Praetorian Series [4] All Roads Lead to Rome (53 page)

This entire operation had gone belly up so quickly I almost wasn’t sure I understood what I was experiencing.  All I could think to do was wait for Remus to reach us so that we could make our last stand.  I watched as death incarnate approached, and found myself as terrified as a puppy dog that knew he was in for a beating.  Not because I knew we were going to die, but because we were going to die having failed, the red orb nowhere to be found.

I took aim with my pistol and fired.  I fired and fired and fired, expending the magazine in seconds.  He was so much closer now, but with the flawless discipline of a seasoned operator, I deftly reloaded and continued to fire.  He didn’t even bother trying to dodge most of my less powerful rounds, absorbing them as easily as one would a spitball.  By the time I expended my second magazine, he was nearly upon us, and I didn’t even have time to look at Helena one last time as I lifted my knife to intercept his leaping form.  I braced myself, balancing myself carefully on my one good leg, and readied myself to receive him, fruitless though it may be. 

But just as he was about to clear the window I stood behind and tackle me to the floorboards, he disappeared.  Through the window, I’d seen him loom close and large one second, but in the next, he was gone.  I’d grown familiar recently with acts of disappearance, but this one seemed different than all the others.  He hadn’t simply vanished, but looked as though he’d been shot off his trajectory by a missile hitting him from the side.

I glanced at Helena but she seemed equally at a loss.  She lowered her rifle to the ground and rushed to her window as I did the same.  Together, we looked to the left and saw Remus engaged with another individual wielding a long, thick chain as a weapon.  Further investigation wasn’t even necessary.  Seven hundred years after their last scuffle – or about – a battle between twin brothers Romulus and Remus was ready to begin anew, and, like the first time, the fate of Rome and the future of western society most likely hung in the balance.

***

“Now where the hell did he go?!”  Archer shouted as we ran side by side through the streets of Rome, Gaius and Marcus in front of us.

I didn’t answer. I certainly didn’t have any idea.  I was more focused on breathing at the moment.  I was paying dearly for my sedentary lifestyle as I tried to keep up with Archer, Gaius, and Marcus, all three of whom ran so effortlessly that they probably could have ran all day and night without needing to rest.  Luckily, I saw Gaius and Marcus skid to a halt on their sandaled feet so that they could peak around buildings, so I took a moment to lean over as I held myself up by my knees, sucking in gulps of air.

“Really have to work on my cardio…” I mumbled, looking up at Archer, who had his binoculars to his eyes, looking forward.  I tracked his gaze but didn’t see much, just a hill a few hundred meters in the distance.  “Where are we, Paul?”

He glanced down at me oddly, maybe surprised that I’d used his first name – which had been a slip I hadn’t even been aware of until I’d said it.  I gave him a slight smile, and he recovered quickly and handed me his binoculars, pointing toward the hill with his other hand that now held his radio.

“Southwest of the Viminal Hill,” he reported.  “Didn’t you study the maps?”

I smiled innocently.  “Oops.”

“Amateur,” he said with a smile as he brought his hand to his mouth so that he could speak into his radio.  “Sniper-1, Rescue-Actual.  We’re south of your position.  Package Alpha out in the open but out of contact.  Please advise.”

“Advance to the base of the hill and hang a starboard, Sailor.  You’ll know it when you see it.”

Archer looked down at me and took back his binoculars.  Gaius and Marcus were already running to the base of the hill.

“Ready?”  He asked.

“No,” I said, although my breathing was certainly under control now.

“Not time for no,” Archer pointed out.  “Let’s go.”

He took off running and I followed, trying to ignore the burning sensation in my legs and the stabbing pain in my side as I sprinted the few hundred meters to the base of the hill.  I immediately turned right and followed the road as it angled upward, giving me a better view of the surrounding area.  We ran up the incline for a few seconds until we reached its peak, but as soon as I reached it, I had to pull up short before I ran headlong into Gaius again.  Unlike last time, I managed to avoid smashing my nose against his armor, nor did he turn to face me, his eyes too transfixed on what was occurring only a short distance away.

