Guardians of Eden (10 page)

“They’re DPD.” Owyn was blunt. “They’ve been monitoring the estate the whole time we’ve been here. Rodriguez tried to help us so they took him out.”

Sully took a deep breath. He shuffled his feet nervously. “The Tajari mission was DPD too, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Owyn nodded tentatively. “It was.” As he’d suspected, Sully had figured out a good chunk of it already.

Sully shook his head in denial of his own thoughts. “What’s going on, O? What did Ambrose say to you the night before that mission? It’s him. I know it is.” His words were becoming rapidly more frantic as though his voice was struggling to keep up with the outpouring of information and emotion from his brain.

Owyn was unsure what he was getting at. “He’s our best bet, yeah.”

All of a sudden Sully’s demeanour flipped. It wasn’t in his character to express his anger – he could rarely muster the courage – but this time he wasn’t holding anything back. “Quit it, O. You knew about this from the start. From the second you told me to fly into that desert I knew you were hiding something. You can fool Miller all you want, but not me. Not
us
.”

“Whoa, whoa, Sully, calm down. I don’t know anything more than you about this shit, okay?” Owyn assured, holding his hand up.

“Right, so why don’t you tell me what Ambrose said and stop avoiding the question?”

Owyn’s patience was up. He’d been pushed far enough already today. He no longer cared who it was he was talking to. He was fighting back. “Is that it? I tell you what he said and your mind will be at ease? If you’ve doubted me for so long then how is it that easy?”

“Because as much as I think you’ve been talking shit for the last three months I trust you, O. I trust you to do the right thing before half the team are dead because of you.”

Owyn took a breath to clear his head. He instantly regretted lashing out. “He told me he was leaving. That was it. He never gave me a straight reason why, however hard I tried. That’s it.”

“And about your promotion? What happened to that? You haven’t mentioned it since.”

“He told me he was testing me to see if I was ready to take his place.” Owyn shrugged. “But I wasn’t good enough. If I had been then maybe Miller would never have come. We might never have ended up in this mess.”

O’Brien was shaking her head. “It couldn’t have been that simple. Ambrose planned a lot more than just getting you into that DPD facility. Miller never set out to complete the mission. You saw him. Ambrose set him up to this. Without Miller we’d never have got to this point.” She turned to Sully. “We’ve all been duped. Owyn included.”

“So what? What’s Ambrose trying to achieve?” Owyn asked.

“That pendant – Rodriguez – it wasn’t a coincidence. Ambrose wants you to do exactly what Rodriguez told you to do. He wants you to track him down.”

“He’s really been playing us this whole time?” Sully had suspected something like this for months, but even now that the truth was out he couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

O’Brien brought him up to speed. “There isn’t any rebellion, there wasn’t any weapon, and Rodriguez isn’t a weapons manufacturer, he was a DPD scientist. Whether or not Ambrose is behind it, someone’s been playing us, and now we’re at war with the DPD. We’ve been fucked hard.”

“Can you find him, Sully? Can you find Ambrose?” Owyn’s mind was set.

“I might be able to, but not from here, and we aren’t leaving until we get Shaw and Anderson out of that tower.”

“There’s a whole damn DPD strike force raining down on their heads out there. How do you expect us to get them out? There’s three of us for fuck’s sake.”

“If they get taken then Colonel Bauer will have exactly what he needs to expose us and turn the whole planet against us,” O’Brien reminded him. “It’s bad enough having the DPD to deal with. Bauer’s probably issued a termination order already so what if he uses them to find HQ? Then we’ll have nowhere to hide.”

“You think he doesn’t already know how to find HQ? For all we know he’s already got warheads aimed right at it. He knows everything. We’re a rogue military organisation that’s already destroyed one DPD facility. We’re dangerous. He’ll go to whatever lengths necessary to take us out. They’ll hunt us down eventually either way.”

