Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (20 page)

They disarmed the men, stripped them of their clothing and identification, and found a storage room to hide them. They got as much information as they could from the men, including the Captain’s last known whereabouts, and left them there. Most importantly they took their communicators. They now had access to the security broadcasts and updates.

Outside, they regrouped with the rest of the Marines and headed off towards the Captain’s last location. They were closer now, but finding the Captain in time was still a long shot.

“AI,” said Jon, accessing his comm.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Can you take down those pictures of us they’re showing on the buildings all over the city? They’re really not helping.”

“I believe so, Captain. Give me a few minutes.”

Jon stood in a lift staring out the window at his face on the side of the building in front of him. Getting out of the city was going to be a lot harder now that everybody knew his face. They had run away from the crash and ducked into a building to stay out of sight. They needed another vehicle, otherwise getting out would be impossible.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. A small, gray haired woman shuffled inside. She looked at Darla and said, “Hello.”

Darla forced a smile and returned the greeting. The woman scanned the group appraisingly. She stopped at the girls and said, “Hello children. Are you having fun today?”

The girls just looked back with blank faces and didn’t respond. The woman chuckled and said to Darla, “They’re shy huh? My grandchildren are the same way. I keep telling them not to be afraid of people, but they’re young. They’ll learn soon enough.”

Darla smiled at the old woman again, but didn’t say anything. The woman’s eyes then rested on Jon. She had clever eyes betraying a quick mind. Jon wondered how many people she fooled with the grandma game she played. She also hid her thoughts well, and Jon couldn’t gauge what her opinion of him was. She turned away from Jon and looked out the window. There, right in front of her was a giant picture of him, with a caption saying he was wanted for the murder of Mr. Jansen. The woman stood motionless staring at the picture. For all her slyness, Jon knew she was trying to come to terms with the information she had been given. She was trapped in this small lift with a murderer.

What would she do? Jon wondered. Would she try and play it cool? Pretend like she didn’t see anything? It would be a little ridiculous considering the ten story tall picture of him. He was overcome with a cruel curiosity. How would this sly gray fox try to get out of the dangerous situation she found herself in? He had to admit he didn’t expect her decision.

Without warning the woman screamed as loud as she could. She had to have strong lungs to belt it out like that. Jon put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her, but she kept screaming. She turned around and started punching Jon as hard as she could. While she did have unexpected strength for someone her age, the blows didn’t hurt too much. He let her bang away at his chest in hopes that she would soon run out of steam.

“Let me out! Let me out!” she wailed.

“Calm down,” said Jon, in an even tone. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Murderer! Help! Help!”

She swung at him like a windmill as she tried to reach the door. Jon stood in front of her, blocking her path.

“Look, just relax. Nothing’s going to happen to you. We just need to get to the roof and then we’ll let you go.”

“What are you doing with these people?” she said. “Has he hurt you,” she said, looking at the children.

“No,” said Anki, shaking her head.

“You poor thing,” said the woman. “Animal! You let these people go!”

Jon endured another round of windmill strikes. He looked at Breeah who had a mischievous grin on her face. “Really?” he said. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Surprisingly I am,” said Breeah, giggling. Her mirth must have been contagious because Anki looked up at her mother and began giggling as well. Soon Alina and Otka joined in followed by Seiben and Darla.

The laughter shocked the old woman, and she stopped hitting Jon. She looked around at the smiling faces surrounding her. Wagging a finger at them she said, “You’re all crazy. Every one of you.”

“Just take it easy grandma,” said Seiben. “You’re not in any danger.”

The lift reached the rooftop and the doors opened. They all walked out and left the old woman behind.

“See,” said Seiben, turning back to speak to her. “I told you.” He turned away and rejoined the group.

They headed to an array of parked vehicles up ahead. Jon hoped he would find another security vehicle, but there was nothing with any firepower. He settled on the first craft he saw and had the AI unlock the vessel to give him access. The rest of the group climbed in. Jon powered up the vessel. It hummed quietly, ready to take off. He eased the craft up off the landing pad and turned around so they could fly it out of the city.

As he did he heard screams again. He turned and saw the old lady standing near the edge of the roof waving her arms and screaming, “Help! Help!”

He looked off in the direction she was looking and saw a security craft floating above a nearby building. He cursed. His only option was to run and take advantage of whatever head start he had. The craft surged forward and he accelerated as much as it would let him. His vehicle had no guns and no armor. His only hope was that the security craft wouldn’t notice the old lady until he got away.

“Captain,” said the AI over his comm. “A security team has identified you and is in pursuit.”

“Great,” said Jon.

“And Captain.”

“Yes, AI?”

“I’ve removed your pictures from all displays, including the ones on the buildings.”

“Thank you, AI.”

“You’re most welcome, Captain.”

“Fugitive has been spotted in hovercraft. Security team is in pursuit,” said the voice over the security communicator.

“That’s him,” said Kevin. “They’re on him. We need to get to one of those ships fast.”

