Battle Earth VII (13 page)

They looked out at the overwhelming odds. He looked back to Taylor for an answer and saw the Colonel shaking his head.

No goddamn way.

They stood there silently until the protestors at the gate accepted it was the only way they would see some progression. The gates slid aside, and they stepped out into the hostile crowd who seemed as if they wanted to kill the four of them as much as the aliens inside.

They were led through the crowd, hundreds of men and women who glared at them as if they were criminals. Taylor hated the way they peered down at him.

The only reason you’re alive today is because I fought for you.

 
But he fought the desire to say it aloud with all his fibre.

They eventually reached a structure. Internally, it was not so different to the operations room he’d recently left. A dozen men and women stood around a table, planning and discussing their actions.

“More like a military operation than a protest,” he said to Armand.

“That’s right, Colonel!” one of them replied, overhearing him.

“And you are?” he asked

“My name is of no consequence. You can call me X.”

You’re wearing the pants here, then
.

“My name is…” began Armand.

“We’re not interested in your name. Our demands are this; the instant euthanization of all prisoners of this facility and all others like it. That is the only thing we ask. We will not accept anything less and require nothing more. Are you ready to provide what society is calling for?”

“I am willing to negotiate the matter, but there has to be some give and take. Let’s start from a middle ground and work this out,” said Armand.

“You heard what I said. What part did you not hear?”

Armand seemed speechless as she turned her attention to Taylor.

“Colonel, we know who you are, a great hero of the wars. You must have killed so many of the invaders, do you not want to see an end to this?”

“An end? Yes, I thought I saw this when we won peace on this planet. We, and those who fought for it,” he replied.

One of the protestors stepped forward, yelling at him. “I was there the day you killed Demiran and saw it with my own eyes. I served, I fought, I killed, and for what? It isn’t over. We want life back to the way it was!”

“Then I am sorry to say that this negotiation is over. We are wasting time if you are not willing to discuss the matter in a civilised fashion,” Armand replied sternly.

Taylor was surprised by his attitude. He appeared to have come there to resolve the problem, and yet seemed to have no interest in doing so.

“Then leave, and return to the living joke you call a detention centre,” X quickly responded.

Armand turned and left without another comment.

Is he gonna fight for this?

The answer appeared to be no as he carried on. The Colonel was left with no choice but to leave with him. All they passed as they headed for the gates were constantly heckling them. Finally, a punch was thrown at one of Armand’s guards, and he almost fell to the sand before lifting his weapon to his attacker.

Rocks began to pelt the guards from nearby protestors, and one hit the guard who have been shoved and broke his nose. It sent blood spewing over his uniform. He turned back to the crowd and saw more rocks hurling towards him. He opened fire.

“No!” Taylor called out desperately.

It was too late. The rounds were non-lethal but struck with immense force, and the people took it as red to attack. Several drew weapons, and one launched forward with a machete and struck down on the arm of the shooter. It cut deep and halfway through his forearm, but even that was not enough to bring it all to an end. The other guard had joined the fighting, and those within the perimeter had been monitoring the trouble and began to respond.

The non-lethal ammunition seemed to do little to hold back the crowd, many of who seemed to carry on as if nothing had struck them. Taylor could just make out the sound of notice being given over the tannoy system, warning of lethal force being authorised, and that did nothing to calm them.

Two of the angry mob came at him, and he had to fight every instinct that told him to draw his pistol and defend himself. Human blood was the last thing he wanted on his hands. He knew he must rely on his body for defence and the power the Reitech suit gave him. He struck the first with a punch that sent the man tumbling back into his friends.

A woman then came at him like a screaming banshee and wielding a truncheon-like weapon. He took hold of her and launched her into the mob the other side. He looked down to see Armand trying to stop the bleeding of the wounded bodyguard while the other fired wildly to keep them back. Clearly, his ammunition wasn’t going to last long. Before Taylor could come up with a solution, gunfire rang out from the prison and ripped into the mass of people.

Some of them froze in panic while others charged at the fences, but it was a pointless act. Taylor could do nothing but watch in horror as dozens of the protestors were struck down by live ammunition. Then the path to the gates became clear, and he snapped back into action. It was his opportunity. He reached down and hauled the wounded man up as if he weighed nothing at all.

“Move!” he ordered Armand.

As they rushed for the gates, several of the armed protestors tried to get at them but were hit by aimed shots of the guards at the walls and watchtowers who covered their retreat. By the time they reached the perimeter gate, there was nobody on their trail, and they could see Spiteri waiting and watching behind the inner perimeter.

“Stop firing!” Taylor called to him.

He seemingly ignored the comment until they had got through the gates.

“Attend to that man!”

Taylor passed him over to medics and looked back. A few shots were still being made as the crowd tried to retreat but could not make it through the dense wall of their own people.

“Cease fire!” he finally yelled. He’d waited beyond a reasonable time, as a message to Taylor that he ran the place. “Send medics out and aid the wounded!”