Sully took up the reins once again. “So we’re just going to let them get taken and probably killed? Come on, O. What the hell’s gotten into you?”

Owyn wasn’t caving in, even with both O’Brien and Sully bearing down on him. “What point is there in saving them? Think, Sully. We’ve got nowhere to run. We’re all going to end up in the ground sooner or later. What does it matter if it happens today or tomorrow? All that matters now is tracking down Ambrose and getting answers. We can still make a difference.”

“Your grudge for Shaw is really enough for you to let him die? That’s cold, Carter, even for one of us. Like him or not, he’s covered both of our asses a hundred times. Your pretty head wouldn’t have stayed intact for a day without him.” Coming from O’Brien made those words cut deeper than ever.

“I owe a whole lot more to Shaw than my life, but that doesn’t change the situation.”

“No, standing here arguing isn’t going to change shit,” O’Brien agreed. “Do what you like. I’m getting to that tower, with or without you. Sully, can you bring us round to the side of the building?”

“On it.” Sully raced out and took his place in the cockpit.

“What are you planning to do? Storm in there and fend off a whole DPD army by yourself? There’s no use wasting another life, O’Brien.” Still Owyn refused to give in, in spite of the fact no one was listening to him.

“You said it yourself. They’ll get us all eventually. Why not today?”

“So what? You’d rather give up now than get answers?”

“I’m not the one giving up, Carter.” O’Brien opened the nearest door and fastened on her helmet.

“Don’t do this, O’Brien,” Owyn yelled over the deafening sound of wind rushing past the open doorway.

The cruiser was moving alongside the building, five storeys below the rooftop and around ten feet from the outside wall. O’Brien took two steps back, ran up and – shaking off Owyn’s last-ditch efforts to halt her – leapt out towards the building side.

***

From over the peak of the mansion roof came four soldiers equally spaced in a straight line formation. Swift and silently they closed on Shaw and Anderson’s position, reaching a halt at the edge of the roof. They each attached a line to their belt and set about anchoring the other end amidst the roof tiles. Shaw moved into place to take a shot but was forced to retreat as a sniper’s scope glinted in the distance, warning him that he was in their sights. There were two or three of them up there, covering every angle of the tower and ensuring their targets remained trapped inside.

Shaw, however, was no amateur. A few run of the mill snipers weren’t going to hold him down. Just that brief glance was enough for him to map the positions of the advancing troops in his mind. He emerged again and fired in a flash, leaving no time for the sniper to retaliate before he was back inside the tower. The man on the far left of the formation dropped and rolled down the slope of the roof, falling over the edge and crashing to the ground.

Inside the tower, grappling lines shot up into the empty alcoves below the top floor. A pair of men in black zipped up, ducking into the alcoves to evade Anderson’s line of sight. One of them then flung a spine-coated grenade upwards, which lodged in the ceiling just above Shaw’s head.

“Get down!” Anderson yelled, reacting to the grenade by blowing it apart with a bullet a split second before it could detonate.

Shaw evaded most of the slightly subdued blast, but couldn’t avoid the shower of shrapnel and splinters that it let loose. The shards ripped cleanly through his flimsy guard’s uniform and lodged in his side and back, stinging like thorns.

“Fuck!” he yelped. The searing pain from the burning hot shreds of metal cut deep in his side was too much to contain. The strength in his arms disappeared and his rifle clattered to the floor.

“Hold your ground, soldier. You ain’t dead yet.” Anderson took up the rifle and pushed it in front of his partner.

Shaw’s strength had been completely sapped from his body. As he lifted his arm his hand was trembling out of control, but determination was what he was made of. He battled the pain and the trembling to reach out and grasp hold of his weapon, but the delay had already lasted too long. The remaining three members of the rooftop squad were now anchored and had lowered themselves down the mansion wall ready to make the crossing, while two more of the ground squad had ascended to the alcoves. The assault wasn’t going to be delayed any longer. Time was up.

