That is something we have to work on. Waking you up is like trying to wake a hibernating bear.
“What can I say? I need my beauty rest.”
You must be not getting enough sleep then.
“Touché.”
Faust made a circular motion with his hand and the team leaped into action. Faust turned a latch on the floor and pushed down. The bottom swung outward. Dipping down head first, he scanned the area before dropping to the floor. He signaled for the others to follow, and one by one, they lowered themselves under the truck.
The cool air felt good after hiding in the stuffy truck. Roen took a deep breath and moved near one of the rear tires. The agent to climb out last pushed a small button and retracted the secret door.
When the coast was clear, they scrambled from cover and assembled in the shadow of the truck. They were in a large garage with an elevated platform on one end and large gray gates on the other. Faust motioned to one of the agents and pointed at the far corner of the ceiling. That agent took one glance at the small camera rotating back and forth and then scrambled behind a large crate. He pulled out a pistol with a silencer, took quick aim, and destroyed it with one shot.
“Won’t they notice the broken feed?” Roen asked.
Faust nodded. “Intel indicated a rotating feed on only two monitors. They’ll notice it, but it’ll take them a while to figure out which camera the white noise is coming from.” He signaled to another agent, who started working on the keypad. The team held their position and waited.
Then the agent working on the keypad raised a fist in the air. Roen heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side. Faust made a quick motion with his hand and the team melted into the background, hiding behind whatever cover they could find. Moments later, two custodians in white walked out through the double doors, chatting while pushing a cart. Roen watched them from behind several metal drums, training his sights on them as they loaded supplies onto a second cart. He was sure everyone else on the team had their guns trained on these poor unsuspecting souls as well.
Easy there. Do not get trigger-happy.
“That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”
Several minutes passed by as the two men continued loading their supplies. When finished, they went back to the door and one of them punched in the code on the keypad. The doors unlocked and they passed through. Faust signaled furiously at the closing doors. The nearest agent leaped out of his hiding place and dove forward, managing to stick his hand in just before it closed. Roen helped him up and the rest of the squad filed through.
The warehouse was a large cavernous room with crates stacked on top of each other. Roen could hear talking somewhere north of their position. Faust was whispering into his communicator and signaled for the team to hold their position. Several more minutes passed. Roen’s heart was hammering in his chest and sweat poured down his face. He began to breathe in short gasps. This was the real thing! Then Faust signaled to the team and counted down from five.
On the north end of the warehouse, someone screamed. Then there were several loud bangs as a cloud of smoke filled the room. Roen’s squad split into pairs and proceeded to move forward. Roen was assigned to Faust and watched as he began to move forward. His brain told him to stay close behind Faust, but his legs wouldn’t move.
Roen, move. You have to back him up.
Faust turned and looked back, gesturing for him to follow. Roen wanted nothing more than to run back through the door, back to the loading dock. But then he thought about leaving Faust by himself. He couldn’t abandon his squad-mate like that. Roen willed himself to put one foot in front of the other. Each step was excruciating, but he kept going. When he reached Faust, the man put a hand on his shoulder and whispered. “Stay close, sir. I got your back.”
Listen carefully to my voice. I will guide you. Step, step, step. Stay lower.
Roen nodded and followed Faust, staying a few meters behind him, with Tao literally directing his steps. Between Sonya’s training and Tao’s constant instructions, he managed to continue moving forward as they cleared through the maze of crates. This was like a video game, he reminded himself. I’m just playing a game.
They made a few turns as his squad began to close in from the east side of the docks. Every time they reached an intersection, his heart beat even harder. Was the enemy on the other side? His hands were shaking so badly he almost dropped the rifle. Faust gave him a worried look.
“Do you need to head back to the dock?” he leaned over and asked.
It took Roen a lot of effort to shake his head. Of course he wanted to, but the shame of doing so was even greater than his fear of the Genjix. Faust looked him over once more before nodding. He looked around the corner and then gestured for Roen to follow.
Control your breathing. Deep breaths. You can do this!
There was an intense firefight going on at the north end. Roen’s natural urge was to run away, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving closer to the battle. He just about reached the center of the warehouse when Faust stood up, using a crate for cover, and opened fire. Roen slid in next to him and peeked over the top. In the haze, he could see flashes from the muzzles of the rifles, and shadows of figures running back and forth. He couldn’t tell who was friendly and who was the enemy! He just stood there, moving his gun back and forth, unable to pull the trigger.
“This is nothing like a video game! Tao, what do I do?”
Exactly what you are doing now. Only pull the trigger when you are sure of your target.
Faust ducked back behind the crate and pulled Roen with him. “I’m going to move to a forward position. Cover me.”
“Should I follow?” Roen asked.
Faust shook his head. “Just give me suppression fire.” Then he ducked and slipped around the crate.
Roen had the urge to disobey orders and follow. Part of it was because he didn’t want to seem like a coward staying back, but mostly because he didn’t want to be left alone. It took him a few seconds to calm his nerves as he aimed his rifle up at an angle toward the ceiling to make sure no one would get hit, and then he emptied his clip, waving his gun back and forth. When he had emptied his rounds, Roen reached into his belt for another clip. He was shaking so badly though that he fumbled and dropped it.
Now he understood why Sonya drilled him again and again in reloading clips. In a live situation, his hands seemed completely paralyzed and disconnected from his brain. As he bent down to pick it up, he saw a dark figure sneaking up behind Faust. There was no time to warn him. Roen swung his rifle up and fired. Unfortunately, he never got the gun clip in. He heard the empty click-click as he pulled the trigger and realized his mistake. He had to do something! In desperation, Roen hurled his rifle at the Genjix agent. It bounced off his arm harmlessly and fell to the floor. The Genjix agent turned his rifle toward Roen instead. Now unarmed, Roen panicked.
Duck! An image of a soldier diving into a trench just as a grenade exploded flashed into his head.
Roen screamed and dove to the side, right as a spray of bullets punctured the crate he was leaning on moments before. He slid onto the floor and twisted onto his back, trying in vain to pull out his pistol. He saw the Genjix agent adjust his aim and knew he’d be too late. Then the Genjix agent went limp and fell to the floor.
Faust appeared a second later and checked the body. He picked up Roen’s rifle, helped him up, and handed it back to him. “I owe you one, sir,” Faust said, and grinned.
He gestured for Roen to follow and they continued inching closer toward the main fight. Two other Genjix agents appeared along the way, and both times, Faust took them out before Roen could even aim his rifle. Roen realized that without Faust, he’d be a dead man by now many times over, though technically, it’d be true the other way around as well. He gritted his teeth and stayed close.