Chains of Freedom (20 page)

"OK, get out. Hands up!"

RJ and David did as they were told. They stood before the group, arms held high.

"So, you're the great RJ. You don't look so tough to me." He raised the rocket launcher, and aimed it at her.

"In all fairness, you're not seeing me at my best," RJ replied dryly.

RJ was probably the only one there to notice the badly battered trooper stumble into the clearing. One part of her mind processed his presence, and decided that he had come in for the kill.

"Die, traitor!" The Elite's finger tightened on the trigger.

RJ prepared to throw herself to the ground. Her laser should be dry by now, and with it, she could give these four a run for their money.

Then two unexpected things happened. First, David flung himself on her, knocking her to the ground. Second, the soldier who had stumbled into the clearing shot the Elite before his finger could close on the trigger.

In the pandemonium that followed, two of the remaining Elites fell to RJ's laser, and the third to a second bullet from the stranger's gun.

The three looked at each other for only a second. No word was spoken.

RJ grabbed the rocket launcher, slung it into the chopper, jumped in and started the engine.

David grabbed up RJ's spears and got to the chopper only seconds after the stranger got into the back and sat behind RJ.

They lifted off just as troops started pouring into the clearing.

David had never flown before. He found the feeling exhilarating.

"We're flying, RJ! Flying like a fucking bird!" He jerked on her shoulder in an excited fashion.

"If you don't quit pulling on her, we're going to be dropping like a fucking turd." Alexi had flown before; he'd even had a few chopper lessons once upon a time, but he still didn't like it.

RJ saw the chopper coming up on their tail. "Buckle in."

For once, David complied without question. Alexi fastened himself into the gunner's harness. RJ swerved, but the blast came so close that it shook the chopper.

"That was fucking close," Alexi said.

"Hang on." RJ flipped the chopper upside down and came in behind the other bird.

"All right!" David said, like a kid on a carnival ride.

"Fire," RJ ordered.

Alexi hesitated. That was a Reliance chopper. The chopper opened fire on them. One bullet shattered the windshield in front of RJ. She kicked the safety glass out all the way so that she could see.

"Fire! Fire, or I'll kick your ass out of this chopper," RJ said with a hiss.

Alexi had no doubt that she meant it, nor did he doubt that she could do it. He took careful aim and fired. Then he watched as the chopper exploded in flames, and knew that there was no going back now.

The next chopper to come in pursuit was newer and better equipped. Their first rocket missed. RJ was a superb pilot, but she couldn't outmaneuver the super-chopper indefinitely.

"Can you fly?" RJ asked Alexi.

He nodded reluctantly. "A little."

"Take over." She didn't give him much choice. She unstrapped herself, grabbed the rocket launcher, and stepped out on the runner.

"Are you nuts?" Alexi asked, taking the controls.

"She's nuts, but she's OK," David assured him.

RJ braced herself and prepared to fire. The pursuit had the same idea, and the two rockets hit simultaneously. RJ's rocket hit them squarely, and there was no more pursuit. Their rocket hit the tail of the rebels' chopper, and blew off a piece. It rocked and spun the chopper violently, and RJ fell.

"RJ!" David shrieked. He unbuckled himself, and moved quickly to the door. RJ was hanging on the runner. David hung on to his safety belt and with his other hand reached out and grabbed RJ. "No sense hanging around down there." He pulled her back inside as she cursed his sense of humor.

RJ took the control seat, throwing the rocket launcher off her arm.

"Out of rockets," she said as Alexi started to grab it.

"So, now what? Here comes another one." Alexi pointed. He was beginning to wish he'd stayed on the other side.

"Hand me one of those spears, David. Be careful not to nick yourself; I've poisoned the tips." He handed her one. She took firm hold, positioned the spear and slowed the chopper.

"What the hell are you doing!" Alexi screamed in disbelief and terror. "We've got half our tail shot off. That means that we have damn little sideways motion. They've got a fully operational bird. Machine guns, rockets . . ."

RJ slung the spear.

"Yes, but they don't have a pilot." RJ said smugly, as the other chopper raced towards the ground.

Alexi just sat there with his mouth hanging open.

"Isn't she neat?" David asked lightly.

RJ fled as another chopper came in. She was beginning to lose her cool. Enough was fucking enough. She was strung out on Pronuses. Her eyes felt like her lids were made of sandpaper, and her arm was jerking so much it was becoming increasingly hard to control. It had been a hard couple of days on the front, and she was starting to take this all very personally.

"I want a bath," she said longingly.

"What?" David asked.

"Nothing," RJ said with a smile. She looked at David. "Ever wish we'd gone into another line of work?"

David smiled and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Know what you mean, partner. The hours are a bitch, and the pay sucks."

RJ patted his hand.

"We can't outrun them, can we?"

"No," she said. "But we're not going to give up, either."

"Never crossed my mind." David looked at the rocket launcher, then he saw the smoke bombs. He was so excited, he couldn't speak. He picked both up. "RJ?"

She smiled. "Find the rest."

"It could work," Alexi said.

"Of course it will. You load and prepare to fire. Get it in the cockpit."

Alexi nodded grimly.

David dumped eight smoke bombs on the floor between RJ and Alexi.

"Fire on my command," RJ ordered.

Alexi nodded.

RJ slowed and dropped so low that it looked like they would crash into the treetops. As she maneuvered, she took time to be grateful that Earth had no War Birds. They would have been dead long since on one of the outer planets where the equipment was all-new and lethal.

The chopper swooped in for the kill.