EXTRACTION

Owyn tried desperately to hold her back, but O’Brien was already gone. “Shit!” he yelled, kicking the wall next to him with so much force that he nearly tore through the metal.

Everything was falling apart. Half of the team were stranded in the midst of a DPD army and the other half had turned against him. O’Brien was going to get herself killed if she went in alone but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Owyn could go after her, but the most likely outcome of that was that they’d both end up dead. It was hopeless. But what was the alternative? He could let her die along with Miller, Anderson and Shaw, but where did that leave him? Sully would never forgive him and he wouldn’t have an easy task of getting the Operatives they had left at HQ on side either. He’d be on his own with virtually no chance of finding Ambrose. The rest of them would probably be captured or killed within a week anyway.

“Fuck it,” he muttered to himself. He had to give it a shot.

The side of the building was still flashing past the open doorway. Owyn lacked O’Brien’s agility and he wasn’t nearly as able at landings. He was going to need a good dose of luck if this was going to work. He stepped back and took a deep breath. His equipment was all in order. He needn’t have checked – he knew it was – but he needed something to occupy his mind. Lowering his helmet onto his head he glanced through the doorway again. He still had a shot. It was now or never. He breathed in again, pushed himself forward and jumped.

***

O’Brien cushioned her impact with the side of the building, skidding across it momentarily but quickly reaching a stop. She’d timed her jump to perfection, totally avoiding the smooth glass windows to hit a section of rough stone surface and make her landing a whole lot easier.

Before beginning her climb she activated comms. “Shaw, what’s your situation?” she asked.

“O’Brien,” Shaw said with an exasperated breath, relieved to finally receive the call. “We aren’t going to last much longer in here. We’ve got two squads right on top of us,” he reported, rushing his words in an effort to make up whatever time he could.

The rooftop squad kicked off from the mansion wall, swinging across the gap and grasping hold of the balcony ledge. In an attempt to buy Shaw some time, Anderson stepped into the doorway and shot through one of their grappling lines. The cable retracted sharply causing the man attached to lose his grip and plummet to the ground, screaming as he fell. The sniper got a sight but again he was too slow. Anderson ducked back inside as a shot cracked past his head. “Two down,” he said to himself.

“Hold them off. I’m headed to your position,” O’Brien instructed.

“What about Carter?” Shaw added before she could cut the line.

“He’s on his way.”

***

As Owyn touched onto the glass window he skipped across it like a stone across water. At the rate he was travelling his gloves and boots alone didn’t generate nearly enough force to stick him to such a slick surface. A powerful gust of wind swept in front of him, carrying him agonisingly further away from the wall. In spite of his instincts urging him to panic Owyn kept calm. He held himself as still as possible, reaching down to the lever on his right thigh as he hurtled through the air. In an instant the building’s surface changed in front of him. Immediately he yanked on the lever, firing his thrusters directly forwards. His face smacked against the stone wall, cracking his visor, but he stuck fast.

He groaned out loud then shook his head to recover from his daze. Once his vision had cleared up he saw the consequences of his improvised manoeuvre. “Visor’s dead. Great,” he noted. “Nice job Carter. Why couldn’t you have just missed the window the first time?”

His decision to do away with his contact lenses now didn’t feel so smart. Had he kept them he could have had Sully mark out O’Brien’s position and inform him of his own. Instead he’d relied on his helmet’s visor, which was now shattered, so he no longer had that luxury – he’d have to work on his own. His first concern was getting rid of his helmet. A useless piece of glass with a big ugly crack to impede his vision was the last thing he needed. Gently he lifted one palm away from the wall, released the lock on the back of his neck and lifted it off his head. He then let go and allowed it to begin its long descent.

Now that he could see clearly he saw exactly where he was. Just a couple of feet across from him was the corner of the building. Had he delayed his landing a split second longer he’d have been dead. If he did somehow get out of this alive, the whole ordeal was going to make quite a story – he was going to need to brush shoulders with death once or twice more today for him to live to tell it.

