Slipping through the rapidly growing puddles, I had just reached the dorm when I was forced to dodge into a doorway to hide. Some more Dead Six men ran past, guns held high, faces grim. Once they were gone, I ran up the stairs, sprinted down the hall, and ducked back into the Valentine’s room. At least it was familiar, and I really didn’t want to participate in the war unfolding outside.
“Reaper, status?”
“Dead Six is fighting like crazy, but more Zubarans are inside. You better think of something fast, boss, because they’re coming in force now.”
Plan. I needed a plan. The rain drumming the roof was louder than the gunfire. My eye landed on the bug-out bag filled with my money.
VALENTINE
I looked at my cell phone like I’d never seen one before as it beeped and buzzed in my hand. Tailor was calling.
“Hello?” I said awkwardly, pressing the talk button.
“Where the fuck are you?” Tailor screamed in my ear.
“I’m in the admin building,” I hissed, trying not to make too much noise. “I found Sarah. Hunter, too. Hunter’s dead.”
Tailor swore. “You have to get back here, right now!”
“Get back where?” I asked, exasperated.
“The north side of the supply building. We’ve . . . shit, choppers inbound! I’ll call you back!” The line went dead.
“What is it?” Sarah asked. As if to answer her question, a Zubaran Army Mi-17 helicopter came in low over the compound. It slowed and came to a hover between the admin building and the dormitory. It was so close I could see up into the open back door. I pushed Sarah to the floor and lay on top of her, hoping the troops in the back of the helicopter couldn’t see down into the window.
“Stay down,” I told Sarah over the roar of the chopper’s rotor. I poked the top of my head over the bottom of the shattered window frame so I could see. The door gunner on the left side was constantly firing. The chopper’s hull was pinged and dinged by bullets as my teammates returned fire.
Ropes dropped from the chopper’s open back door. Zubaran Special Forces soldiers, clad in their distinctive blue camouflage fatigues, began to fast-rope to the ground. They were inserting them right in the middle of the compound.
Four soldiers had reached the ground when an RPG rocket punched into the chopper’s front-left quarter, right behind the cockpit, and exploded. The chopper spun wildly once, flinging a soldier out the back door, before going nose down and slamming into the dirt. Pieces of the chopper’s rotor shot across the compound as it landed right on top of the troops it had just inserted.
My phone buzzed again, and I ducked back down. “Tailor!” I said, pushing it to my ear.
“Listen,” Tailor said. “You have to get to the north side of the supply building. We wired up the west wall with explosives. As soon as it blows, we’re going to make a break for it. We’ve got those two trucks, the Army ones. We can’t wait. Another APC just came in through the hole they breached. The chopper wreck will hold up the armor for a minute, but they’ll get around it.” The Zubaran vehicles had to go up the narrow corridor between the admin and supply buildings and the dormitory. The west side of the compound was blocked by the remains of an old stone wall that was part of the original British fort.
“Okay, we’re moving,” I said.
“Val, we can’t wait,” Tailor repeated. “If you’re not here in a couple minutes . . .”
“Leave without me. If I’m not there in a minute, it means I’m dead. Good luck, bro.”
“Good luck.”
Stashing the phone, I quickly outlined the plan to Sarah.
“That’s crazy!”
I agreed. “But it’s the only chance we’ve got. Come on, we have to go. It’s not far.” We had one shot, and we were going to take it. I checked out the window. The Zubarans were still advancing. It was too risky to go back the way I’d come in. Cautiously, I led the way as we entered the stairwell, hoping we could make it to the first floor unnoticed. The admin building only had one set of stairs, and they landed on the first floor right by the east-side door.
We were on the landing between the first and second floors. I held my hand up, signaling Sarah to stop, and peered around the corner. The ground-floor landing appeared to be clear but was illuminated from the outside. Problem was, a squad of Zubaran soldiers had hunkered down by that door to shoot at my comrades.
The door was still open to the outside. There was no way we’d get by unnoticed. Shit.
“Hang on,” I whispered to Sarah. “Cover your ears.” I pulled a grenade from my vest and grasped it tightly in my hand. I peeked around the corner again and, sure enough, saw movement and shadows. The enemy troops were still there. I pulled the pin, leaned around the corner, and tossed the grenade down the stairs.
BOOM! The concussion was deafening as the grenade detonated. We had no time to waste. I slapped Sarah on the shoulder and quickly made my way down the stairs.
On the ground-floor landing was a dead solider. As I came down the stairs, another man entered the building, G3 rifle held at the hip. I snapped off a shot at point-blank range, aiming high so my shot would clear his body armor. The bullet tore through the soldier’s throat. Before he hit the floor, I was on the landing. Just outside the door was another wounded soldier. Two of his comrades were leaning over him, tending to his wounds. One was looking up at me as I appeared in the doorway. I shot him in the face, shifted over, and shot the other before he could react. I left the unconscious Zubaran alone and rounded the corner, heading deeper into the admin building.
We entered the operations center. It had been gutted, with all of the valuable equipment removed or destroyed. Crossing the ops center, we cleared its back door and entered the short hallway that lead to the north door. Sarah watched our backs. With the noise of the battle going on outside, I couldn’t hear very well. For all I knew another squad of Zubarans was parked just outside. I decided to crack the door as quietly as I could and take a peek.
The door was stuck. I swore aloud.
“Mike, they’re coming!” Sarah said. She had the door to the ops center cracked and was watching the way we’d come in. Before I could say anything she stuck the muzzle of her carbine through the door and fired off a long burst. “I got one!” she shouted.
“Get down!” I screamed as bullets punched through the metal doors and zipped down the hall. Sarah ducked to the floor, stuck her carbine through the door again, and fired off the rest of her magazine on full auto.
She looked over at me. “What are you waiting for?”
“Reload, reload!” I shouted. “The door is stuck! I can’t get it open!”
“Kick it or something!” Sarah yelled, fumbling as she tried to insert another magazine into her weapon. “I’ll hold ‘em off!”
“Short, controlled bursts!” I shouted, then turned back to the door. I kicked it as hard as I could. It budged a little. More shots punched through the door and came down the hallway. One buzzed right past my ear. “Fuck this,” I said to no one in particular. I backed up, stuck my right shoulder out, and charged at the door, yelling like a madman as I went barreling down the hallway. I hit the door, and it popped wide open. I flew out into the rain, tripped, and landed face-first in the mud, right on top of my weapon.