"Fire!"

Alexi's aim was right on the money. The first smoke bomb landed in the cockpit of the attacker, which immediately filled with smoke. The pilot was flying blind, and was too close to the trees. It crashed, and RJ pulled up.

"Reload."

The order was unnecessary, as Alexi was already doing so. There was one chopper left that they could see. They could run, but then they would be chased.

"Fuck you," RJ swung around, heading straight for the last chopper.

"What the hell . . ." Alexi was as shocked as the pilot of the other chopper.

The chopper pilot couldn't believe it. Hell! Their tail was shot off, and they were coming after him. He didn't know whether to attack or to run away. While he was wondering, a smoke bomb landed in his gunner's lap. Suddenly he couldn't see.

"Get rid of it!" he screamed.

The gunner was trying to do just that, but it rolled off his lap and got lost on the floor. The pilot knew of only one thing to do. He went up. There shouldn't be anything to hit up there. The smoke was choking him and making him dizzy, sick. Something hit his gunner. He never knew what. The gunner fell from the craft screaming, still tied to the chopper by his half-fastened safety harness. The pilot's head was pounding. Who would have believed this shit could fuck you up so badly? No sense calling for help, there wouldn't be any. The rebels were getting away. Well, he thought, at least he wouldn't have to face Senator Kirk's wrath. He passed out, and the chopper went down, making him just one more of the casualties.

By the time Senator Kirk arrived, all she could do was assess the damage and try to figure out what had happened. To do this, she decided to go to the beginning and follow the rebel's trail. She took General Sacks with her, although at this moment she wasn't sure that she really wanted company—especially Sacks.

"I really can't see what good following this trail will do us," Sacks grumbled.

They stopped their bikes at the spot where RJ and David had set up their rough camp. Jessica got off her bike and started to look around.

"We should be after them. We should be trying to find them."

"And how would you suggest that we do that, Sacks?" Jessica asked hotly. "Should we ask them nicely? Yoo-Hoo! Oh, Rebel Terrorist! Could you please set off a smoke bomb or something so that we can find you?" She saw something on the ground, and moved towards it. "We must see just who we are up against. Obviously, these two people are a lot more capable than our soldiers, since a large number of them died out here trying to catch two Rebels. AH!" She reached down slowly and moved the leaves aside. She carefully lifted the discarded food tray with two fingers."So, RJ, you do occasionally make mistakes." She put the tray into her backpack. Then she got on her bike and they started out again. The next stop was the booby-trapped bike. Jessica seemed oblivious to the body of the man who had died here.

From here, the rebels had gone on foot. She got off her bike again, this time taking her pack and the infrared scan with her.

"Let's go," she ordered.

"On foot!" the general shrieked. The three first class soldiers with them didn't seem any too pleased themselves.

"You'll join me, General. You men will follow on the bikes." She was not in the mood to argue with the arrogant jerk, and with her rank, she didn't have to.

"Whatever for?" Sacks whined.

"Because I said so," she spat with venom. She turned cool eyes to him. "And, in case you've forgotten, I'm in command. If I tell you to shit, you had better drop a turd. Do you understand, Sacks?" she screamed.

"Yes, of course, Senator. A thousand pardons." He got off the bike and got his pack.

"Double time," Jessica took off. She expected him to keep up, and he did—just. They followed the path RJ had taken as well as they could. The fire had wiped out part of the trail. She stopped and studied the ground.

"Doubtless, you've noticed that one of our rebels is wearing Elite boots," Jessica said to Sacks.

Actually, he hadn't, but he nodded anyway. He didn't have the breath to talk.

Jessica looked at Sacks and frowned. She didn't like the implications. Sacks was a strong, healthy man at the peak of physical health and strength. As an Elite General, he couldn't have been anything else. He was damn near done in, but the rebels had continued from here. Had, in fact gone on to wreak devastating havoc. How could they, if Sacks' condition was any indication of what theirs had been . . . Add to this that they probably hadn't slept for twenty-four hours, and that it had been night, and Jessica started to form a picture of her adversaries that she did not like at all.

They came to the river, and Jessica waded in.

"You've got to be kidding," Sacks groaned.

"In," she ordered. Sacks complied.

Thirty minutes later, Sacks had had it. "I can't believe they walked in the water this long. I'm freezing."

So should they have been. Jessica had a sinking feeling. Ten minutes later, they came to Sikes' discarded bikes.

Sacks only had to take one look at the body to know what had happened to the man.

"Pronuses." He swallowed hard.

Jessica nodded, and picked up the cup. She sniffed it.

"She laced the cup with it. This fool must have used it." She put the cup in her pack. "Come on, this is where they crossed over." On the other side, Jessica found where RJ had pulled David out of the water. From the amount of water still on the ground, Jessica deduced that they must have both been drenched from head to toe. She looked fleetingly at Sacks. He was huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath. He was on the brink of exhaustion. Likewise, one of the rebels had been in worse shape than the other. She scanned the footprints, and puzzled out the prints left by the rebels.

"One of them had to carry the other one from here. The one with the Elite boots."

Sacks nodded silently. He didn't find that too hard to believe. Ten minutes later, he collapsed. Jessica left one of the men with him, and took the other two with her.

She found the body with the spear sticking from its chest, the face twisted and distorted.

"Very clever. Pronuses-laced spears." She put her foot on the man's chest and pulled the spear out, oblivious to the gore that oozed out of the now-open wound. Both soldiers swallowed hard. Jessica shook her head.