I looked and my eyes widened.  Romulus and Remus were engaged in ruthless unarmed combat, that is, except for the chain Romulus held.  But to call it combat was giving it too much credit.  Instead, I should have simply called it a blur.  They were moving so fast that they seemed little more than a tumbling ball of motion as they crashed into stalls, buildings, monuments, and people alike.  The only thing distinguishing them was that Remus was fully clothed in white garments while Romulus was still practically naked.  This thought did more to elevate my heart rate than all the running I’d done today, but then the pair crashed into a building and disappeared, and my heart rate slowed again.  Nothing could stop them as they traveled south toward what I thought was the Esquiline Hill – I really should have studied those maps– destroying everything they encountered and seriously harming or outright killing any of the thousands of spectators who got in their way.

A rustle of wind beside me drew my attention, and I turned to see John standing there quite unexpectedly.  More movement accompanied him and I saw that James, TJ, and Titus had caught up to us as well.

John watched the pair of gods as they approached the Esquiline Hill.

“They’re like a pair of Godzillas rampaging through Tokyo,” he said.

“Tell me about it,” I answered, having considered the comparison myself.

John turned to me.  “Wait, you know about Godzilla?”

“Sure,” I said, unable to tear my eyes off of the destruction left in the wake of Romulus and Remus.  “The series is one of the best bits of entertainment to come out of Japan.  It’s actually an interesting allegory on the Middle East’s post-nuclear development, and how the dangers all their testing in the Indian Oce…”

“I still can’t believe you used to watch that trash,” Archer mumbled, and I immediately felt my face blush when John glanced at me for further clarification, but all I could do was look at him and smile guiltily.  It wasn’t too often that evidence of my prior relationship with Archer surfaced, but when it did, it was certainly awkward.

Luckily, John’s favorite wingman, James, interrupted.  “Why are we still standing here?  Shouldn’t we be doing something?  I mean… I don’t know what, but, something?”

“This wasn’t exactly part of the plan,” TJ said, picking up the cue to talk about something else.

“Unfortunately,” Marcus said from in front of us, his voice completely neutral and his attention mesmerized as he surveyed the carnage, “our plans rarely develop as we intend.”

“Yeah, no shit,” John said as the pair of gods crashed through another building, blowing a hole the size of a small crater in its façade.

And to think, Tim had planned this whole mission on the presupposition that he actually had a real plan for once.

***

I wanted to risk a glance at Helena as I watched Romulus and Remus emerge from the building they’d just crashed into, opening up another large hole in the side of it, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the spectacle.  It was like watching a train wreck, or, perhaps more aptly, one of the better Godzilla movies, like the one where he’d fought that bad guy with three heads.  The scene was almost too unbelievable to believe, but a sniper had to place a lot of trust in his eyes, and my eyes were as wide open and observant as they’d ever been.

Our plan had gone completely to shit, as per usual, although we
had
accomplished one of our primary objectives, which was to pit Romulus and Remus against each other.  We’d hoped their brawl would have gone down at the wedding venue, not through the streets of Rome, but I’d take anything right now and would have no problem categorizing that particular accomplishment in the “objective completed” column.

So far, it was the only one.

Merlin was still a no show, as was the red orb, and I hadn’t a clue how to find either.

My radio cackled to life in my ear.

“Sniper-1, please advise.  How should we proceed?”

The voice was Archer’s and I glanced down at the radio in my hand, at a loss for words.  Since arriving in Rome, it was in times like these that I usually crumpled under pressure, no idea what to do or how to improvise, usually having to rely on someone else for inspiration or luck to save us.  I wasn’t proud of it, but it’s how I’d operated recently thanks to all the bullshit I’d placed on my shoulders, and it was still a wonder why anyone would ever follow me into combat or listen to a single thing I had to say anymore.