Up above him the building stretched far into the sky. Those few seconds that he’d spent in freefall had taken him a hell of a lot further down than he’d thought. He looked around. Not far from the top, now just a spec in the distance, was O’Brien. Hurriedly he reached for his ear and activated comms to contact her. “Don’t go in there on your own, O’Brien. Wait for me to rendezvous and we’ll figure out a plan.”

“Not an option. The DPD have already started their assault. Time isn’t a luxury we have.”

Owyn clenched his first and cursed himself again. It was his fault that they were split up in the first place so now he had to play it her way. “Fine. But don’t do anything stupid.”

“I never do.” She cut off comms.

“Okay,” Owyn said to himself. “Here we go.”

He lifted a hand from the wall and reached forwards. Again a gust of wind swept over him. His whole body tensed and strained just to stop himself from slipping. He shuddered at the thought of the fall that lay in wait if he couldn’t hold on. Even now, after surviving hundreds of death defying falls, he still hesitated. A planned, controlled descent was one thing, but the fear of the one where he wouldn’t be in control was greater than it ever had been before he’d entered this line of work. Still, he needed to put it aside. Every second he spent on self-preservation brought closer the possibility of losing everything. Once his cautious first step was out of the way he embraced his racing heart beat and powered on.

***

Peering over the top of the building, O’Brien could just about pick out the eastern tower and Rodriguez’ mansion beyond it through the estate’s grand gardens. From here the wilderness of flowers and garden hedges only served to obscure her view, but it would provide perfect cover for her approach. After taking a few seconds to make sure she wouldn’t be spotted she elegantly swung herself over and onto the gravel garden path.

“Sully. Can you get me Shaw’s exact position?” As she said herself – O’Brien didn’t do reckless. She might have been in a hurry but she was going to take the time to plan nonetheless. That meant she needed details.

“Shaw and Anderson are up against the right hand wall from where you are. Top floor. Marking them for you now.”

Ghostly images materialised in O’Brien’s visor, showing her Shaw and Anderson in blue as well as the nearby DPD soldiers in red. “Noted. What’s the composition of the tower walls? Will I be able to bust my way through?”

“It’s brick and mortar, but it’s only thin stuff. It shouldn’t take too big a blast to break it up. What are you planning?”

“Has Anderson got a full set of kit? Drop gear? Explosives?”

“No, nothing like that. Only his basic suit, sidearm and ammo. We weren’t planning on him needing anything else.”

“Copy that. I’ll have to plant a charge on the outside and hope they don’t take too much of the impact.”

“It should work, but that’s a twenty-five foot drop,” Sully reminded her. “Do you expect them to jump that?”

“They won’t have a choice. Be ready to come past the estate on my signal.”

“Will do. Owyn’s on his way to you. You might want to hold up until he’s there.”

“I told him already; that’s not an option. I can handle myself, Sully.”

“I know. I’ll be waiting on your mark.”

O’Brien glanced behind her. Still no sign of Owyn. She’d have to make a start on her own. “How’re you doing, Shaw?”

“We’re waist deep in shit in here,” he replied – there was no use sugar-coating it – as he swung the butt of his gun to repel one of the soldiers trying to climb to their level. “You and Carter better get a fucking move on.”

Anderson fired a shot in the direction of the balcony, forcing the two men out there to take cover. “Give the good lady her time. We’re having a blast up here.” Sarcasm, of course.

“Keep clear of the wall opposite the balcony,” O’Brien ordered. “When I give you the signal I’m going to blow through it. As soon as I do you jump. Clear?”

“Clear,” Shaw answered. He then looked over at Miller, crumpled in the corner. He wasn’t going to last long anyway; a fall like that would only kill him faster. One way or another Shaw was going to have to make a call, and it wasn’t going to be a pleasant one.