“In here,” said Henderson.

The team ducked into a building and ran for the lift. The lift took them up to the roof where they could find a vehicle. The Captain and his pursuers had a head start but the security reports should point them in the right direction. He only hoped the Captain could elude capture long enough for them to catch up.

They reached the roof without incident and ran toward the parked vehicles. One happened to be landing as they approached. It was still powered on and the passengers had just disembarked. It looked as though the driver was about to take off. He waved goodbye to his passengers when he noticed Kevin’s team running up. With curiosity, he watched and waited to see what the urgency was all about. When Sergeant Henderson came up to his door and opened it, that curiosity quickly turned to fear. Henderson reached in and grabbed the man by the hair. He pulled the wide eyed civilian out of the vehicle, throwing him to the ground. His passengers looked on in shock as the Marines climbed into the humming craft.

Henderson again let Chen into the driver’s seat. Kevin sat in the passenger seat, the Sergeant and the rest of the men climbed into the back. Chen lifted the vehicle off the landing pad and headed in the direction of the chase. Inside, the Marines readied themselves for combat. The time for disguises was quickly coming to an end. They pulled their weapons out from their coveralls, and checked to make sure everything was in working order. They had outfitted themselves with Chaanisar rail guns, preferring to have the punch and armor piercing capabilities the energy weapons sometimes lacked. They wore armor underneath their coveralls for protection. Unlike a combat suit, the armor was lighter and not powered, and didn’t offer the same amount of protection. It did shield them, however, and would allow them to take a few hits before it started to fail. It protected their torsos, arms and legs, but not their heads. Unfortunately it was the only option that allowed them to stay covert.

As they headed for the outskirts of the city a report came in over the security frequency. “Fugitive vehicle has been fired upon and hit. Craft is losing altitude.”

“Damn it!” said Kevin. “Can’t this thing go any faster?”

“Sorry Chief, it’s maxed out,” said Chen.

Kevin punched the dashboard. They were too far away. The security forces would get to the Captain first.

“Lieutenant Jarvi to Chief St. Clair,” said a voice over Kevin’s comm.

“St. Clair here.”

“We have successfully disabled the station’s weapons, Chief. What’s your status?”

“We’re in the air. We’ve located the Captain, but we’re too far and station security forces are already on top of them.”

“Understood. Send me the Captain’s location, Chief. We’ll try and reach them from the ground. Maybe our teams can flank the security force.”

Kevin sent Jarvi the coordinates. The Chaanisar were fast, but were they fast enough?

Over the security frequency came another update. “Fugitive hovercraft has been grounded. Fugitives now on foot. We are giving pursuit.”

Kevin ground his teeth and hit the dash again. “Come on! Let’s go!” he said in frustration.

The voice came over the security frequency again, this time sounding panicked. “We are taking fire… Requesting assistance…” The Marines were all quiet, waiting for the next update. “We’ve been hit. Repeat, we’ve been hit. We are going down. Request immediate assistance.”

Cheers broke out in the hovercraft.

“You’re gonna need more than one of these damn flying toys to take out the Captain,” yelled Kevin, releasing some of the tension that had built up inside him.

Another voice came over the security frequency. “Hold position, assistance is on the way.”

The cheers quieted down at the sound, replaced by a grim determination. The Captain had bought them some time, but the battle wasn’t over yet. Kevin knew it likely hadn’t even begun.

Jon ran, but not at full speed. Not even at half speed. He was slowed by the group, and the group was slowed by the children. When it was just Anki he could carry her to pick up the pace, but he couldn’t carry all three, so they had to move slower than necessary. Seiben and Darla carried their two girls which was taking its toll on their mobility. At that speed it was a certainty that the security forces would overtake them. He had shot down the last team that chased them. He had been lucky. They weren’t cautious when they approached, thinking they had Jon at their mercy. Perhaps they didn’t think he was armed? Either way they were foolish and gave him an opportunity to fire. The next round wouldn’t be as easy. They had managed to leave the city and were now running through the acres of parkland that surrounded it. The landscape was serene and pleasant, woefully unsuited to their desperate circumstances.

He turned and looked at the sky behind him. He spotted more security forces in the sky heading towards them. They were mere dots in the distant sky, but that would change quickly. They were too exposed out here, and they had no hope of outrunning their pursuers. They needed to find another option fast. Up ahead he saw something that might work. A structure, standing behind a group of evergreens. It wasn’t a house. Rather it looked to be used for maintenance supplies. It looked solidly built. It would have to do.

Jon waved the group over to the small building. It had a couple of small windows and a door. He tried the door, but it was locked. Jon pointed the energy weapon at the door and fired, burning a hole through the lock. The door swung open and he ushered the group inside. He shut the door behind him. Now they would sit and wait. The building smelled of soil and fertilizer. All around them were gardening supplies. There were bags of soil stacked up high in the corner. The building itself had thick walls and looked like it could resist the weaponry he’d seen the security forces use. If they used heavier weapons, however, the game would be up. They would need to get out of there before that happened, which would be hard to do with only one way in and out.

