DusktoDust_Final3 (30 page)

The man was alive but he was losing a lot of blood.
“
You got this, Doc?
”
The soldier nodded and pulled out an aid bag. David looked around at the other men. There were five of them now. Beyond the rock outcropping they were hiding behind, he could see movement as troopers encroached on their left flank. David estimated the force to be at least a dozen.

“
You, with the big ass gun,
”
he pointed at the soldier with the buzzsaw.
“
Set up there and start laying into them. You two, start lobbing grenades behind those rocks. I want
them
pinned down.
”
He looked at the last soldier.
“
You
’
re with me.
”

The two of them moved to the left edge of the outcropping. Behind them the other three opened up with the buzzsaw and grenades. From the ruckus that was created, David suspected that the Feds would be ducking for cover right about now. He pulled the soldier in close.

“
What
’
s your name?
”

“
Bailey, sir.
”

“
Bailey, on my mark we
’
re gonna run like hell to those rocks.
”
He pointed to a point about fifty meters forward and to the left. He looked at Bailey for confirmation. The man nodded.

Pulling out two smoke grenades, he lobbed them into the open space. The smoke began to billow.
“
Wait
…
Okay, go!
”

They sprinted across the snow. Behind them, the buzzsaw sprayed deadly lead into the Feds
’
positions. By the time Bailey and David made it across the smoke was blowing across the valley, completely obscuring them.

David slammed into the rock and then glanced around it. He was now looking directly down the Federation lines. Just like he had planned, the troopers were making themselves small, seeking sanctuary from the dual threat of bullets and grenades. The snow was stained red in multiple places next to lifeless bodies. Still, there were six Feds continuing to fight.

David looked at Bailey.
“
Let
‘
em have it.
”
Then he raised his rifle to his shoulder, flipped the safety off, and opened up.

His first burst dropped two Feds. Bailey got one. The enemy didn
’
t know what had hit them. Soon all that could be heard in the valley was the howling of the wind.

David stood up from behind his cover.
“
Two-actual, this is Two-three,
”
he said into the radio.

“
Is that you, Carpenter?
”
Gnasher
’
s voice came back.
“
Where the hell is Zeek?
”

“
He
’
s okay, sir. The medic
’
s taking care of him. We
’
re clear down here.
”

“
I can see that. Good job. Now get your asses up- Shit! Hit the deck!
”

David didn
’
t wait to ask why. Grabbing Bailey, he threw the two of them down into the snow. He was just in time. Five railgun rounds impacted on the far side of the rock, throwing shrapnel and rock fragments everywhere.

David looked up just in time to see the remaining gunboat streak past. He keyed his mic.
“
Two-actual. Can you take that damn thing out for us?
”
In the distance he could hear the sound of the buzzsaw going cyclic, the rounds bouncing harmlessly off of the gunboat
’
s armor.

“
Negative, Two-three. We don
’
t have any Pilums left. You have any down there?
”

David checked with the rest of third squad over the radio. They were also dry.
“
We
’
ll look around up here,
”
Gnasher told him.
“
See if you can scrounge up anything.
”

On its own the lone gunship was not much of a threat. It continued to make passes, tearing up snow and rock with its railguns, but the Divers were well dug in at this point. Still, until the ship was taken out, they could not move. And that meant the Feds were minutes closer to landing reinforcements.

“
Roger,
”
David concluded with Gnasher. They needed to find something that could pierce the gunship
’
s armor.

Bailey tapped him on the shoulder.
“
There!
”
he said pointing toward the wreckage of the other gunboat.

David looked to where he was pointing. There among a scattering of storage containers, was a tube that very much resembled some type of launcher.
“
Good eyes.
”
He looked to the sky. The gunboat was coming in for another pass.
“
When he goes by, we move,
”
David directed.

The ship buzzed by, spewing deadly projectiles at the buzzsaw gunner
’
s position. As it swooped overhead, David and Bailey sprinted across the snow.

At the wreckage, David was happy to discover that the tube was, in fact, a rocket launcher. It was of Siberian make with Cyrillic characters scrawled across it. He checked the muzzle.
“
Ammo?
”

“
Right here,
”
Bailey said, pulling two rocket canisters from a case.

David nodded, taking cover behind a rock. The soldier joined him.
“
You ever fire one of these before?
”

“
No, sir.
”

“
Guess it
’
s my lucky day.
”
He hoisted the launcher to his shoulder.
“
Load me.
”
Bailey did, sliding a rocket into the rear tube. David inspected the controls. He found two levers, one that was red that must be the safety and another that was the trigger. Down the valley, the gunboat was coming around for another pass.

“
Alright, once he goes by we step out.
”
Bailey nodded in acknowledgement.

Five seconds later the ship flew by. David rushed out and took a knee with the launcher on his shoulder. Bailey was right behind him. He brought the holographic sight to bear on the gunboat and the guidance system locked on, tracking the ship
’
s heat signature.

“
Clear?
”

Bailey checked behind them to ensure there was nothing to block the rockets back blast.
“
Clear!
”
he confirmed.

