Epic: Book 03 - Hero (15 page)

A moment of silence passed before William answered. “Umm…well…two.”

Scott’s face fell.

Max interrupted the chat. “Did you just say
two
?”

“
Yeah…” William said. “Me and Derrick just kinda broke orders.”

Scott lowered his head.
I take it back, Ulrich—you’re still trash.
The question then struck him.
How’d they get a Grizzly?
No time for that. He opened his comm. “Strakhov, we need you back up here! Max, Brunner, we’re going on the offensive into the lobby. Do you have a way out of here?”

“
We still have access to the outside from the second level,” Brunner answered. “We will stay to cover you while you run for the Grizzly.”

That was all Scott needed. Oleg hurried to his side. Further into the smoke, Scott could hear William and Derrick engaging the Bakma. Scott flashed a look back to Svetlana. The injured soldier, Jacobsen, was angrily fighting her off. Scott recognized the look in his eyes right away.
He looks just like Galina did.
A knot formed in his gut. Becan, though hurt himself, was holding Jacobsen as best as he could.

“
We are behind you, Scott,” Svetlana said.

Scott wasted no time. Bursting forward through the exhaust and debris, he dashed straight into the lobby—straight into the enemy force. His boldness was met with hot plasma. Two shots ricocheted off his shoulder armor, thrusting him backward to the ground.

Assault rifles exploded behind him. Oleg charged through the fray, diving, tucking, then coming to a crouch next to Scott. The soldier fired until his final clip was gone, at which point he flipped out his pistol.

Scott didn’t have time to check his shoulder for damage. He saw the canrassi he’d heard—the massive spider-eyed beast towered just meters away. It spewed saliva as it lurched his direction.

William fired his hand cannon from the top of the Grizzly. On the second floor of the federal building, Maksim did the same. Their armor-piercing rounds blew holes in the canrassi’s back. The war beast succumbed.

Without a second’s delay, Scott thrust himself once again in the midst of his enemies. Three Bakma converged on his position.

Suddenly, Oleg was there. The bearded Russian slid beside Scott, handgun blazing as a melee ensued. One of the Bakma cut a backward flip as Oleg shot it in the face. The former member of the First felled a second with a hard, sweeping kick.

Scott’s Nightman instincts took over. He focused on the third Bakma, grabbing it and wrestling it to the ground. Several more were suddenly near him. Some were gunned down by unidentified soldiers. Others, he took aim at himself. Bullets and plasma flew in every direction.

The men from the Thirty-ninth fired frantically. All the while, they pressed farther into the lobby toward William and Derrick’s Grizzly apc.

“
Man down!” Max yelled from above.

Scott knew it was Maksim without asking. But he didn’t have time to look up. His E-35’s ammunition ran out, and with no time to grab his sidearm, he had no choice but to engage hand-to-hand.

A plasma bolt struck an operative from the Thirty-ninth. He fell to the ground.

Nonetheless, the plan was working. They’d burrowed a hole through the Bakma stronghold, clear enough amid the chaos to get to the Grizzly, where William and Derrick were firing from its roof.

Svetlana was right behind Scott. She and Becan fought to push Jacobsen through the chaos. They were moving too slowly.

Get to the Grizzly, Sveta!
Diving forward and sliding behind a desk, Scott finally had a chance to unholster his pistol. But he was blindsided by a Bakma before he could shoot. Scott twisted and threw the alien off, only to be broadsided by another.

William screamed in pain from the Grizzly.

If this carried on, they wouldn’t survive. It was almost impossible to tell who was where. The gun exhaust formed swirling blankets, and the sound was so loud it was painful. White bolts and orange streaks whizzed past everyone’s heads.

Finally, Svetlana’s voice came. “We’re at the Grizzly! We’re climbing aboard!”

“
Fall back and retreat!” Scott commanded. A Bakma latched onto him from behind—but this time he was prepared. He grabbed the alien and spun it around. He shot the Bakma before it could rise.

