The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) (12 page)

The hallway had two
elevators and a door labeled
Stairs
.
The second floor contained a glassed-in conference room and offices running
around the outside wall, creating a large open area in the middle, which had
once contained desks and chairs for lower level administrators. The desks,
chairs, and portable partitions had been stacked in four of the offices, and the
hostages—twenty-two men and nine women—were sitting on the floor in
the cleared area. They were tied together, so I doubted they could move quickly
even in an emergency. As Ralph walked me to the back of the building, I counted
twelve raiders in the area: two stood watch over the hostages, one appeared to
be standing watch out one of the office windows, another five were searching
the offices, and one office had four men on the floor covered with blankets.
They looked like they were seriously wounded.

He walked me past the hallway that connected the two
buildings to the rear, where he led me through a security door into a room with
no windows and a large impressive floor-to-ceiling vault at the far end.

"Major Batten, this
monk claims to be here to negotiate a peaceful solution. She brought two medics
with her."

Batten was a tall man
with an athletic body and a scarred face that indicated he had seen action. As
he strode toward me, his face was expressionless but his eyes were evaluating
me. When he was within arm's reach, his fist shot out. I forced myself to take
the hit I knew was coming and with extreme effort didn't try to negate the
force of the blow. When it hit, my head snapped backward and I lost
consciousness for a moment, stumbled, and fell backward onto my back. I tasted
blood and felt it dribbling down my chin.

Clever man
, I mused as I lay there waiting for my head to clear. A
monk was unlikely to make a defensive move, whereas a trained commando would
reflexively react. However, although Black Guards were very reflexive, dragons
had quiet minds that could overcome that reflex.

He drew his laser and
pointed it at me.

"Who are you?"
His voice was low and menacing.

"Omom Sudar."

"Why are you
here?"

"To seek a
peaceful solution."

"What if I don't
want one?"

"Then you will
sentence your comrades, including those in the two cruisers, to death."

"What about me.
Won't I die?" He laughed.

"I'm no seer.
You may survive the Jax assault on the building and end up in a penal
institution."

 
"How do
you propose we arrive at a peaceful solution, Omom?"

"Everyone must
accept a less than satisfactory arrangement. You and your comrades can go free
but without the crystals, the Heibei get the hostages returned unharmed, and
HTL keeps their crystals and sustains less damage to the building and equipment
but don't see you punished," I said, rising to my feet while noting
everyone's position: Batten stood slightly to my left, Ralph to my right, his
eyes wandering from me to the five men inside the vault, and three men were scattered
around the room searching the desks and computers.

Batten's frown
deepened as he stood silent, watching me rise.

"You are
assuming the Jax cruiser can destroy our two cruisers. After they destroy the
Jax cruiser, my odds of leaving with the crystals are excellent, so why should
I compromise?"

"During the
stalemate, you lost that possible advantage. Two more Jax cruisers are now in
Heibei space. They brought reinforcements for a potential contract with Heibei
to remove you and your friends."

"It wouldn't work anyway, Omom. They wouldn't trust
us to leave without stealing their crystals, so they would want to search us
and for us to leave without the hostages. We, on the other hand, wouldn't trust
them to let us leave once they knew we didn't have the crystals and had
released the hostages. And even if I were inclined to trust you, which I'm not,
you have no authority except to act as an intermediary. So you see, a peaceful
solution isn't in the dice, even though we will all probably be less than happy
with the final arrangement."

He paused for a moment, and then smiled.

"If we surrender, they will hang us, or worse seal
us away in some prison. If we don't, sooner or later the Jax will force their
way in and kill us. So, we have nothing to lose. I'm going to let you and the
medics go deliver a message. Consider it a goodwill gesture and assurance I
have no desire to harm the hostages if we are allowed to leave. Tell them that
we will be leaving with the hostages and we either all survive or none. Their
choice." He shrugged.

He was right. Neither side would trust the other to keep
their word.

