“Alright, you just hold on. Do not let any bastard touch two of our own!”
“You got it, but you hurry on up here now. I can’t fight them off alone.”
Taylor leapt to his feet, which caused Eli to rouse and sit up with a smile. She looked disgruntled and disappointed that he was in such a flurry during their only leave in over a year. Then she noticed the concern in his face and quickly rubbed her eyes and tried to come to.
“What is it?”
“Jafar and Tsengal, MPs are trying to arrest them!”
She sighed, and he already knew she was put out by his support of the creatures. She shook her head in disapproval, but that only served to anger Mitch.
“Those two are part of us. Would you leave any other one of the Company in such a time?”
“No, but they aren’t one of us, are they?”
“People have said the same about female soldiers and black soldiers not so long ago. They stand with us, and that’s enough for me.”
“For Christ’s sake, will we never get a break?” she complained.
“Do what you like, but I’ll not leave them behind.”
He pulled on his shirt and buttoned it quickly as he rushed to the vehicle. Eli watched him leap aboard in a furious manner, speeding away from the tranquil paradise she had so recently been enjoying.
“You fool,” she whispered.
Taylor was already travelling well over the speed limit by the time he passed the gates to the road, and dust and sand swept in through the open sides of the jeep. His shirt was only half buttoned, and he was still wearing sandals. It was far from the well-kept image he maintained on base, but there was no time to change.
“God damn fucking bastards,” he yelled to himself as he hit the wheel of the car.
“I go for two God damn minutes, and they try to fuck us in the ass.”
Taylor had no love of the MPs, few did, but he genuinely had more than enough reasons to want to shoot some of them. Many despised him because of his combat record and all the glory they felt it brought. It was an envy he had to deal with on a regular basis.
Mitch could feel his head pounding as his anger and rage built. He reached the base gates in half the time it had taken the two of them to get to the beach. The dusty jeep came to a halt at the guard post, and a Corporal stepped forward to check his ID. The man looked suspicious of Taylor’s rough appearance, as he rightfully should be.
The Corporal desperately wanted to say something about his ill disciplined attire but looked to the rank on his shoulders, and knew he could not risk insult if Taylor really was what he was claiming.
“Identification, Sir?”
“For Christ’s sake,” he muttered.
Taylor reached into his pocket and fumbled around for his card that had seen so little use. He’d long forgotten what life was like at home.
“Here,” he snapped, passing the man a bent identify card. It was heavily worn and slightly burnt in one corner. The guard looked in shock at the card and took it suspiciously from his hands. Taylor sat impatiently.
“Well, come on, I haven’t got all day,” insisted Taylor.
“Uhh, yes, Sir.”
The man lifted his scanner, twisting the bent card to make it read properly and stood surprised as Mitch’s name and identity was displayed. There wasn’t a marine on base that didn’t know the name.
“Major Taylor, sorry for the delay, Sir.”
Mitch snatched the card from the Corporal’s hands and put his foot to the floor. The jeep raced forward and narrowly made it through the gates. They were only half open when he squeezed through. The Corporal shook his head in astonishment.
“Crazy bastard.”
Taylor’s jeep slid around the first corner, and he was quickly able to open up the throttle and tear across an open road towards Rains’ hangar. He slammed the brakes on and slid to a halt at the open doors where the pilot sat with his feet up as if it were any other day.
“Where are they, Eddie?”
The Lieutenant took another sip from his mug, not affected at all by the Major’s flustered state. He sighed and turned to Taylor, signalling over his shoulder with his eyes and a nod. Taylor turned to see three military police vehicles approaching. He snapped back around.
“We can’t keep them hidden forever,” mused Eddie.
Taylor shook his head. He knew his old friend was right, but it weighed heavily on his conscience that he would have to give up his own men, without them committing an offence. He turned back and stood confidently upright, glaring at the approaching vehicles. His right hand instinctively reached down to his thigh to rest on the pistol that had lived there for the last year, but it was nowhere to be found. He looked down in shock at the realisation that he was unarmed.
Caught without a weapon, for God’s sake, he thought.
The recent peace had let Mitch slip back into an easy life, not yet earned. He coughed to clear his throat and prepare himself for the assault of the MPs. The three jeeps slid to an abrupt halt less than ten metres from his position, and eight soldiers leapt from them. At least they were officially soldiers; Taylor could never see them as such.
“I am Captain Ames. We are looking for the two aliens under your command, Major.”
Taylor grimaced. He had hoped they were unaware of who he was. He quickly realised that they were well informed, and he was not going to talk his way out of it.
“On what charge do you wish to arrest men under my command?”
The Captain squinted in surprise at Mitch’s description of the creatures.
“The alien soldiers known as Jafar and Tsengal are soldiers of an enemy army which sought to conquer this world. The reason for their arrest should not need explanation.”
Taylor’s face turned to bitter anger.
“I do not need reminding what this war was about. I fought it whilst you lay about polishing your pretty uniforms. I will not surrender any under my command without just cause.”
Before the Captain could respond a door opened behind Eddie, and they all stopped to look. The two alien soldiers step out from hiding. The MPs quickly lifted their handguns.
“Whoa!” yelled Taylor. Tell your men to stand down!”
He looked back to see the two creatures stepping slowly towards the group, without showing any signs of aggression. Taylor snapped back around and roared at the troops.
“Put your weapons down!”
The Captain lifted his hand and signalled them to lower their pistols, in an attempt to alleviate the situation. The two stopped before Taylor, and Jafar finally spoke.
“We will do as is ordered. We will not hide from this any longer.”
“No, they can’t do this!”
He turned back around. “Who gave these orders?”
“I do not have that information, Sir. We are only doing our job. They are happy to surrender, so let us get this done, and there need not be any further trouble.”
The Captain stepped forward to pass right through the Major without stopping. Taylor could see he was uneasy with the task he had been given, but nothing was going to convince him to act against those orders. Mitch reached forward, firmly grasping the hand in which the MP carried his pistol and twisted until the man yelped in pain. Taylor struck him on the nose with one firm knife hand blow that caused his nose to burst and throw blood over his gleaming uniform.
Two more of the MPs rushed forward with batons in one hand and pistols in the other. One took a swing for him, and he nimbly ducked under the clumsy and excessive swing. He thrust an uppercut into the man’s stomach, throwing him off his feet, and quickly turned to the other. The baton was thrust forward at him with a more experienced fighter than the last. He narrowly avoided it with a quick sidestep. Before the MP could respond, he wrapped his one arm around the elbow and pushed with his other hand. The man’s arm snapped in on itself, driving the shock baton into his chest.