Mitch looked out across the plain and could see a hundred bodies of the dead and wounded on the ground. This was a disaster, and he knew they would pay dearly for it. He wasn’t sure how he’d got out from the mob, but he knew there would have been a better way.

“You just screwed us all,” he said to Spiteri.

Six hours later.

“Sir, we have three incoming ships.”

“What’s so special about them?” snapped Spiteri.

“Sir, they aren’t transports or Red Cross. They’re UEN warships.”

“What!”

The ships approached without a declaration of their intentions or request to land, but Spiteri knew he could do nothing but let them land and find out their purpose first hand. Taylor knew it was the reckoning for the Colonel. He prayed he would not be lumped into the whole affair.

The two of them paced out into the landing zone with a dozen guards and Armand close by Taylor’s side. He still looked horrified by what he had seen and had barely spoken more than a few words since that time.

“What do you think they’re doing here?” he whispered.

“You don’t know?” replied Taylor.

“I came here as a negotiator, nothing more.”

Taylor got the impression he knew far more than he was letting on, but he’d let it slide, considering recent events.

“UEN can’t let this stand. If they leave Spiteri in charge, they’ll have a tonne of bricks down on their heads. They’ll want to distance themselves from him and his actions ASAP.”

Armand didn’t seem surprised.

“You do realise this is a disaster? Besides the obvious loss of life, it has given the protest movement all the fuel they need for this fire?”

“We can only do what we can do, Colonel. We are but human, after all.”

Taylor was starting to get the impression he’d expected this to happen, and it had been part of his plan. If it was, it was far from his understanding yet. He looked over to see Spiteri was worried.

 
So you should be, you asshole.

From out of the ships poured UEN soldiers from Germany and a familiar face at their head, General Schulz. Military police flanked him also; something that still sent shivers down his spine. Taylor had learnt to tolerate and respect the General, but he’d never forgive him for his incarceration.

“Welcome to Tunisia, General…” started Spiteri, as the imposing force approached.

The General ignored his gesture completely.

“Lieutenant-Colonel Spiteri, under the authority of the UEN, I am relieving you of your command and placing you under arrest!”

Spiteri looked around to his colleagues, looking for some support, but none would stand against the General and his troops.

“Arrest? For what?” he pleaded. “For doing my job, for saving a Councillor’s life?

Schulz ignored his comments and sent the MPs forward.

“All prison staff involved in the shooting earlier today are to hand in their weapons at the armoury and return to your billets, where you will remain under house arrest until notified over wise. UEN soldiers will take over perimeter guard duties for the entire facility!”

He looked over to Taylor and saw he had no weapon in hand.

“Colonel Taylor, I am told you did not draw your weapon during the incident. Is that correct?”

Before he could answer, Armand jumped to his aid.

“I can confirm that, General. He protected my men and me and did not use a weapon throughout. Two of my own were involved but used only non-lethal ammunition in self defence.”

“Very well, Councillor. As key witnesses of the events here, you are both to escort the prisoner and me to Brussels where a full and immediate investigation is to begin. The World wants answers.”

“And the protests? We came here to negotiate to bring them to an end.”

“Negotiations are over. My own soldiers will ensure no one else comes to any harm, both inside and outside the facility, while this is resolved.”

The MPs removed Spiteri’s sidearm and took up positions around him. His shoulders seemed to sink as it sunk in that he was in big trouble, yet he didn’t seem to show any sympathy towards the dead and wounded or regret for his actions, only disappointment at his arrest.

Ten minutes later, Taylor was aboard yet another ship being whisked away to yet another country he had no interest in visiting, on a mission not at all suited to his talents. He had listened to Armand relay the entire events of the shooting within minutes of getting aboard.

Schulz seemed more interested in Taylor and turned his attentions to him.

“You’ve heard what Armand has reported to me, all of which has been recorded, will you corroborate his story fully?”

“It’s what happened.”

“So you agree with every detail?’

“It was a pretty simple affair, and yeah, I do.”

“Then Spiteri is going down,” replied Armand.

“It’s not a victory,” added Taylor. “Only another hurdle on the way to resolving this great big mess.”

“Agreed, so let’s get it done quickly. On arrival, you will be escorted to the Hotel Be Manos, along with Colonel Spiteri who will be kept closely guarded until the trial begins in the morning.”

“Tomorrow morning? And a trial beginning without an investigation?” Taylor asked him, surprised.

“Prosecution teams and UEN investigators have already been working on it and will do so throughout the night. You’ve seen the escalation of protests in the World. People need to know we are acting in their interests.”

“I’ve been on the wrong end of these events before. I can’t imagine being condemned for life with so little time or thought.”

“Then never open fire on and kill civilians.”
 

Taylor could feel it was all going too fast. Anger was brewing on all sides, and rushing it was only going to cause brash decisions, but he felt powerless to stop it.