“Where is Captain Friday?”
“Still at the front line, I’m afraid.”
“Then the Major has been left out there?”
“Not quite. We have been ordered back home, but we have a little time to kill. Captain Jones is out there now.”
Parker smiled a little. She had gotten to know the Captain from their joint training missions and had always liked him.
“How many troops has the Captain taken with him?” asked Parker.
“Just a handful, it is already a breach of his orders.”
Parker’s eyes widened. “If Taylor has got into trouble, then do you really think a handful of troops will make a difference?”
Chandra gave the Sergeant a scornful look. She had never been spoken to in such a way by an NCO. She quickly calmed down as she gave further thought to the Sergeant’s words and her situation, but she was left speechless. Parker sat up wincing in pain and swivelled her legs over the side of the bed.
“Where do you think you’re going, Sergeant?”
“To find my Major, Ma’am.”
She dropped off the side of the bed and painfully stood up. She had clearly only just begun to walk again. Chandra could tell that she was a fighter, more so than most.
“I cannot let you do so, Sergeant.”
Parker stopped and righted herself, squaring up to the Major. She had no care for the authority of her rank.
“You are being sent home, Major. Then I am assuming the Inter-Allied Company has been disbanded? You have no authority here anymore.”
She moved to step past the Major and towards her weapon, but Chandra outstretched her hand and stopped her.
“Sergeant Parker, I have no desire to boss you around. Major Taylor cares greatly for you, but he would not want you to throw your life after his.”
She turned and stared into Chandra’s eyes.
“Then help me, Major. Help me get him back safe.”
Taylor hadn’t moved for at least thirty minutes. His head lay back against the wall, and his body was limp. If it were not for the artillery bombardments that rumbled the ground every few minutes, and the pain, he would gladly have fallen into a deep sleep. He was astonished to still be alive, but he wondered how the two of them could ever get out alive. The invaders were building up to a major offensive, and so their position would soon be overrun.
The sound of a vehicle caught his attention. He focused on it, trying to identify its origin. It was a light vehicle and wheeled. It didn’t fit with any of what he’d seen of the invaders, but after his experience of the flying troops that morning, he was not eager to jump to conclusions.
Despite the rumble of artillery in the background, the neighbourhood was quiet, and he could hear the vehicle coming from many blocks away. The silence of the room was broken by a few muffled words from Silva.
“Sergeant, keep it down.”
He was glad that Silva was regaining consciousness, but they could not afford to be identified by any enemy forces.
“Sir, what happened? Where are we?”
“Quiet, Sergeant.”
Taylor carefully lifted his launcher in readiness. He knew that he had no more ammunition other than what was already loaded in the weapon. They couldn’t survive another fight. Silva was coming to his senses and dragged his rifle up from the ground. Taylor wasn’t sure if Silva was fully aware of their situation, but he understood enough that they could be heading for another fight.
The vehicle ran quietly and not like anything they had heard from the Mechs. Taylor could feel every trickle of sweat drip down his face as they anxiously waited. It was almost in view when it came to a halt. The occupants had been alerted by the debris across the street and had stopped to investigate. The Major would never have chosen to stay at the scene of the fight, but he’d not had any other choice.
They listened as metal hatches opened, identifying it as an armoured vehicle. Taylor lifted his launcher to his shoulder. Footsteps grew nearer. They sounded like human steps, but the Major wondered if he was just being optimistic.
“Major Taylor!”
Mitch’s heart raced with relief and excitement at hearing the familiar voice of Captain Jones although he didn’t lower his weapon.
“Major Taylor!” Monty called.
Silva turned back to Taylor with a broad grin. He could not believe their luck.
“In here!” he shouted.
Seconds later the group of soldiers appeared at the smashed windows. Jones looked shocked at the wreckage, and he could barely tell the two soldiers apart from the debris and fallen Mechs.
“Major!”
Jones rushed in through the opening where the shop front windows used to stand. He crashed over glass and a pool of Mech blood that squelched as he passed through. He looked down at Silva, glad to see another survivor.
“We found your jeep, thought you were goners.”
“Almost, Captain, much longer out here and we’d never have made it home.”
Jones looked down at the splint on his leg and back up at his blood soaked face.
“You look like hell.”
“Better than those bastards.”
He gestured to the body of a Mech. Jones’ eyes widened at the sight of one of the creatures out of its armour. At first he thought it was the body of a dead human.
“Christ, so that’s what they look like! They don’t look so tough.”
“Believe me, Captain, you don’t want to get to blows with them.”
Jones nodded and smiled. He could see from the Major’s state that he spoke the truth. He reached forward and pulled Taylor up. Silva staggered to his feet but wobbled and fell against a shelving unit.
“Give him a hand!” Jones ordered.
Monty leapt in and took the Sergeant onto his shoulder.
“Let’s get the hell out of this shithole, Captain.”
They moved out of the shop across heaps of smashed glass and rubble.
“Remind me if we get through this, to check Paris off as a city ever to visit.”
The Captain chuckled.
“With you there, Major.”
They hobbled out into the street to be greeted by the other paras and Dubois. She was sticking half out of the driver’s hatch and gave the Major a mock salute. He returned the gesture.
“Good to see you again, Sergeant. I wish it could have been under better circumstances than last time.”
“At least we’ll be driving out of here, Sir.”
Taylor nodded as Jones helped him around the vehicle and in through the rear door. He winced in pain as he lowered himself into a seat. There was barely a part of his body that didn’t hurt. Green hauled the thick door shut behind them.
“Let’s get moving, Sergeant!” shouted Jones.
The vehicle lurched forward and quickly gained some speed. They struck the debris from the building, shaking the vehicle around but easily overcoming it. Taylor looked at Jones with relief. He had accepted that they would die out there; yet again his companions had come through for him.
“Don’t stop for anything, Dubois!” Jones ordered.
He reached forward and tapped the power button to the display monitors attached to external cameras. They passed through one empty block after another until they were just a kilometre out from the defences. The armoured car took a bend and their jaws dropped as the sight before them. Ten Mechs stood in front of the bridge they needed to pass.
“Monty, get on that gun!” screamed Jones.
“What do we do, Sir?”
“Go through them, Dubois!”
Jones didn’t like the idea, but he knew that they’d likely not have any better luck if they diverted to another bridge.
“Go!”
The vehicle surged towards the bridge as Monty opened fire. The first few rounds landed short. The Mechs were lifting their weapons to fire. They all knew that the vehicle wouldn’t stand up to much against the enemy fire. The next shots from the turret struck one of the Mechs, smashing it to the ground. A second later, the area around it erupted with an explosion, quickly followed by several more.