Scott searched for the injured operative from the Thirty-ninth and saw that he was already being helped away by his comrades.

Where’s Oleg?

As if on cue, Oleg was there, ducking, rolling, and diving to avoid getting shot. The Russian was holding his own. He didn’t even look hurt.

The Grizzly’s massive engines revved to life. William and Derrick were nowhere to be seen. Both men must have gone back inside the armored vehicle.

“
Veck!” Max screamed. “I think Maksim’s dead!”

There was no time for concern. Scott and Oleg scrambled desperately for the Grizzly. Scott felt his shoulder burn with every flex, but slowing down wasn’t an option. Ahead of him, Oleg leapt athletically up the side of the Apc. Crouching and spinning around, the Russian fired from beside the porthole entrance.

Scott scrambled up the Grizzly behind him, pushing the delta trooper down through the hole. Scott dove in behind Oleg’s wake, and quickly slammed the porthole shut. “Go! Go! Go!” The behemoth’s wheels spun in reverse.

The cabin was in chaos. Svetlana huddled over Jacobsen while Becan shivered in a sweat-riddled state. William was bleeding from his thigh. The other injured operative from the Thirty-ninth clutched his side in agony. Only Oleg, Derrick, and one man from the Thirty-ninth remained uninjured.

For the first time, Scott examined his shoulder. The skin beneath his armor was charred, but he’d avoided the severity of a direct hit. It still burned, but he could work through the pain.

“
This ain’t gonna be smooth!” Derrick warned. Plasma fire rocked the hull of the vehicle.

Brunner came over the comm. “We have a transport en route. We are exiting from the back of the building.”

“
Max,” asked Scott, “what about Maksim?”

“
Like I told you, Maksim is dead.”

Scott didn’t have time to register remorse. The Grizzly’s front end whirled around as Derrick manhandled the wheel. The swift motion threw the occupants of the cabin to the wall. In a burst of acceleration, and the metal monster thundered down the street.

* * *

David and Clarke were alone on the warehouse roof, sitting crisscrossed opposite one another as they took in the idleness around them. They’d exchanged few words since Esther’s departure, and with the lack of activity in their area, nothing needed to be done. Their purpose had been to secure the radio tower for Jayden. With the Texan out of the picture, and with less resistance than even they had anticipated, their excursion had become a non-event.

The captain looked tired. His eyes sagged with invisible weights and his hair stuck up in odd places. He had the appearance of a man who no longer cared. When he spoke, his voice was laced with disgust. “We were both weak today.”

David lifted his head as explosions drummed in the distance. “What, sir?”

“
Remington and myself. The two of us were weak.”

David said nothing.

Clarke stared at the darkened sky. “Scott is a fearsome leader and a formidable fulcrum. But he still has a flaw.” He exhaled a heavy breath. “He still cares too much.”

David looked at Clarke with an odd expression, but remained quiet.

“
One of his friends was injured tonight—Timmons. And to save one man—one friend—he sent four of us home. Ryvkin. Yudina. Our pilot and our technician. The whole bloody ship, all to save one.” His gaze got lost in the distance. “And I let him to do it.”

Clarke’s monologue went on. “That is my flaw. That is my weakness. No one else here understands the confounding frustration in being a powerless leader. In knowing that your rank doesn’t matter—that what you’ve accomplished amounts to
nothing
.” His words turned to spite. “I am the captain of this squad, but I am subordinate. So why am I here?”

No answer was given.

“
I am a husband and a father. Yet I remain here, in this unit over which I have no control. And I give, and give, and give, and get nothing in return. Yet, I choose to remain. I am expected to lead.”

David turned to the battle in the distance—to a red sky that was not from a sunrise.

They heard footsteps from the stairwell. David and Clarke turned around as Dostoevsky and his slayers appeared on the roof.

The commander stared at the captain for several seconds. Then he approached. “Captain. We are ready to fight.”

