as the words were coming out of his mouth they would do nothing to sway the man's mind, but he was infuriated by what he was hearing.
"You have five seconds to lay down your weapons," he replied.
"Five...four..."
"Be smart, Major. This will not end well!"
"Three...two..."
The Major was halted by the sound of an object bouncing across the floor and landing in the middle of the MPs.
"Grenade!"
Taylor went to ground as the MPs leapt for cover, but the room ignited into a blinding light, accompanied with a deafening explosion. As Taylor looked up, he could see a few of the MPs stumbling around trying to come to their senses, but smoke was flooding the scene from a second grenade. Taylor turned to see the gunship pilot didn't know what to do because he couldn't fire into both groups. Through the smoke came a few muzzle flashes as bullets riddled two of the MPs, and Jones burst out of the smoke.
He didn't stop but rushed on and past Taylor towards the gunship. Taylor watched in astonishment as Jones fearlessly leapt out of the building and launched himself at the cockpit of the ship. The pilot realised too late what was going on, and Jones hit the windshield full force. The glass half caved in, leaving Jones embedded in the nose. The pilot reached for a sidearm, but he grabbed him by his helmet and smashed his head forward onto the console three times until his face was a bloody mess. The copter began to dip and spiral out of control.
"Let's go!" Taylor ordered.
The whole group sprinted for the opening and leapt after the falling copter. They saw Jones leap from it just as it collided with the same building and burst through the glass as it erupted into flames.
They came to a smooth landing shortly after and looked up to see and tail of the gun ship still half protruding from the building.
"You're a crazy son of a bitch, you know that?" Taylor asked Jones.
"Yeah, well I can't let you have all the glory."
Taylor shook his head in disbelief. He knew the chances of that working were pretty slim, and it brought a smile to his face that they had pulled it off.
"Why don't they jump after us?" asked Herrera.
"Because they're a punch of pussies," replied Silva.
Taylor looked around at the empty street. They had landed in a small loading bay area behind a block of buildings in the main high street of the town. They could hear the traffic running parallel with them as if nothing had happened.
"We gotta move. They'll be on our asses soon enough," said Taylor.
They rushed around a bend heading towards the road and found a limousine, parked with a driver sitting on the bonnet and drinking a coffee. The man looked at them. He was surprised but made no attempt to move.
"You!" Taylor shouted and pointed to the man.
He seemed surprised and replied in a language Taylor didn't understand.
"We're taking your car," Taylor added, pointing his rifle at the man.
Finally, he replied in English and put his hands up as if to surrender.
"I won't stop you."
He stepped aside and out of their way.
Taylor climbed into the driver's seat, but it was a tight fit with all of his gear on.
"We're getting out of here in style," he said, putting his foot to the floor. The rear wheels spun before Silva had even pulled the back door shut.
Chapter 5
"Right!" Herrera shouted. "That way! That way!"
"Will you shut up, fucking backseat driver!"
He took the bend anyway and could see the signs for France.
"UEN forces and US MPs operating in Switzerland. If they both had permission to operate there, things really have gone to hell," said Jones.
Taylor nodded in agreement.
"Anyone know how far our lines are?" asked Silva.
"You mean you didn't check that sort of information before we left?" asked Taylor.