David exhaled, flipping the safety off. Then he depressed the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“
Shit.
”
He tried the sequence twice more. Three times the rocket refused to launch.
“
There
’
s gotta be a secondary safety back there,
”
he told Bailey. Up ahead the gunboat was circling back again.

Bailey searched the back of the launcher. David held it tightly, still tracking the bogie.
“
Any day now would be nice.
”
As if on cue, the ship open fired and began tearing up the ground to David
’
s front. The rounds crept closer, kicking up snow and ice.

David held still, waiting for Bailey
’
s go ahead. Finally the soldier pulled away the launcher
’
s cable safety and gave David a firm slap on the shoulder.
“
Clear!
”

In one smooth motion, David depressed the trigger. The rocket sprang forth, reaching for the threatening gunboat. It didn
’
t have to go far. At this point the ship was right on top of them.

The rocket impacted squarely in the ship’s cockpit. In a brilliant display of destruction, the ship exploded and disintegrated over David and Bailey
’
s heads. The pieces of it crashed into the ground farther into the valley, burning shrapnel leaving black scorch marks on otherwise pristine snow.

David dropped the launcher from his shoulder. Once again all he could hear was the sound of the wind.

“
Two-three, this is Two-actual,
”
his radio broke the silence.

David took a long breath and then responded.
“
Send it.
”

“
Carpenter, was that you?
”

“
Yes, sir. We
’
re clear out here.
”

Gnasher laughed for the whole platoon to hear.
“
Carpenter, you are one crazy son of a bitch.
”

David cracked a grin.
“
Yes, sir.
”

David mustered what he now thought of as his squad and moved into the compound. With the help of the medic, whose name was Rusk, they carried Corporal Zeek out of the cold. The man was lucid but in bad shape. The bullet had barely missed his heart, and he had lost a lot of blood.

Gnasher was there to meet them at the entry way. He looked into the face of his injured squad leader.
“
How you doing, Corporal?
”

The man forced a smile, his lips slick with blood.
“
Give me a couple hours, El-tee. I can still lay into those bastards.
”

The platoon commander smiled back.
“
I don
’
t doubt it. Get some rest, Death Diver. The Feds will still be here for you when you wake up.
”
He looked up at Rusk.
“
We
’
re putting the wounded in the second, Doc. I want you in there, too.
”

Rusk nodded, and with the assistance of Bailey, carried Zeek off toward a line of vehicles staged within the compound.

“
We
’
re getting ready to move, sir?
”
David inquired. There were seven vehicles, all big rock crawlers, designed to move about the dark side. Hovers did not fare well in the extreme cold. These vehicles each had giant treads in the place of where one would expect wheels to be, made to overcome rock and snowdrifts alike.

“
As soon as possible,
”
Gnasher confirmed.
“
I want to get as far away from this place before the Feds send out reinforcements.
”

“
Agreed,
”
David said.

“
You saved our asses out there, Carpenter.
”
The man extended his hand.
“
I
’
m glad to have you on our side.
”

David shook it.
“
Just luck, sir.
”

“
There
’
s no such thing as luck.
”

Before David could respond, Letsego and Nobal walked up.

“
We
’
re almost ready to go, sir,
”
Nobal announced.
“
The men are just grabbing the last of the supplies they could scrounge up.
”

“
What
’
s the final count?
”

Nobal
’
s face turned overly serious.
“
Including Zeek, we
’
ve got five wounded, two KIA.
”
They may have won the battle, but it had not been without its price.

“
Who?
”

“
Pierce took a railgun to the chest and Elliot lost half his face to a chaingun.
”

Gnasher nodded solemnly. David knew what he was feeling. He had brought these men into combat and ultimately it was his orders which had gotten them killed. It was a hard cross for any man to bear.

But he didn
’
t dwell on it long. He simply nodded and then raised his head again.
“
Get the men mounted up. I want to be on the move in five.
”

“
Aye, sir,
”
Nobal said and then hurried off.

Gnasher turned to Letsego.
“
You have the route plotted?
”

Letsego held up a tablet.
“
It keeps us in the valleys and ravines. It
’
ll be harder for the Feds to spot us there. It
’
s a hundred and fifty clicks. Six hours in this weather.
”

Gnasher inspected the map.
“
Once we get to Haverford, what
’
s the best way to make contact with your guy, Carpenter?
”

“
I know where his place is, but I bet the Feds will have the city locked down tight. It
’
ll probably be easier if the platoon finds a safe place to hide on the outskirts while a couple of others and I sneak in and make contact. He will have a way of smuggling everyone else in.
”
David could see doubt in the lieutenant
’
s eyes.
“
Don
’
t worry, sir. This guy is reliable.
”

“
He better be.
”
With that, Gnasher handed the tablet back to Letsego and then headed off to inspect the convoy.

Letsego looked at David.
“
Your contact, who is he?
”

“
Like I said before, he
’
s a broker of sorts.
”

Letsego looked at him skeptically. Finally, he said,
“
I want to doubt you, Carpenter. I really do. But up to now you have shown your reliability. I guess all I can do is trust you. But don
’
t be fooled. If you give me reason, I will chain you up like the dog you once proved you were.
”