“What do we do now?” said Seiben, trying to catch his breath.

“We wait,” said Jon. “With any luck they won’t find us here.”

“What are the chances of that?”

Jon sighed, “Not good, but we’ll find out soon enough.”

He looked out the window and saw three vehicles floating around the crash site. They began to land and DLC security forces emerged. They all looked like Kulberg’s guards, dressed in black from head to toe, and carrying energy weapons. Jon counted twenty five men in all. They spread out into a long, wide line, intended to cover as much area as possible and started to move forward, weapons ready and pointed dead ahead. They would be on top of them in five minutes at most. Jon figured the chances of them not checking the building were about zero, so he got ready.

He had put Darla and the girls behind a pile of bags filled with soil, and told them not to move. He positioned Seiben in the rear to protect Darla and the children if anybody managed to break into the building. He had Breeah stand at one of the windows while he took the other. They were on opposite ends of the door, giving them the ability to put anyone coming through in a crossfire, while also allowing them to fire through the windows.

They waited a few minutes until the security forces closed on the building. He peeked out the window and cringed. The security craft were back in the air and floating just above the DLC soldiers. They were going to provide air support to the ground troops with those Gatling guns. How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one?

Any hopes that they might miss the building faded when a soldier approached the door and saw the hole burned through it. “In here,” he yelled, and pulled the door open. Jon and Breeah fired in unison. The soldier didn’t have a chance. He fell to the ground with a thud directly in front of the door.

Jon heard soldiers running toward the building and turned to his window. He broke the glass with the stock of his weapon and opened fire. Breeah did the same. The soldiers outside scrambled for cover in response. From the window Jon caught a glimpse of an attack craft’s nose pointing at him. He got out of the way just as its Gatling guns opened fire, sending a barrage of bullets through the window.

A second attack craft moved in and fired on Breeah’s location, forcing her to take cover. They were pinned down. Trapped. The DLC soldiers would soon use the supporting fire from the hovercraft to break through. Jon pointed his weapon at the door, waiting for the inevitable onslaught.

More gunfire erupted from the other side of the building. Had they surrounded them already? Maybe he didn’t give them enough credit? The attack craft stopped firing at his window and he carefully peeked out. There was still shooting, but it wasn’t aimed at the building. They were fighting someone else. But who? He tried to get a better look at what was happening but didn’t have a decent vantage point. He did spot another vehicle approaching. As it neared he realized that it wasn’t armed. It was a civilian craft. Some thrill seeker wanting a better look at the action? He watched it set down. Saw the doors slide open, and gasped. Coming out of the vehicle, wearing coveralls and now engaging the DLC soldiers from behind was Kevin and a team of Marines.

He stood stunned, not believing his eyes.
How could any of this be possible?
he thought.
How did they get off Kerces? How did they find the station? It’s impossible
. He looked out the window again. They were still there.

“Breeah,” Jon yelled. “Do you see Chief St. Clair out there?”

Breeah looked out her window and scanned the landscape. She froze. A few moments later she pulled away from the window and looked at Jon with the same surprised look he imagined was on his face. “Yes, Jon. I see him. How-?”

“I don’t know. But I think we should probably give them a hand, don’t you?”

“I do,” she said, still clearly confused, but adapting to the bizarre situation.

The two returned to their windows and joined in the fight. The security team ahead of them had forgotten the building and had turned to engage the force on their rear. That made them easy targets for Jon and Breeah, who had no qualms about shooting them in the back. They fell quickly and the Marines advanced.

“Captain? Are you in there?” came Kevin’s voice, as they approached the building.

“Yeah, we’re in here,” said Jon. “Where the hell did you come from?”

“Hang on a minute, Sir. I’m just in the middle of something here.”

Jon broke out into laughter. He laughed for joy. Not just at the joke, not just at the fact that they were saved, but at the fact that his best friend was still alive.

Outside the firing slowed, becoming more sporadic, until it finally stopped.

“You can come out now, Captain,” said Kevin.

Jon walked out of the building with Breeah, Seiben, Darla and the children in tow.

Kevin walked up to him and saluted. “Chief St. Clair reporting for duty, Sir.”

Jon returned the salute and laughed. He thrust out his hand and Kevin shook it.

“Chief, I’ve never been so happy to see anybody in my life,” said Jon. He looked at the rest of the Marines who also sported wide grins and said, “That goes for all of you.”

Jon became aware of more men approaching from behind and turned to see another armed group dressed like Kevin and his men, only he didn’t recognize any of them.

One of them stepped up and said, “Captain Pike, I’m Lieutenant Jarvi. I know you have a lot of questions, but we have to go. Quickly.”

“Lieutenant Jarvi? There was no Lieutenant Jarvi on the Hermes,” said Jon.

“That’s because we’re not from the Hermes,” said Jarvi. “We’re Chaanisar.”