O’Brien raced forwards, sprinting and hurdling five successive hedgerows before reaching the border of the gardens. She had a clear shot of the tower – about fifty feet ahead of her across a flat mowed lawn – but she couldn’t afford to get any closer. With a teammate to cover her she’d have had no hesitation but if she was spotted going in alone all hell would break loose. She unclipped the charge from her belt. She only had one with sufficient power so this would have to count. If she could land a knife in a hostile’s throat from this distance then sticking a charge to a wall was no problem, right? She pulled her arm back. It was trembling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt nervous, and that was only making it worse. Taking a deep breath she looked up at her target. It was a straight shot; what was she so scared of?

Something rustled behind her. She whipped her pistol out of its holster and spun around, but in her fluster the weapon slipped from her usually assured grasp and tumbled to the floor.

“O’Brien,” Owyn called as he emerged from the bushes. Once he got nearer he saw the gun and O’Brien’s shaking hands. He raised an eyebrow, curious as to what had happened to shake her like that. “You alright?”

“Fine,” she said firmly, then leaned down, grabbed her pistol and returned it forcefully to her holster.

Suddenly Owyn looked up at the tower as sharp cracks cut through the air. “Gunshots. We’ve got to move. Have you got the charge?” he asked, having been brought up to date by Sully.

“Got it.”

“I’ll cover you. Get it planted.”

While Owyn held his position O’Brien set off again. With Owyn to cover her she could get as close as she wanted, eradicating her nerves. She sprinted across the lawn, leapt up onto the wall and carried her momentum a few steps upwards before hurling the charge above her head. It stuck perfectly. “Charge planted,” she informed Shaw. “Get away from that wall.”

“We’ll try,” Shaw answered as he wrestled with one of the DPD soldiers who had now breached the top level of the tower. Two of them had made their way up from the level below and had both Shaw and Anderson penned in. That meant the men on the balcony were clear and could prepare to move in for the kill.

O’Brien began her retreat, but one of the snipers atop the mansion roof had caught her scent. They tried a shot, but it was a wayward effort. “Eyes on the target, soldier!” another of the troops screamed, distracting him long enough for Owyn to take aim and fire a shot in his direction. He was never going to manage a hit from such a long range but his effort was sufficient enough to force the sniper to duck into cover – meaning O’Brien was then clear to make her way across and join him back in the undergrowth.

“Charge armed. Get back,” she ordered as she triggered the detonator.

In a brief flash the tower’s wall caved in and broke apart. Clumps of brick and mortar cannoned into the room where Shaw and Anderson were fending off the attack force. Anderson managed to step clear of the debris but Shaw wasn’t so fortunate. He took the brunt of the impact, sending him flying against the wall as a brick cracked against his skull. As he hit the floor rubble piled onto his legs, pinning him down.

Luckily the attacking soldiers didn’t fare any better. The two who were inside were knocked down the ladder shaft, the second helped along by Anderson. Meanwhile, the mound of rubble had largely obstructed the balcony opening, holding the others back for the time being.

Shaw flicked out of consciousness for a moment and when he came to Anderson was standing over him, clawing at the rubble burying his legs. “Get the fuck out, Anderson!” he cried with what little strength he had left.

“No man left behind, Shaw.”

“That’s an order, Sergeant.”

“With respect, sir. You’re in no position to be giving orders.”

Concerned by the fact no one had emerged, Owyn called in. “What the hell’s going on in there?”

“On our way,” Anderson replied.

“We haven’t got time to piss around, Anderson. Both of you get the fuck out now,” Owyn pressed.

Shaw knew he’d have to force Anderson’s hand if he was going to persuade him to leave. “Hand me your gun,” he said.

Without a second thought Anderson did as he said, blindly assuming he’d be assisting Shaw’s release. Instead, Shaw immediately put it to his own head. “Get out, Anderson, or my blood’s on your hands.”

Panic was creeping into Anderson’s mind. “Don’t do this, Shaw. You ain’t thinking straight.”