He stood behind the podium and lifted a hand for quiet. “The UN was forced to leave our world,” he said, into the sudden silence. His voice was calm and very dignified. “We are no longer faced with the problems of war. We won the war and now, like an animal who has escaped from the zoo, we are faced with the question of deciding what to do about it. We are free.
“We are…”
A single shot ran out.
As I watched in horror, the President stumbled and collapsed.
Chapter Nine
Although they wear many different forms, there are really two types of political party; systematic and counter-systematic. The systematic type seek to work within the existing political structure, while the counter-systematic type attempt to subvert and eventually replace the existing political structure. Typically, this is accomplished with a blatant disregard for the existing rules and a willingness to break them openly if necessary.
“Get down,” I shouted, as the President crumpled to the ground. The entire stadium was dissolving into chaos. There was an unknown number of shooters out there and people were panicking. I hit the ground hard enough to hurt, dragging Suki down with me, while Peter landed on top of her to cover her. I barely heard her yelp of shock. The President was down! “Everyone get down!”
The crowd didn’t seem to hear me. They were running everywhere. A crowd is generally as smart as the stupidest person in it and the panic was spreading. The exits were jammed up as hundreds of people tried to escape, while hundreds more swarmed around, screaming and shouting. I crawled over to the President’s body, cursing my limited medical experience, and realised that he was still alive. He’d been shot in the chest and blood was flowing out of the wound, but he was alive.
“Medic,” I bellowed, trying to be heard over the noise. I should have brought an experienced medic from the spaceport, or ensured that there was a heavily armed security force nearby. “Get a medic over here!”
An explosion shook the ground. I looked over the stadium to see a towering cloud of black smoke and fire rising into the air. The noise hurt my ears, but it was easy to deduce that someone had brought a car bomb into the area and detonated it just outside the stadium. The carnage would be appalling, I realised, with a thrill of horror. I’d seen car bombs used before against UNPF forces, but the victims here would be unarmed civilians. I barely heard the shooting over the ringing in my ears and the deafening roar of the crowd, but it was clear that someone was launching an attack. If there was a sniper in firing range, he or she could be drawing a bead on us right this moment. Did they know the President was still alive?
“Please,” the President gasped, between gurgles. I pressed down on the wound, feeling the strength leaving his body, even as I tried to stem the bleeding. “Don’t let them… please…”
He blacked out. “Sir,” Peter said, catching my arm. “This place is untenable.”
I looked up and saw that he’d rounded up seven soldiers and one policeman. The remainder of the crowd was exiting rapidly, despite the growing sound of shooting; I hoped that the shooters would allow them to leave, even though I doubted it. The car bomb and the shooting suggested a horrifying lack of concern for civilian casualties. The Judge stumbled to her feet and tried to come over to us, but a single shot echoed out and she crumpled to the ground. There was no point in trying to save her; the shot had gone right through her head.
“Keep down,” I muttered to Suki, and looked around. Frida was lying on the ground, shaking, but most of the other great and good were trying to get into the Government House, where they would have held their first meeting. It wouldn’t have been a bad idea under other circumstances — Peter was right; as soon as the shooters came in here, we were dead — but now… hell, it was the best idea we had. “Peter, help me to move him.”
I didn’t want to move the President at all; moving someone who has been wounded isn’t always a good idea, but there was no choice. Between us, we managed to pick him up and half-carry him away from the bloodshed, down towards the entrance. Suki followed, shouting for Frida to follow us, and I watched as Frida crawled on hands and knees towards us. She looked terrified out of her mind. I wasn’t sure if she were an innocent or not, but I doubted that she had expected all this carnage. We managed to make it through the entrance before the sniper fired again and I took stock. We had seven soldiers — nine counting myself and Peter — a policeman and a dozen politicians. It wasn’t much of a force for a last stand.
One of the soldiers was shaking in shock and half of the politicians looked as if they were on the verge of collapse. Peter took the shaking soldier and barked orders into his ear, forcing him to concentrate on what he could do and allow the training to take over. I wasn’t too surprised that one of the newly-trained soldiers had had problems; the training hadn’t taught them how quickly everything could just go to hell. They’d probably have done fine in an engagement in open countryside, but urban conflict was something else entirely. It also wasn’t easy to train a soldier to face.
“Get a defence line worked out,” I ordered, grimly. It wasn’t going to be easy. If they came at us through the entrance, we could greet them with a hail of fire… until we ran out of ammunition or they threw grenades into the building. It wouldn’t take long for the former to occur; I’d only brought my pistol and a couple of spare clips. I smiled, despite myself; I’d have to put myself on report later and issue a punishment duty. “No, on second thoughts, get everyone up the stairs onto the first level and we’ll set up a barricade there.”
Peter barked orders, forcing the politicians to work to save their own lives and help carry the President up the stairs. Suki had taken his shirt and used it to staunch his wounds, but I had no illusions about her ability to actually tend further to him. The odds were not in his favour. He needed a proper medical ward and trained doctors, not our amateurish treatment. I looked down at him, wondering if he’d returned to awareness, but he still looked to be out of it. I hoped that that would last until we could get him to a proper hospital.
I should have insisted on proper bodyguards, I thought angrily, cursing my mistake. I should have insisted on so much in hindsight, yet the President had had good reason to refuse all I could offer. He’d wanted to appear unafraid of his own people, yet some of his people had planned his death. There was no way that shooting him in the chest had been intended as a warning shot. Men had survived such injuries, even under UNPF treatment, but it required luck and prompt aid. The rioting outside ensured that there wouldn’t be any medical assistance soon enough to matter.
“Keep him as comfortable as you can,” I told Suki, and clapped her shoulder. She looked a right state; her tiny dress had slipped down, revealing more of her charms than she had intended. She looked as if she were on the verge of going into shock herself, but as long as she was focused on tending to the President, she should be fine, I hoped. Another explosion shook the building, sending plaster drifting down from the ceiling, and I concentrated. The situation was almost beyond recovery.
“Peter, keep them working on building barricades,” I ordered. “I’m going to call Jock.”
My earpiece was buzzing when I inserted it in my ear, running up the stairs towards the roof… and a place where I could see what was happening to the city. The noise from the outside was only growing louder; shots, screams and more explosions, as if the entire city was being torn apart. I winced as the voice of the dispatcher screamed in my ear and cut down on the feedback. I’d been so focused on getting the President to safety that I hadn’t checked in with the spaceport. They probably thought I was dead!