Black Guard, The (26 page)

"You’re in charge?" he snarled. I nodded and
understood the shock, resentment, and temptation to beat on his chest and didn’t
take it personally. "What gives you the right to march through our
home?"

"Warlord Shin," I said, holding eye contact.
"His family will be visiting this building and possibly others. If trouble
happens, whoever is with them needs to know the entrances and exits the
intruders and they can use. A few seconds’ delay could be the difference
between life and death."

"You think you are better than us," a man taller
than Shin but thinner said with a sneer.

"I don’t know you so I don’t have an opinion. But even
if I did, it has no meaning since we aren’t competing against each other. Your
job is to protect your people. Mine is to protect Warlord Shin’s family. The
better you are at your job the less danger your families will encounter."
I walked past them with my team following and examined each room and door. When
I finished, I gave a small bow in their direction. "Thank you for your
patience."

Shin was quiet as he led me back to his house. Inside, a
tall woman with a mature figure, a teen aged girl, a preteen girl, and a three-or-four-year-old
boy sat at the kitchen table obviously waiting on us.

"Captain Sapir, this is my wife, Iseul, daughter,
Soon, and youngest son, Hyun." I gave a small bow. "The other girl is
my lieutenant’s oldest daughter, Aika."

"It’s my pleasure to meet you. Iseul. I will be
assigning a team of five Guards to you and to each of your children. They will
be with you night and day until your husband considers it safe for us to
leave."

"Is that necessary?" She looked towards Shin, but
I answered.

"Who knows? Your husband’s men may defeat the Warlord
Daiki and you might never be in jeopardy. He may make peace with Semuc Province
and you might never be in jeopardy. Or he may give us notice when he is coming
so you might seek safety elsewhere."

"I get your point, Captain. My husband is very
generous paying for guards for us, so I and my children will cooperate."

"Yes, very generous. Iseul, this is Lieutenant Solow,
my second in command, and this is Senior Sergeant Catz. She and her team will
be assigned to you…" After Catz introduced her team, I went on to introduce
Senior Sergeant Cerff to Soon and Senior Sergeant Judt to Hyun. Then we took a
tour of the house. The second floor had four bedrooms: a master for Shin and
his wife, one each for Soon and Hyun and a fourth for their eldest son, Tahm
who was part of the Sabana army and out on patrol. It had two bathrooms and an
office. Downstairs were a large kitchen, bathroom, family room, another office,
and front and rear doors. By the end of the day, my off duty personnel were
settled into the third barrack and the Shin family under Black Guard protection.

Later that day, I called a meeting with Lieutenant Solow
and my senior sergeants.

"I want each of you and each of your teams over the
next two days to tour the compound and the town. Because on the third day, I
want each of you to tell me how you would attack this compound, it’s
weaknesses, and when would be the best time to attack Shin’s family members.
Based on that we will make adjustments. For now, shift change every six
hours."

"We will need to know about the other warlord,"
Solow said. "That could be crucial information."

 
"Not for
this exercise. I’m looking for how someone clever would go about an attack here
at Haeju. But for your information, Shin claims that warlord Daiki’s army is
twenty percent larger, weapons are newer, and has more
equipment—vehicles, ammo, explosives, and heavy machine guns—and he’s
crazy and unpredictable," I said.

"You’re worried that crazy and unpredictable might be
aggressive and shrewd." Catz smiled knowingly. When I nodded, she
continued. "And this compound appears an easy target for such a man."

"Yes. Consider this a training exercise. Although
there will be no grades assigned, your insights my save the life of a friend,
comrade-in-arms, or your beloved Captain."

* * *

Three days later, I gathered those off duty. "Well,
who would like to start?"

"From what I could learn, it would be an eight hour
drive, or twelve hours on horseback, or eighteen hours walking to Haeju from
the border with Daiki. I would send in a small team of three or four persons
partway by horseback to attack the weapons storage building. I’d use a
rocket-propelled grenade launcher and time my attack for around three a.m.,"
Sergeant Judt said to nodding heads.

"I’d send a group of twenty to thirty by night to
within four hours of Haeju, either by horse or on foot to avoid notice. Then I’d
create a diversion in the disputed valley to draw Shin and a sizable group
there. If the incident began in the afternoon, the compound would be poorly
defended by midnight. I’d attack killing as many soldiers as possible, taking
hostages, and destroying the weapons building," Sergeant Nadel said.

"Lseul Shin is most vulnerable when she visits her
mother in the small town where she was born. It’s two hours closer to the
disputed valley. The tribesmen are good shots so it would take only a few if
they wanted to assassinate her; a larger group if they wanted to abduct her and
the children." Lieutenant Solow said. "If Daiki is crazy, then
assassination, otherwise abduction."

