LANCEJACK (The Union Series) (24 page)

Somebody
shouted a command from below, presumably one of the rebels. I ignored it and
pressed on. We couldn’t stop, we had to get off the gantry.

Above
us One section’s mammoth gunner fired through the hole at our unseen adversary,
the streak of friendly fire marked by my visor display in lines of red so that
I couldn’t accidentally run into it. Seconds later a series of grenades
launched through the same hole. The entire gantry rocked on its cables as they
detonated below us in flashes of light that illuminated the entire warehouse.

We
were ten metres from the ladder at the end of the gantry when the enemy managed
to fire back. Where they were firing from and what they were firing at I didn’t
know. I didn’t have time to look.

I
pushed Okonkwo onto the ladder, ‘Get down! Jacko, cover us!’

Jackson’s
mammoth joined in with the din as we quickly clambered down the ladder and onto
the roof of the building, and pieces of link spat out by the weapon rattled down
on my helmet.

We
both took a knee at the bottom, scanning through our sights. I couldn’t see
what Jackson and the other mammoth gunner were firing at, their target was
concealed amongst the maze of containers which were stacked almost as high as
the building itself.

We
were nearly off the gantry, which meant that we would be back in control. As
soon as we cleared that building I knew that the boss could use mouse-hole
charges and ropes to allow the rest of the platoon to join us.

I
looked along the gantry for Konny’s fire team. He had stopped halfway along it
to join in with the fire fight.

I
gaped.
What was he doing?

Terrified
for their safety, I forgot myself, running to the edge of the building,
‘Konny!’

He
didn’t turn. I watched in dismay as the other half of my section continued to
fire upon the enemy from the middle of the warehouse.

‘Konny,
move, you idiot!’ I screamed.

Konny
looked in my direction, ‘I’ve got eyes-on, here!’

‘MOVE,
YOU FUCKING TUBE!’

Sensing
the urgency in my voice and spurred by my fury, Konny’s fire team began to
move. They were too late. A guided grenade screamed across the warehouse,
exploding against the gantry and showering them in sparks. It swung on its
cables, throwing the four troopers against the railings, and I watched on in
horror as Geany toppled over the edge. His body plummeted into the darkness.
Seconds later my headset bleeped a warning and a green crosshair appeared
amongst the crates. Geany’s datapad had automatically marked him as a casualty
on the platoon net.

‘Man
down!’

Stunned,
Konny looked over the edge, whilst the other two troopers in his fire team
staggered like drunks toward the ladder.

‘Get
off the damned gantry!’ I urged, and they broke into a run. Jackson grabbed
each trooper in turn, thrusting them onto the ladder.

I
grabbed each trooper as they came down, quickly inspecting their bodies for
injuries. I never trusted the datapads alone; Ev had taught me that.

They
were shaken, but the metal gantry had taken much of the force of the blast. But
their armour had still taken a beating, it was pockmarked with holes where
pieces of shrapnel had managed to penetrate the outer layer before the gel
beneath had hardened. Leaman’s visor was cracked.

‘Get
a patch on that,’ I ordered him, ‘Now!’

I
didn’t have time to mess around, I could see that we were in serious danger of
losing the initiative. The section needed to stay on the offensive.

Mr
Moore knew the same, he was watching from the other side of the gantry, ‘Two-three,
punch your section into that building, I’m gonna get the reserve in above you!’

‘Roger,’
I agreed. We couldn’t just stop because of Geany, we could only carry on and
hope that he had survived the fall.

I
grabbed Konny by the arm as he reached the bottom of the ladder. Bringing my
visor close to his, I could see that he was swallowed up by anguish. He knew
that he had made a mistake - he had stopped his fire team in the middle of our
opponents killing zone - and Geany had paid for it.

I
looked into his eyes, ‘You okay?’

He
looked like he was about to cry.

I
asked again, ‘Are you
okay
?’

Konny
took a deep breath and nodded.

I
tried to sound soothing, ‘Come on, mate, get a grip of yourself. It’s done
now.’

What
a heartless man I had become
, I thought to myself for a split
second, but I knew that I was right. Konny’s error had potentially cost a man
his life, but he couldn’t allow it to get to him in the middle of a contact.
War was hell. He would have to grieve later.

Another
mouse-hole detonated on the roof as Jimmy sought to create more firing points
for his section. His mammoth gunner continued to exchange fire with the enemy,
and soon more of his section joined in.

‘Two-three,
are you moving yet or what?’ The platoon commander was growing impatient.

I
gripped Konny’s shoulder, ‘Good to go?’

‘Yeah.’

I
found a ladder on the edge of the roof. It led down to a metal staircase with a
doorway leading into the building. It was the only way in. There was no space
for us to use a mouse-hole on the roof, since it would only blow us all off the
edge.

My
fire team clambered down the stairs and exploded into the building with another
entry charge. The building took just minutes to clear, being little more than
three pre-fabricated offices stacked on top of each other with the metal
staircase outside providing access.

Sensing
that there was nobody inside there anyway, I launched Konny’s fire team into
the bottom room so that I could stay outside on the staircase and observe the
warehouse floor. He had screwed up, but I had to trust him, he was my 2ic after
all.

Above
us one section still fired sporadic bursts from the roof. An occasional grenade
launched through the mouse-holes, suddenly veering off toward a target hidden
within the stacks of containers.

I
couldn’t tell where our enemy were exactly, though I knew that they were close.
The wall of containers that surrounded the building had several gaps from which
our enemy could emerge.

‘Room
clear,’ Konny announced from within the building.

‘Okay,
mate,’ I flicked to the platoon net, ‘Two-zero, this is Two-three, that’s the
building clear, no enemy.’

