But you know they are, a little voice says.
I shake off the confidence issue and step away from the corner of the building. “Let’s climb,” I say. And that’s when I realize that Alexander and Sophia are actually doing what I tell them. This is odd for two reasons. First, because Alexander is an officer, too. That technically makes us both Lieutenants. And second, because Alexander always assumes command of a situation. We’re both equally ranked. Sophia and Derek are sergeants, each in charge of units of eight men within their platoon.
Tonight Alexander’s being nice. Maybe it has something to do with Sophia. The two of them have been spending a lot of time together since we moved into the National Guard base in Fresno. Could she be — dare I say it? — softening him up?
I smile at the thought.
Alexander is not the “softening up” type of guy.
I head over to a corner of the building, where two walls intersect near the rear exit. I use the windowsill and Alexander’s armored shoulder to boost myself up to the roof access hatch, pulling myself up. I crawl on the roof, keeping a low profile to avoid silhouetting against the skyline. I’m wearing a black and gray uniform. My face is streaked with camouflage grease. I lie prone near a rise in the roof and remove my rifle. It’s as sleek and shiny as a new car. I adjust my position as Sophia and Alexander move in beside me, scoping our sectors of fire.
We are snipers tonight.
The rest of my platoon is broken into four sections. Each section is led by a sergeant like Sophia. Alexander and I — we are lieutenants — oversee the platoon itself. They are the main assault force on the camp. Our job as snipers is to cover our men when all hell breaks loose and the National Guard raids the camp. Which, according to my calculations, should be any minute now. “I love these new weapons,” Sophia whispers. “But they’re not shiny. They’re dirty.”
I stifle a laugh.
“They’re not supposed to be shiny,” I explain. “They have a matte finish so they won’t reflect light and give our position away.”
“Oh. Well, it’s nice to have real equipment to work with.”
“Tell me about it.” I check my optics one more time, tweaking the settings slightly. Waiting for the right moment. “They should be in position by now.”
Our forces are slowly surrounding the camp, and Chris has positioned snipers along the roof of the distribution center. We’ve got about a hundred troops with us tonight for this assaulting force– and that’s all we need. Surprise Omega, break the gates down, drive them back and let the prisoners out. We’re not necessarily here to provide food and shelter for the prisoners who escape. We’re just here to free them. The National Guard has supplies and first aid in place to administer help to the refugees, then we’ll be on our way.
I slide my radio off my belt, running my thumb over the hard surface of the equipment. Technology like this almost seems like magic after living without it for so long. I push the transmit button.
“This is Yankee One. Condition green,” I say quietly.
“Alpha One, copy that.” Chris’s voice. “Standby, Yankee.”
“This is so cool,” I grin.
Sophia chuckles.
“I know, right?”
“This is how things are supposed to be,” Alexander mutters.
My adrenaline isn’t pumping yet. I’m strangely calm. If anything, I’ve been dying to get out of Sector 20 and go on a mission. It feels good to be outside.
A bright white light suddenly flashes in front of me. I tense and shield my eyes, trying to figure out where the light is coming from. Because when you’re cloaked in total darkness, a sudden light source is the last thing you expect.
I lean my head to the left, staring at Sophia. A horrified expression crosses her face, and in her hand is a slim flashlight. She fumbles with it for a moment, her fingers shaking. The light flicks off, and in that moment somebody patrolling the outside of the fence looks up. He shouts. Two or three figures raise their weapons and open fire on the front of Carl’s Jr.
It happens that fast.
Any glass that’s left in the windows below shatter.
We’ve been compromised.
Heart racing, I grab my radio and contact Chris. The gunfire is ridiculously loud, making it almost impossible to hear anything on the radio.
“Alpha One,” I shout, “our position has been compromised!”
“What do we do?” Sophia yells.
“Standby and stay hidden!”
The radio crackles to life. I have to shove it up against my ear to hear Chris’s response. “Leave your position, Yankee,” Chris says. “Regroup and pull back.”
I tuck my rifle close to my chest and slide down the slope in the roof, stopping in a crouch near the gutter. “Come on, move it!” I shout to Sophia over the din of the gunfire. I swing myself off the roof, landing on the sidewalk. Sophia and Alexander quickly do the same. We round the backside of the building. By this time I’m furious.
“What is wrong with you?” I demand. “Why did you turn on a flashlight?!”
“It was an accident!” Sophia replies, on the verge of tears. “I’m not used to the new equipment.”
“Well, get used to it,” I snap. “That almost got us killed. And the mission has been compromised.”
I’m surprised at the venom in my voice. I’ve never gotten angry with Sophia before. Then again, I’ve never been in a situation like this before. My radio crackles.
“Yankee, what the hell is going on over there?” Chris asks.
“Our position has been compromised, over,” I repeat. “We need to abort.”
“Negative, Yankee. Proceed with the plan.”
“But…” I slam the radio back into its holster, knowing better than to argue over the radio. “Come on, guys! Let’s go.”
Alexander looks pleased with my command. We fall back from the building, making a dash across the street towards another abandoned business. This one is a former sushi house. From the roof of the distribution center, Chris’s sniper platoon opens fire. Because the Omega patrols are busy trying to figure out where we are, they’re taken completely by surprise by the sudden attack. Explosions detonate along the fence line, compliments of Max and Derek. A huge blast destroys the main gate. It’s the same old same old. The sound of warfare. The shriek of gunfire. The screaming, the panic. The taste of gunpowder in the air.
I use the gutter on the side of the sushi restaurant to haul myself up. I climb onto the roof, staking out in the corner. This is farther away than I’d like to be, but I’ll take what I can get. I lie down on my stomach, tuck my rifle against my shoulder and peek through the scope. Fire has erupted on the east side of the camp. Omega is switching on their generator-powered backup lights. It makes it easy for me to sight enemies, tracking them through my scope. Chris’s team of snipers is so well concealed that I can’t even see them from my vantage point on the roof.
Of course, he can’t see us, either.
As long as Sophia doesn’t turn on a spotlight again, we should be good.
Our National Guardsmen assaulters rush the blasted ruins of the front gate. It doesn’t take much for them to push through, since there’s not a lot of security and we’ve already taken them by surprise. The prisoners, taking advantage of the distraction, begin flooding out of the camp. I cover their escape, sniping any Omega soldier that starts shooting at them. Sophia and Alexander are doing the same thing, but I can tell that Sophia is rattled. Her mistake with the flashlight has shaken her up.