“Get them re-equipped and ready to go again within the hour, and see if Reiter has got those web rounds yet.”
“Ready? No chance,” replied Jones.
“Just do it!” Taylor snapped and continued on.
He was obviously taking Acosta’s death hard, and the success of the web rounds would keep his memory alive.
He stepped into Dupont’s war room with Acosta’s blood still splashed over his filthy armour, but despite several other officers taking offence at his attire, Dupont himself didn’t even seem to notice.
“Taylor, good work in the north. You shored up that flank just when we needed it. As you know, the British have finally come in on this war,” he said, pointing to Phillips.
“Took you some time to catch up after I left you,” said the Commander.
Taylor sighed. “Sniper tried to take me out.”
“You personally?” asked Dupont.
“I believe so. Took out of one of my boys instead. This is his blood.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Phillips replied.
“This sniper, did you talk to him?”
Taylor shook his head. “Not yet, but he’s alive.”
“A Krys agent?”
“Must be, General.”
“Only a matter of time till you got targeted, I guess,” Phillips added.
“What are my orders?”
Dupont looked confused.
“You’ve done enough for now, Colonel. Find out more about this sniper and have your people enjoy a respite.”
“Rest? General we were in combat for one day. We are ready to go back in.”
“It’s okay, Mitch,” said Phillips. “We’ll need you soon enough.”
He knew he wasn’t getting anywhere and turned and left. They were right about one thing, the sniper. Many questions still rolled around his mind about the incident, and he wanted information as much as he wanted payback. He went on through B13 to the cellblock, past Jones’ clone, and onto the next cell. Taylor stepped inside the first doorway leading to the observation room and found Rossi there with a datapad.
“Hello, Doctor.”
She jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned to speak and then looked at the dried blood on his clothing.
“Are you all right, Colonel?”
“Just fine. That bastard in there caused this blood, but it ain’t mine.”
“I am sorry to hear that, Colonel.”
He nodded in gratitude. “Please, stop calling me Colonel. You are a civilian. Call me Mitch.”
“Oh…okay.”
“Then tell me about this Krys scumbag. What have you learnt?”
She looked confused.
“What is it?”
“This man is not a Krys agent. He is not a clone.”
“What? He must be.”
“Sorry, Colonel, but as far as I can tell, he is every bit as human as we are.”
Taylor looked into the cell and studied the man more closely. He was confused by Rossi’s findings.
“This man was sent to kill me personally. Are you telling me he knew who I was, lived through the last few wars, and yet still came after me?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, Colonel.”
“Mitch.”
“Mitch. As far as we can tell, he is human.”
“And have you asked him why he came after me?”
“I am a scientist, not an interrogator.”
“Then it’s time for me to ask him some questions.”
“I wouldn’t go in there, Colonel. You are not thinking clearly and have obviously experienced some significant trauma. You should leave this to someone less… affected by his actions.”
“Dupont has asked me to find out more about this guy, and that is precisely what I intend to do.”
“Just remember that he is human, whether you like it or not. He is not a clone, not an alien.”
“I don’t give a damn what he is. He’s gonna talk.”
Taylor ripped open the door and stepped inside. The sniper has been stripped to his vest and pants and had his wounds cleaned up. He recognised Taylor instantly and showed just a little fear in his eyes.
“I am Colonel Mitch Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment, but you already knew that, didn’t you?” he said, taking a seat. “And don’t give me any of that name, rank, serial number shit. I’m not interested. I want to know why you did it. Why you would come after me?”
He spoke without hesitation.
“Because you are an enemy to this world. A barrier to progression and peace.”
Taylor shook his head.
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve been fighting for peace from day one. I want to defend this earth from invaders. What about you?”
“The Krys bring with them science and medicine like we have never known. They only want to live on this world beside humanity.”
“Well, they got a funny way of showing it. They didn’t exactly show passports on arrival and fill out visas. You can’t really believe the shit that is coming out of your mouth?”
He remained silent.
Taylor was growing tired of him already. He leapt forward and grabbed the man by his vest top and punched him on the jaw.
“Now tell me the real truth, why did you come after me?”
“Because you are an enemy of all that is good in the World. You would have us fight until no man, woman, or child still lives.”
Taylor hit him again.
“I don’t believe you. Why did you come to kill me?”
Taylor hit him once more, and as he did so, the door flung open beside him. Jones rushed in and pulled him off the prisoner.
“Mitch, what the hell are you doing?”
“Get the hell off me!” he screamed, shrugging Jones off, but he grabbed him again and pulled him out of the cell back to where Rossi was still standing. She looked at him in a new light as if she were afraid. Jones shut the door behind them so the three of them were alone.
“What in high hell is going on here?” asked Jones.
He got no answer, so turned to Rossi for one.
“The subject in that room is human, and yet the Colonel believes him to be a clone.”
Jones was as surprised as Taylor had been and was starting to understand why he had lost it.
“Human?”
“There are plenty of bad people in the World, or people with conflicting opinions to our own. There always were. Why would you assume every enemy has to be alien?”
“She’s right, you know,” added Jones. “The whole of the UEN can’t all be clones and Mechs. There must be millions of people who have bought into their way of thinking. They probably feel just as strongly as we do.”
“So what are we supposed to be trying to understand, the feelings of the aliens and their enablers now?”
“Maybe you should, Colonel. You might learn something,” said Rossi. “The question we really should be asking is, do people like the subject in their support of the UEN and alien philosophies, or have they been lied to as to the deal they’re getting?”
“Why does it matter?” Taylor spat back.
“It matters a lot. If they have been lied to and are fighting under false pretences, there is hope of winning them back yet.”
Taylor righted himself and calmed down, accepting she was talking sense.
“I always assumed they were lied to in order to fight us, why would they do so otherwise?”
“I wouldn’t like to speculate,” replied Rossi. “But I think we should leave it to trained investigators and interrogators to work with this subject and get a better understanding of what we face.”
It was an odd concept to Taylor. He’d only ever seen their situation as black and white, human and alien. To him every one who fought against them was an alien or no better than one.