The voice that had called out before the ship started bucking hadn't sounded very far away, so I wanted to be careful. Of course the acoustics were still too weird to let me get any idea of distance and the old signs on APCs about "objects are closer than they appear" might have an application here. I reined the Ebon in as soon as we came to the first intersection.
"Okay, which way is it going to be?" I whispered and he pointed ahead. That meant we had to cross three other corridors to get there and someone unfriendly would be covering at least one of them. Motioning to the Ebon to stay where he was, I took my pistol in my off hand and snapped out my mirror.
Holding it low, I peered at about ankle level around the corner. There wasn' t anything there, so I made the Ebon cross with me and stopped to cover it as the rest of us followed up. The lack of incoming bullets was a good sign, so I moved up the next one and repeated. Again, no one materialized to take a shot. It turns out that the third one was the charm.
I caught a glimpse of movement and crouched down again, waving to Obie to freeze. Granted that Bayer's people had heard us coming a while back with us trying to be quiet, the Chagrin and his big feet made it a guarantee they'd know exactly how close we were now. When I looked around again, I got a better view and felt my throat tighten. Heat stung my eyes and I blinked to keep them from blurring.
"Cole, what is it?" Casper asked as she crouched near me. I concentrated on controlling my breathing and didn't answer until I was sure the tremble would be gone from my voice.
"Mac. I-it's Mac."
His body was to the left side of the hall below a conduit and even from here, I could see that the tartar and the floor around him were stained wet and dark. He was lying on his side, with his face turned upward and I could see the emptiness in his eyes. Shudders ran through me and I tried to keep my breathing even, but it just came out in low gasps.
Angus was gone.
I had always been there to watch out for him, ever since we first met and being his protector become second nature. Memories popped up like thorns and I wiped at my eyes, thinking about the time I talked him out of trouble with a Shiver squad who's APC he stink-bombed and when I got dragged into the fight with the Gaff's McLeod boys for him. All of it was just part of taking care of my dysfunctional adopted little brother and life had finally caught up with him the moment I wasn't there to save him.
"Damn you, you stupid bas-" I mumbled, but that was all I could get out. The lump in my throat was so big that I nearly gagged as I tried to swallow and my vision blurred out. I wiped at my eyes with my sleeve and felt helpless and weak all at once.
"Cole? Is that you?" a voice yelled from around the corridor. "It's about time you got here."
I used the wall for balance as I tried to stand, feeling both heavy and numb at the same time. Someone's hand was on my shoulder, but whether it was to steady me or comfort me I couldn't tell. I shrugged it off without thinking and pushed back, feeling drained. Everything that had been keeping me going was gone.
"Operative, operative?" a voice said from out of the murk "Pull yourself together. Please! OPERATIVE!"
This time it was the Ebon doing the shaking and I had to catch myself from backhanding him out of reflex. He flinched when realized it but kept rambling or talking nonetheless. I turned away from him and that was when another hand touched my shoulder. Looking up at its owner, I saw big tears were in the 714's eyes and heard his voice clearly. It helped reel me back in.
"Less get payback."
"Yeah. That sounds good," I mumbled, but there wasn't a lot of resolve in my voice. I guess McNeil took that as me giving up and decided to take charge.
"Enough of this pansy crap," he said as he snatched the mirror out of my hands and used it to look around. "I see at least four or five guys with good cover, but we can probably take them."
Instead of listening, I put my back into the wall and felt the weight of my pistol pulling at my wrist. It seemed too heavy, but the longer I held it, the lighter it became. The Chagrin had the right idea, but I had to pull myself together if I was going to be much use.
"Alex," someone said from next to me and the voice was so soft that I thought it was Gael. It turns out that it was Casper talking and I stared at her like she was more of an alien than she actually was. "We have to save the grieving for later. It's the only way we're getting out of this alive."
The tone of voice was unreal enough, but the fact that she squeezed my shoulder was the proverbial bucket of ice water that I guess I needed. I peered at her, not sure what in hell had gotten into her but something McNeil said caught my attention and I turned back to him.
"What did you just say?" I asked, not having been able to process what I thought he had said. Either I didn't hear it, or it was too stupid to be believed. Whatever it was, I guess I owe him for pulling me fully back to my senses.
"I said, 'DOPIE' here will rush them and soak up a little fire and then we go in behind and pick 'em off as they reload," he repeated. "The Stormer can join in once he gets back up."
I looked up at Obie, who looked back at me and then growled at McNeil. It was obvious what we thought of his brilliant plan that would get Obie chopped into hamburger and the rest of us killed, but the words came from somewhere else.
"You're full of it," Casper said and I stared, never expecting that from her. This was entirely too surreal and I shook off more cobwebs and spoke up.
"We're not sacrificing anyone," I said as I took the mirror back and turned to the Ebon. My training was kicking back in and I was starting to act like a professional again. "Theo, is there another way around? I want to hit them from two directions."
The Ebon nodded and pointed behind me as he spoke. "Yes. I can lead you around and-and you can come an access portal. It's not far. Will that work?"
"Yes," I answered and faced McNeil. "Here's what is going to happen. You two stay here and wait, say a minute before you start shooting. When Obie and I hit them from the side, you come in also. Okay?"
"Yeah, no prob," The Waster said as she pulled a flintlock. I patted Theo on the shoulder and the three of us started to move. As an afterthought, I pulled my mike off and turned around to add something to the plan.
"McNeil, " I said and saw him stare with his remaining eye. "Check your fire. If you 'accidentally' hit one of us, Obie counts you as a hostile. Got it?"
"No prob," he answered in the same voice as the Waster. There was no way I was going to drop my guard and I almost hoped he took a potshot.
Theopolus had led us looping around two corridors before the fire started, but the noise was so loud that knew we were getting close. Glancing out, I saw a mass of Interceptors lined up behind crates returning fire down the other corridor and smiled flatly. There were no guys in powered armor waiting, no one looking our direction, and the straight shot would give Obie enough room to build up a good charge. Behind them, I saw a door rigged with charges and expected that we would find the Navigator Prime beyond. It looked like we had reached them in time and as I set myself, the Ebon decided to help me by stating the obvious.
"I don't think you should trust this McNeil, Operative Cole," he said and I nodded.
No shit.
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