"What about you, Captain?" Sergeant Catz asked,
which elicited smiles and snorts.

"I’d use trucks loaded with fifty or so troops. I’d
take them into the neutral zone—the open land separating Shin, Daiki, and
several other warlords’ lands from Rasun, the capital of North Song. I’d drive
cross country to the road leading to Haeju and camp some four to six-hour drive
away and wait for nightfall. Like most of you, I’d have planned an afternoon
diversion in the valley. I’d leave in time to arrive at the compound around
three a.m., kill anyone who possessed a weapon, take Shin’s family and the
other two families hostage, and destroy the weapons building. I would think
that sufficient for Daiki to get what he wanted in the valley."

"You must have loved the training exercises."
Solow laughed.

"I did. Over the next few days, I want each of the
teams to discuss the possible scenarios we’ve conjectured and possible
counters. I will adjust our security accordingly. Crazy doesn’t mean stupid,
nor does unpredictable mean unplanned. When Daiki strikes, and I believe he
will, I want him surprised, not us.

* * *

I left the barracks and was heading towards Shin’s house
when three men entered the gate, exchanging friendly shouts with the guard.
Then they turned in the direction of Corporal Toch, who was standing near the
gate, and had a huddled conversation. Two of the men then walked in the
direction of the barracks while the third strutted across the yard towards Shin’s
house. The two stopped and looked me up and down as I passed.

"I’d like to try that gun she has strapped to her
leg," the short, stocky man with an unruly beard said. The other, taller
and thinner with a trimmed beard, laughed.

"I’d like to try her out," he said loud enough to
ensure I heard. I ignored them, as they hadn’t addressed me. By now, the young
man had reached the door and was talking with Sergeant Ganz. He waved his arms
around, and his voice rose to a shout as I neared.

"Get out of my way, bitch. I live here." He
grabbed Ganz by the wrist and pulled, a smile on his young face. Ganz didn’t
resist. She let him pull her forward and used the momentum to drive her right
elbow between his eyes. He staggered backward one step and fell unto his ass,
his nose bleeding profusely. After his head cleared and he realized his nose
was probably broken, he grabbed for the rifle hanging at his side, but stopped when
he saw Ganz’s Mfw pointed at his face. Just then Shin came running out.

"That’s Tahm, my son, you crazy bitch—" he
said as he grabbed Ganz’s gun arm. She let Shin pull her arm, swiveling with
the pressure and drove her Mfw into his stomach. As he doubled with the pain,
she swept her right leg through his legs and drew her laser with her left hand.
When Shin looked up from the ground, Ganz had stepped back and had her Mfw
pointing at him and her laser at his son.

"Did I neglect to mention you don’t touch a Black
Guard and that drawing a gun on one will get you killed? We don’t like to kill
our clients or their sons, but we will if attacked," I said when I reached
them. "Sergeant Ganz?"

"Sir, this young man approached me, wanting access to
the house. Since I’ve never met him, I asked him to wait while I verified he
was authorized. He became belligerent and attacked me. Then I was attacked from
behind by an unknown assailant, who I now see is Warlord Shin." Ganz never
smiled, although it must have taken considerable effort. She had known it was
Shin who had been reaching for her.

"You, your family, and your men may call us bitches or
anything else if it makes you feel better. But unless you have a death wish,
you will obey our orders and refrain from taking aggressive action against
us."

Shin glared at me as he rose. After hard looks at Ganz and
me, he grabbed his son’s arm and stormed off in animated conversation. I hoped
he was convincing the young man that "getting even" was a terrible
idea.

"That was well done, Ganz. Shooting clients or their
sons for a first offense would be frowned on," I said, smiling. Shin’s
daughter, Soon, was standing in the hallway smiling as I entered the house.

"She’s very fast," she said, her brown eyes
sparkling with excitement. "They think women are for their amusement. Are
all the women as good as Sergeant Ganz?"

"She and the others started their training before they
were eight years old, and had to compete against hundreds of other girls and
boys. Any of us will be happy to answer any questions you have so long as you
don’t distract us from our duty." I continued into the kitchen where Iseul
was preparing lunch with another young woman.

"Is he hurt?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Only his pride." I hoped his father would
squelch any idea of retaliation.

"That’s important to men." She studied my face
for a long time, looking for… the answer to some question. Her eyes misted.
"Don’t kill him, please."

"Hopefully, your husband has convinced your son that
killing the guards protecting his family isn’t a good idea."