Ironically, his solution would clear the building, which
was what we had been asked to do—not save the hostages. We wouldn't get a
bonus, but no one could blame the Jax for the outcome. If, instead, I tried to
clear the building by force, I might save hostages and earn the Jax a bonus,
but it would put my detail at risk and could result in several of their deaths.

I closed my eyes, seeking calm.

"I think the Omom is relieved she's going to live,"
Ralph said with a laugh.

"Major, we've opened the last box. We'll be ready
to leave in a few minutes," someone shouted from within the vault.

At peace, I opened my eyes as the major turned his head
to look over his shoulder toward the man in the vault.

"Good timing, Carlos—" His head snapped
around.

I stepped into him, grabbing his hand with the laser
with my right hand and driving my left elbow into his temple.

He released the laser into my hand.

I slid my left arm around his neck to support him.

It took Ralph a few seconds to grasp what had happened.

By then, I had slid behind Batten. We fired
simultaneously.

He fired reflexively into Batten as my laser burned
through his left eye into his brain.

I stepped backward toward the vault, jerking Batten's
dead weight around to face the vault. Carlo was drawing his Mfw as my laser
pierced his forehead, and he stumbled backward. Again, I jerked Batten around
so I leaned against the open vault's door and used my weight and Batten to
shove the door closed.

The three men in the room were now staring at Batten and
me.

I shot the one reaching for the Mfw lying beside him on
a desk, stopped to spin the wheel on the safe, locking it, and then managed to
kill one of the remaining two men when he hesitated to shoot with Batten in
front of me.

Several pellet blasts slammed me backward as the last
remaining man began firing. Most of the pellets hit Batten, but several hit my
arm that was holding him. The man fired as he ran toward the security door, but
his shots missed.

Not wanting to take any chances, my first shot tore
through his leg, causing him to stumble and fall face first onto the floor. My next
shot hit him in the temple. The room was quiet, and I released Batten, who slid
down me like a rag doll.

Now that it was over, my logical mind understood my
decision. If I had done nothing, the Jax cruisers would have had to engage the
raiders and many would have died, and while I consider the Guard close family,
the Jax military were also family, if a little distant. And my odds here were not
bad. This room was sound proof, so if I could manage to take them by surprise …
I collected a laser and Mfw and then treated my wounds. Only one was bleeding
badly. I applied a tourniquet, which reduced the flow significantly.

I opened the security door just enough to see but not
enough for it to appear open at a glance. The two men who had escorted Ganz and
Reti up here had apparently gone back downstairs, because the two men standing
guard weren't the same. Two were still standing guard over the prisoners and
four were still searching the offices.

It was time for a distraction, which I hoped would
permit Ganz and Reti to overcome their guards and then help me with the
remaining six. Hopefully, by then the rest of my detail would join us before
the ten to fifteen in the other building could come running to help.

I removed my proof-of-life bracelet and threw it on the
floor. Less than a minute later, the building shook as several explosions
rocked the bottom floor of the building. I opened the door enough to see the
entire floor. The result was close to perfect. Everyone had turned toward the
stairs or the front of the building.

I shot the two guarding the prisoners while noting Ganz
and Reti dispatching their guards.

The four in the offices came running out, two firing in
the direction of Ganz and Reti, shattering the office glass.

I shot one and either Ganz or Reti shot the other.

The remaining two turned their fire on me.

I took another several pellets in my side and leg, which
were visible from behind the door.

But caught in the crossfire and having no cover, both
men were dead in seconds. In the silence, the raging battle downstairs could be
heard. I exited the door and waved to Ganz and Reti to cover the stairs for any
retreating raiders while I covered the walkway.

A minute later two raiders appeared. Ganz let them reach
the landing before killing them. I thought that a wise decision; otherwise,
they would have fallen down the stairs, giving everyone notice the upstairs
wasn't safe. Two more appeared shortly afterward. Reti shot one and Ganz the
other. Then black uniforms came swarming up the stairs and into the room.