But not this time.

That Jacob was as gone.

I would salvage this operation.  I had to.

“Rescue-Actual, Sniper-1.  Pursue with caution.  Contain them and corral them back to the venue and wait for my arrival.”

“Can you repeat that, Sniper-1?  Did you say… corral them?”

“Affirmative.  Fire on them.  Your bullets will only cause minimal damage but you should be able to maneuver them back to the venue.”

“Uh…” Archer said and I couldn’t help but smile, imagining his usually nonplussed face twisted in utter confusion.  But to his credit, his voice came back strong and professional.  “Will comply, Sniper-1.  Out.”

I nodded to the air and spoke through the radio again.

“Extraction-Actual, you’d better get down there with Georgia and do what you can to help.”

“Copy, Sniper-1,” Bordeaux said.  “Moving out.”

I nodded again, feeling myself hit my groove as I parsed out orders, and I hit the PTT button one last time.

“Eagle Eye, do what you can to watch their backs.  I have a visual on a number of Praetorians scrambling on their position.”

“Copy,” Cuyler responded, succinct as always.

Finally, I allowed myself the pleasure of looking at Helena, who stood beside me, her rifle at her feet, her eyes full of concern and locked onto mine.

“That goes for you too,” I said.  “Watch our backs.”

“You’re leaving,” she said, the statement clearly not a question.

I stepped toward her.  “I have to, Helena.  I can’t explain it, but I know I have to get down there.  I have to find Merlin and get the orbs like he promised.  Then I have to take care of this.  I know we planned for you to come with me, but considering the situation, you have to be here.  We can’t risk one of the others just for my sake.  You have to cover them.”

“How can you say that, Jacob?”  She asked, her voice almost defeated.  “After everything we’ve been through.  After all our discussions of trust and loyalty and never leaving one another again… why do you keep leaving me?”  She paused, but I didn’t say anything because I could tell she had more to say.  After a moment, she sighed and balled her hands into fists.  “And why do I keep letting you?”

I hobbled over to her, wanting to kiss the hell out of her as explosions and sword fights and Godzillas rampaged in the background, silhouetting us and giving the audience one heck of a dramatic moment before I rushed off to save the day… or die trying.  But, like so much today, it didn’t feel right, and I didn’t think it was what Helena would have wanted either.  Instead, I simply stood before her and wrapped my arms around her tightly, while she did the same.  I held her and she held me, and I allowed myself the pleasure of enjoying this one, peaceful moment before the end.

After a moment she pulled away and kissed me before grabbing my collar with her hands and jerking me backward.  “Don’t get yourself killed, Jacob.  We haven’t grown old together yet.”

I leaned in and kissed her again.  “It’s life at the nursing home for us, Helena.  Together.  I promise.”

She smiled slightly and let go of me so that she could pick up her rifle.  I watched her for a moment as she set up again, but when she noticed I hadn’t yet left, she turned to look at me.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”  She asked.  “Go save the universe.”

I smiled at her.  “I love you, Helena.”

“I love you too, Jacob,” she said as she turned back to her scope.  “Now go before I tie you to the wall.”

I hopped to the side of the room and grabbed my crutch, using it to help me bound down the steps that led me to the abandoned house’s main level.  Finding the exit quickly, I rushed from the building as quickly as I could manage with nothing but my radio, my combat knife, and my trusty pistol with half a magazine worth of ammunition.  It wasn’t much of an arsenal, and I didn’t even have my MOLLE vest, but it would have to do.  Equipment and gear would just slow me down and tire me, which I assumed would be something I would have to deal with sooner than normal due to my condition, but as I rushed through the streets of Rome, the foreknowledge that combat soon awaited, adrenaline coursed through my body like I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I hadn’t needed adrenaline when under the orb’s influence.  It had offered me its own particular brand of energy and sustenance.  It had been a potent brew but it was nothing like the familiar and energizing rush I felt now.  It supercharged my muscles, and I…