* * *

The following week settled into an uneasy peace where our
inescapable presence was tolerated. There was always a Guard near the gate into
the compound and one wandering the grounds or around the perimeter. In
addition, I encouraged the off duty Guards to visit the town. The more familiar
we were with our surroundings, the better equipped we would be in the event of
an emergency and a need to flee the compound. Shin and the others felt it a
fortress; I considered it a cage.

It was an hour after midnight, and I was getting dressed
when the emergency LED flashed on my Mfi.

"Report," I said, noting it was from Sergeant
Nadel, who was patrolling the grounds.

"I have a person lying on top of the wall behind our
barracks with a grenade launcher. He appears to be waiting for something."

"Take no action unless he does. I’ll join you
shortly." I clicked on the all-channels emergency override and waited as I
received confirmation from each team member. "We have our ’blowup the
weapons building’ scenario in progress. Sergeant Catz, your team is to keep the
family in place. Sergeant Cerff, take your team over the wall by the far
barrack. Send two men to circle the wall in each direction. Prepare to engage
but wait to see what they plan. Sergeant Judt, have your team await orders."
I slipped out the front door and around the building into the shadow of the
wall.

The sniper was lying only twenty steps in front of me,
facing the weapons and senior officers’ quarters beyond. I released the catch
on my whip and quietly slid closer. Nadel was crouched against our barrack
wall, Mfw pointing at the man. She nodded. It was one of the scenarios we had
envisioned. The shooter was waiting for some action to get everyone running
around inside the compound before he launched a missile into the weapons
building, hoping to cause maximum damage and loss of life.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a container sailed over
the wall and landed on the roof of the senior officers’ building. It burst into
flames. The guard at the gate finally noticed after screams came from the
house. He set off an alarm horn and flood lights lit the compound. The shooter
on the wall sat up and raised the launcher. My whip lashed out, curling around
his arms and the launcher.

"Now," I said into my Mfi as I jerked on my whip.
One of the shooter’s arms and the launcher flew in my direction. I could
faintly hear shooting behind the wall as I caught the launcher. The body
crashed to the ground, and Nadel shot him. A mercy killing because without the
medical facilities on a Jax cruiser he’d slowly die.

"All clear. Two dead." Appeared on my Mfi from
Sergeant Haber.

"All clear. One dead." From Sergeant Cerff. And a
minute later. "Another one dead. Their driver."

"Cerff, continue to monitor the outside wall. Judt,
your team can stand down." I headed for Shin’s house, knowing he would
have questions.
Rants more likely
, I mused. I had nearly reached his
house when he and his son came running towards me from the direction of the
senior officers’ house.

"You and your people are worse than worthless. You
could have gotten my family killed. I should have known better than to trust
women," he screamed. His son’s face had a sneer and his hands were on the
rife slung across his chest.

"If your son raises that weapon, you will have reason
to hate me because I will kill him." I held his eyes. He eventually turned
to his son and shook his head. When he did, he son reluctantly let go of the
rifle. "The fire bomb tossed on the roof of that building wasn’t
dangerous. It was meant to get everyone running out of the houses into the
yard. When that happened, the man on the wall behind our barrack planned to
send a missile into your very inadequate weapons building. The explosion would
have killed or disabled everyone inside these walls."

"Which way did he go? Why didn’t you chase him?"
Shin asked, looking nervously around.

"He’s dead, along with the one who threw the fire
bomb, their two friends, and their driver. I told my Guard to hold your family
in place because that was the safest place for them."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" he snarled.

"You’re paying the Guard to protect your family, not
you or your troops. I’m pleased no one was hurt, but I killed the attackers
tonight because they threatened your family. If that is unacceptable or you
still consider us worthless or don’t want to trust women, you may cancel our
contract, and we will leave." I was rubbing it in, but if I didn’t, his
son’s ego was going to get him killed.

"Show me this man with the grenade launcher?" he
said, still reluctant to admit defeat. I waved toward the barracks and followed
beside him, not trusting his son to be behind me. We walked around the building
and found the body and the launcher.

"His arm’s been ripped off and the other one’s barely
attached," Tahm’s voice rose with excitement. "And he’s been
shot."

"The price of challenging the Black Guard," I
said. "We take our jobs seriously. We do not play games, give
demonstrations, shoot to wound, or take prisoners." I followed Shin and
his son as they went outside the compound to inspect the four dead men and
their vehicle. They concluded they were Warlord Daiki’s men.

* * *

The next morning, I called a meeting of my senior people.
"I believe the attack last night eliminates any doubt this is only a
border dispute. Daiki has declared war on Shin," I said, and received nods
of agreement.