"Lieutenant Elijah, reporting for duty, sir,"
Elijah said, smiling after having looked around to find the area had been secured.
Then she frowned. "Corporal Uziel, come see to the captain, she's been
wounded."

"Lieutenant, assign Guards to cover the walkway to
the second building. If the Heibei intelligence is right, there are ten to
fifteen raiders in that building. And there are four locked in the vault."
I nodded to the security door. Feeling weak, I sat. Elijah came over and laid
my protective underwear, weapons, Mfi, and uniform next to me.

"You may want put those on before you engage in any
more firefights, sir."

"I agree. It's hard to be careful against modern
weapons; they spew too much metal too fast. How are Ganz and Reti?" I
asked, knowing they hadn't been wearing protective equipment.

"They looked all right—" Elijah spun
around, gun at the ready, as gunfire erupted from the middle of the room. Four
men lay dead a few meters from the walkway connecting the buildings. I sat
debating whether to send my detail into the other building to finish the job,
or to let the army do it. I doubted the raiders were going to surrender. I wasn't
sure of the laws on Heibei, but I wouldn't be surprised if raiders were
executed. As I sat arguing with myself, General Issak and Colonel Lothar came
up the stairs, looked around, and then headed in my direction. Issak was
smiling.

"That is one hell of a bonus you just earned us,
Sapir … are you all right?" His face wrinkled in concern.

"Just minor wounds. I forgot to wear my protective
gear." I quipped, touched by his concern. "We still have ten to fourteen
raiders in the other building."

"What do you suggest?" Issak asked.

"Whatever will risk the fewest Jax lives," I
said, trying to think what that would be. "I'd say a two-pronged
attack—blow the delivery door as a diversion and attack through the
walkway right afterward—but I would think they'd be ready for an attack
down the walkway."

"The army can do it. We aren't afraid of a few
raiders," Lothar said, straightening up as he talked.

I wanted to scream but managed to keep my face impassive
and not comment.

"What if we try the same strategy as in this
building? The army forces its way in through the delivery bay and the Guard
takes the second floor. We keep a force here in case the raiders try to escape
through the walkway. I think that plays to our strengths," I said, looking
at Issak and ignoring the colonel.

Lothar sneered. "The army can do it. We don't need
the Black Guard, if you are worried about getting hurt."

"General Issak, if the colonel feels we will be in
the way, I'd be glad to have the Black Guard stand down," I said, having
had enough killing for one day. We had done our duty and none of my family had
been killed.

Issak laughed. "You really don't like killing or
losing even one of your troops, do you, Dragon Sapir?"

"No, sir. I don't. I have no throwaways in my detail."

"Neither do I. Let's try your suggestion. If the
survivors weren't going to hang, I bet they would leave voluntarily if you
asked." He laughed. "Give us a half hour to get set up." He left
with the colonel following.

I dressed while I decided on the distribution of my detail.

"Elijah, pick five including Ganz and Reti to guard
the hallway and keep an eye on the vault. I doubt they can get out from the
inside but why take chances. I'll take the other seven."

"You're injured. Why not send me?"

"I should and would, except I don't trust Colonel Lothar.
He seems to think he has something to prove—or he feels in competition with
the Guard. I'd rather be there if he does something stupid," I said. That
was true, but I was also a bit of a mother hen and preferred to be where I
could look after my chicks.

Elijah smiled and nodded, probably knowing my thoughts.
She had nothing to prove either.

* * *

I collected my seven-Guard detail and worked my way
around the main building to the army's staging area for the assault on building
two. Issak met me as I neared.

"In five minutes, an assault shuttle will arrive
and blow the delivery panel. Then a team of twenty troops will storm the first
floor. You can follow whenever you're ready. We will be restricting our weapons
to Mfws to minimize the damage to the machinery."