"I'm not sure why you did it, Antioch, but thank you for saving my command, and my life." Rose zoomed in on the seated pilot. Bell gave a halfhearted salute and pulled his knees tightly to his chest.
"I take it that the Marauderwas piloted by Morgain." Bell nodded and Rose continued. "The militia is closing in. We've got to either leave or fight. Since I won't fight them, we'll leave. Will you make sure that Esmeralda, Hawg, and O'Shea are treated fairly by the militia?"
Bell lifted his chin off his knees and spoke, but the Charger'sexternal microphone did not pick up the words. Rose increased the gain. "What's that?"
Through the static Rose could just make out Bell's words. "The militia won't engage."
Rose was shocked. "Why not?" He adjusted the microphone and Bell's voice became clearer.
"I fed them the last transmission you had with Morgain. They know what's happening in Houston and they know about the arrival of the Clans." Bell paused, his chest heaving massively as he fought to control his emotions. Rose had killed men before, but he had never fired on anyone he knew. He could barely imagine what it must be like to kill a friend.
"Why, Antioch? I know that I owe you, but I want to know why."
With one last sigh, Bell unwrapped his legs and looked up at the Charger.With Rose's camera on zoom and the microphone on high, Bell seemed almost to be standing right next to Rose. On the other end, however, Rose knew his voice was coming across on an amplified mechanical speaker. Bell could see where Rose was sitting, but could not look him in the eye. Rose wanted to help his friend, but until he knew more, he could not risk leaving the , Charger.
The words came tumbling out. "I knew Morgain was up to something. I've always been able to tell when he's in over his head." Bell spoke without expressing emotion, but Rose could see the pain on his face.
"A war hero? What a pile of drek. Morgain was offered an honorable way out of the Twenty-sixth when Colonel Farnsgate discovered that he was selling stores to the black market. If the old man could have proved it, I'd be in prison right now.
"Twelve men and women in the company, and only two of us were not directly involved. Not that it really mattered, because we both knew about it and we both went along."
Rose could see the anger and frustration building in Bell as he spoke. He was standing now and had begun to pace. Rose listened, keeping his eyes on the scanner. He wanted to know why Bell had fired the missiles, not the story of his life.
"First I throw away my career for Salander Morgain and then I follow him to Borghese." Rose was impressed. He'd never heard the name pronounced with such contempt. "I signed on to form a mercenary unit, not to sit back and watch the war go by.
"You probably didn't know that he kept us virtual prisoners on the estate. Morgain held our 'Mechs to ensure our cooperation and support. The day I met you was the first time I'd been off the estate in months. I'd have carried you on my back for those recons if it would have gotten me off that property. I hated the place and the cronies Morgain surrounded himself with. I guess I even hated myself for being fooled by him." Bell sighed and ran his hand distractedly through his long hair. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. Rose could hear sorrow fill the void created as the anger drained away.
Bell looked at the immobile Marauder."I hated him, but I didn't want him dead.
"Then I found out he was involved in a scheme with Crenshaw. I knew it was bad, but I figured it must be something like a repeat of the black market. This time I decided to get to the truth before things got out of control. Which is when I found out about the Preservationists. Crenshaw is the head of the group and Morgain is, or was, the muscle.
"The Preservationists captured the
Bristol
"You and Cooke were the only problem. Crenshaw got rid of Cooke, and Morgain was supposed to get rid of you. I learned of the plot the night you were attacked. Morgain was furious that the soldiers didn't hit you before you got to the 'Mechs." Bell paused and rubbed his chin.
"They were supposed to attack your base before the DropShip. If the troops had been better trained, we wouldn't be having this conversation. In any event, I've spent the last few weeks trying to decide what to do.
"I could have left, but Morgain would never have let me take my 'Mech. My only other choice was to go along with them. I was going to do it, too." Bell paused and Rose realized how close he'd come to receiving that final shot instead of Morgain. Bell began to shake his head. He turned to climb down the Bansheeand Rose increased the volume of the microphone.
"Like always, Morgain got cocky. I was the second-in-command, so I knew all the frequencies we were using. It was supposed to be a private conversation between you two, but I decided to listen in. When I realized the importance, I fed the link to the militia commanders." Bell lowered himself to the Banshee'sladder and began to climb down. "The militia knows they've been played for fools. Once they're sure this is over between you and Morgain, they'll come in." As Bell started down, soon only his head was visible. "Oh, by the way, I surrender. I'll wait for you on the ground."
Rose sat in his 'Mech as Bell climbed down the Banshee,then calmly waited on the 'Mech's foot to be taken prisoner. Rianna contacted the militia leaders. Being on the opposite side of the Banshee,she couldn't see Bell, but her microphones were slightly better, so she'd heard the entire conversation. While Rose considered what to do, Rianna arranged a truce with the Green Team.
The first order of business was to inform the Thorns of what was going on. Opening the unit-wide channel, Rose gave his team a summary of their current situation. He had keyed the commlink to one-way communication because he didn't want to answer a lot of questions, but by the time he was done, every one of the pilots was signaling requests for a private line. Rose told them as much as possible, postponing further questions until they could assemble in one location.
When Colonel Bahlyard, the Green Team commander, arrived thirty minutes later, Rose was sitting on the foot of the Bansheealongside Bell. He still hadn't figured out what to do about the unit's current situation, but he hoped to get help from the sandy-haired infantryman. His first requests to the colonel were for help in retrieving the rest of the Black Thorns. Rianna, Ajax, and Angus were clustered around the Bansheeand Charger.
Hawg had crawled out of the remains of the Zeusunder his own power and taken a seat on the Banshee'sother foot. Although he looked fine physically, the death of his Zeuswas hitting him hard. Rose had seen the look before on the faces of other Mech Warriors, something between amazement and horror. At least he wasn't crying, but that would probably come later.