‘Roger.
Two section are about to blast through the roof above you,’ the boss informed
me, ‘They will fast-rope through the hole to ground level. We’re moving into
location now, should take only a couple of minutes. I want you to hold that
building as a foothold on the ground.’

‘I
have one man down out there,’ I reminded him, ‘I need to collect him.’

‘We
can’t leave Geany out there,’ Okonkwo added, and Jackson nodded in agreement.

The
boss gave in, ‘Fine. Make sure that the building remains secure.’

‘Understood.
Konny, take Leaman back to the roof and keep this building secured. I’m gonna
take O’Leary with my fire team to get Geany!’

‘Okay!’
Konny nodded enthusiastically. He wanted me to get Geany as much as I did.

Whilst
Konny raced back up the metal staircase I led the remainder of the section into
the maze of containers, following the green casualty crosshair that marked Geany.
There was a chance that he was still alive, and that was enough reason for me
to want to get him. I didn’t like him, but I didn’t want him to die out there
alone, or worse get dragged away by the rebels. He was one of my men, whether I
liked him or not, and I wasn’t about to lose one of my men if I could help it.

Invisible
to anybody not equipped with night vision, we stealthily moved between the towering
stacks of containers. One section continued to exchange fire with the rebels,
and the warehouse echoed loudly with every gunshot.

Something
exploded behind me, sending pieces of rubble tumbling down from the roof,
echoing loudly as they struck the ground.

‘Two
section have made their break in,’ the boss announced, ‘They are fast-roping to
the ground behind your building. As soon as they hit the ground I will be
launching them toward the enemy, steered by one section from their vantage
point on the roof. They shouldn’t come near to you, but just be careful of
where you fire. I don’t want us shooting each other.

‘Roger,’
I whispered back. Having the platoon split in such a way left us very much in
danger of shooting friendly troops whilst engaging a target in our midst. Our
visors marked the location of other units, so every trooper knew where the
other sections were, but in the chaos of battle people could forget themselves.
We needed to be careful.

We
crept cautiously forward through the shadows until I saw a figure sprawled out
on the floor. It was Geany, and he wasn’t moving.

Before
I even reached him I could see that he had broken bones in his fall. His leg
was twisted in an unnatural angle and his arm had an additional joint that
shouldn’t have been there.

I
knelt beside him and gingerly twisted his wrist to view his datapad. He had a
pulse, and he was breathing. Somehow his helmet and armour had managed to keep
him alive, though the impact of the fall had caused severe damage to his
organs.

‘Two-zero,’
I spoke on the net, ‘I’ve found Geany. He’s alive.’

‘Roger.
Get him back to the building and wait for me there. Two-zero-Bravo,
acknowledge.’

Johnno
answered quickly, not hiding his relief, ‘Yeah, roger! Treat him as best you
can. As soon as you get back to the building we’ll get him lifted out!’

O’Leary
took a stretcher from his daysack, unfolded it and laid it onto the ground
beside the fallen trooper.

‘Is
he alright?’ Okonkwo asked me as he covered outwards into the darkness, and I
held up a hand for silence.

I
leant down and whispered, ‘Geany, can you hear me, mate?’

There
was no answer.

‘Jackson,
check for blood, mate. O’Leary, you got a neck brace?’

O’Leary
nodded. Every section stretcher bearer carried additional medical equipment,
including neck braces. Usually for victims of explosions, they prevented us
from causing additional damage to the spinal column when we moved them across
the battlefield.

He
handed me the brace and I carefully placed it around Geany’s neck while Jackson
searched for blood.
Never trust the datapad
.

‘Geany,’
I soothed, ‘If you can hear me, don’t worry. We have you. You’ll be alright.’

Jackson
finished his physical check, ‘No external fractures,’ he whispered.

‘Let’s
get him on, then,’ I said.

I
cupped his head in my hands to keep it straight. We counted to three and lifted
him as one, carefully placing him onto the stretcher and strapping him into
place so that his broken limbs couldn’t move any more. Snapped bones could be
sharp as knives, and it was easily possible for them to cut through the skin,
creating what we knew as an external fracture. Very nasty. Worse still they
could cut or pinch major arteries, which was lethal.

We
lifted the stretcher and began to carry it back toward the building when I
heard something. I raised a hand and we stopped. I listened for the noise
again, but there was nothing - just the sound of One section raining darts down
upon the rebels in order to cover Two section’s descent from the warehouse roof.

I
heard the noise again. It was a whisper from somebody on the other side of the
wall of containers. I wouldn’t have heard it had it not been for my headset.

I
gave a thumbs-down to the others, and we slowly lowered the stretcher to the ground
and raised our weapons.

It
was obvious to me what the enemy were doing without me even having seen them.
They were moving into position to attack the building. The rebels were
desperate to stop us from accessing their escape route, for once we did that it
was game over, for them at least.

I
pointed at O’Leary and Jackson, then down at Geany. They nodded, understanding
that I wanted them to stay and guard him. I then beckoned Okonkwo and we crept
back the way we had come. If I was right about the enemy intention then I
wanted to come from out behind them.

We
rounded a corner in the wall of containers, and my finger hovered over the
trigger as we moved to look around the other side.

I
looked around the other side of the wall just in time to spot a figure
disappear around another corner in the maze, twenty metres away. The enemy were
moving in for the kill.

We
silently trotted after them, keeping our weapons raised. O’Leary and Jackson
would have to stay with Geany for now, for if the enemy were successful in
attacking the building then the platoon would be cut in half. If that happened
then we would have nowhere to take him anyway.