“
Go fight,” Clarke said flatly. “Go fight your bloody battles—go worship death. Do what you’re destined to do—rape, pillage, and plunder in the name of The Machine.”

Dostoevsky stood motionless, his expression hidden by his faceless fulcrum’s helmet.

Clarke’s voice was devoid of all emotion. “You haven’t a clue what you’ve done to this planet, Yuri. You’ve corrupted our chain of command. You’ve destroyed our cohesion. You wield power at the cost of our humanity.” He rose. “Well, you can have your power. You can have your savagery. You can have whatever you want, you despicable chimp. But you will not have this unit.”

With those words, he turned to walk away, stopping briefly before reaching the stairs. “When you grow tired of Remington, give him back. We could use someone who cares—even too much.”

David said nothing as Clarke left the rooftop, disappearing in the stairwell. He said nothing as Dostoevsky watched the captain go, the fulcrum’s own face hidden in blackness.

* * *

As the Grizzly traveled, Scott crossed the cabin to Svetlana’s side. Most of the operatives in the apc had removed their armor by that time, as the prospect of reentering the battlefield seemed remote. The ride had grown considerably smoother as the vehicle distanced itself from the plasma-cratered streets.

“
How is he?” asked Scott, kneeling beside Jacobsen.

Svetlana looked worried. “He is in shock. His pulse rate is still over one hundred. I have treated this kind of injury many times, and I have seen worse, but we must return him to
Novosibirsk
as soon as possible. He needs infirmary care to survive.”

William watched them from several meters away. His own thigh was wrapped thick with gauze. “Is he gonna make it?”

“
The sooner we get him back, the better the chance. I cannot make guarantee, but…I think he will survive.” She looked over at Becan, then briefly at Scott. “I must tend to the others.” She quietly slipped over to the Irishman.

“
How did you get a Grizzly?” Scott asked William. That question had been on his mind since they’d first arrived for the rescue.

William’s face was stoic. “There was an EDEN station not far from where we landed. We took it.”

“
You
took
it?”

“
Come on, man, we just saved your life.”

Derrick looked back from the cabin. “You know Ulrich’s gonna be ticked, right?”

“
Forget Ulrich,” William scoffed. “That guy is a jerk.”

Scott wondered what made Ulrich a jerk to William—if he was referring to his behavior in Krasnoyarsk, or if he’d been brash all along. He considered delving more, but he wasn’t given the chance. William elaborated before Scott could ask.

“
Couple of months ago, I had this big five-gallon bucket of barbeque sauce shipped to me from Memphis. It was gonna be awesome.” He shook his head. “Ulrich confiscated the whole thing…every last bit. So now we’re stuck eatin’ the Russian crap they serve here.”

Svetlana cleared her throat noisily, but it was ignored.

“
So yeah,” William concluded, “Ulrich’s no good. He’s the kind of guy who goes straight to hell.”

Scott had no words.

It took several minutes for the news of the Fourteenth’s casualties to spread around. It took even longer to find out where everyone was. Esther had met up with Nicolai at the church, and the two were en route back to the warehouse. Together, they would catch a ride back to
Novosibirsk
with Clarke and a Vulture from the Thirty-fifth.

Max would go home with Brunner and the Thirty-ninth—or at least, the operatives of her unit that remained. Maksim’s body would be taken back with them.

The Thirty-ninth had suffered the worst. At least thirteen operatives were dead across the unit; numerous others were heavily wounded. Two of their officers had been killed.

Contact had been made with Travis and the
Pariah
not long after the Fourteenth’s Vulture arrived back at
Novosibirsk
. Jayden had been rushed to critical care, though his current status was still unknown.

Jacobsen aside, the Grizzly’s other occupants suffered only non-threatening injuries. The skin on Scott’s shoulder had crisped, but it wasn’t an incapacitating wound. Becan was in considerable pain, but his kind of injury was common with plasma, much like Scott’s except to a worse degree. He’d be out of action, but not for too long. William’s thigh was moderately burned, but it was nothing some time off wouldn’t fix.