RECCE II (The Union Series Book 5) (29 page)

Yulia paused, obviously deep in thought. ‘Does this
upset you?’ she asked.

I thought about it. ‘Not really. It probably would
have done once, but I think we’ve gone past that. So, after that you moved to
the warren at Cellini?’

‘Yes. I met Bhasin during the Liberty Campaign. He
was one of the commanders there. He moved me to Cellini a year before the
invasion, saying that the Loyalists were coming and that he wanted me to help
defend against them. That is how I know so much about the warren under the
hill, because I was there for so long. Copehill used to provide us with food,
which is why I know Marcus.’

‘You seem to be very . . . well connected,’ I said
carefully, ‘even though you’re no longer in the Guard.’

Yulia stared back at me blankly.

I decided that now was as good as any time to probe
her. ‘Were you in charge of all those people that attacked the warren?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why didn’t you destroy the missiles?’

‘Those were not my instructions. We were ordered to
secure the missiles and then attack the warren.’

‘And after that?’

Yulia’s face hardened as she began to realise that
she was being interrogated. ‘Nothing. That was our mission. It did not matter
anyway. After Cellini was captured Bhasin and his men began hunting us.’

‘So who is giving you orders now?’

‘No one,’ she said with a shrug. ‘I am not yet able
to communicate with the agents who sent me to Cellini, or the people who stayed
back at the pumping station on the other end of the pipeline.’

‘There are people waiting for you?’

‘Not any more. I am sure they would have moved away
from the pumping station by now.’

I paused thoughtfully, searching for more questions.
There was something more to her operation, something that still affected us and
our mission, I was sure of it. Was Aleksi right? Was she unwittingly working
for Bhasin?

Yulia eyed me warily. ‘What are you thinking, Andy?’

‘Nothing,’ I said, waving her concern away. ‘I was
just curious. So I guess you’ll be staying here, then? You know we’re not
chasing Bhasin anymore.’

‘But you will attack Helstrom, and his base further
north,’ she said, almost as an instruction. Yulia seemed to be dead-set on
continuing the chase after Helstrom and the missiles, presumably in hope that
she might find Bhasin as well. Just like me, she was thirsty for revenge.

I shook my head sadly. ‘We’re not going after Helstrom.
I want to, believe me, but it’s not my choice to make. We still take our orders
from EJOC, and they wouldn’t allow it.’ I looked down at the ground. ‘Our
platoon commander is lost.’

Yulia watched me for several moments. ‘You care for
him very much.’

'I care for all my comrades,' I corrected her. 'He
was my boss before, though. On New Earth.'

'The invasion?'

I nodded. 'Yeah.'

The ex-Guard captain looked upward, as if she could
see through the storeroom roof and into the heavens. 'We saw the Union's battle
with the Chinese as a punishment for their own treachery against the Alliance.
Many said it was karma.'

It was my turn to bristle in anger at her comment. 'Tens
of thousands died on New Earth!'

'As they did here,' she replied unflinchingly.

I glared at her for a moment, then sighed. 'Mr
Barkley led my platoon against the Chinese when I was just a trooper. We lost
many comrades . . . pretty much all of them. He is one of the few left.'

'I understand. You have a bond formed because you
have survived something terrible. You are like brothers.'

'I guess. Except the boss isn't that fond of me.'

Yulia’s brow raised in surprise. 'Why?'

'He's angry that I called artillery onto the Guard
at Dakar. It was used by your president as propaganda to enrage the Alliance.'

Her surprise turned into a deep frown. 'How could he
be angry about that? You did the right thing. The Guard were going to kill
civilians.'

'I don't think he saw it that way. He believes that
I was risking even more lives.'

'Has he said this to you?'

'No. I just know.'

She fell silent for a while. 'Do
you
think
that you did the right thing?'

My response was instant. 'I think it’s one of the
few
right
things I've ever done.'

'Me too. I have been lost for many years . . . but
on that day I felt like I had found myself again . . .'

I looked at her, surprised at the sudden insight
into the ex-Guardsman’s feelings. Yulia was so good at hiding her innermost
thoughts that a man could be forgiven for thinking she wasn’t even human, but
when she revealed them it was almost like a glimpse of the sun through the
clouds.

'I hate the Union for what they did to us,' Yulia
said, her eyes burning into mine. 'But I find that I cannot hate you.’

It was then that Wildgoose emerged from one of the
rooms, holding his sniper rifle whilst tugging his gel armour into position
with his free arm. He strode over to us both.

‘That’s you relieved, mate,’ he told me groggily, having
only just woken up.

Taking her cue to go, Yulia stood, her face hardened
back into the familiar emotionless mask that I had grown used to. ‘Make sure
you get some rest, Andy,’ she said, offering a hand. ‘I wish you and all your
men good luck.’

I stood and shook her hand. ‘Take care, Yulia.’

With that, she gave me a single, respectful nod, and
then spun and walked away toward her room, not looking back. I watched her go,
feeling a pang of sadness as I wondered if this was the last time I would ever see
our unlikely ally. Despite our differences, as well as the occasional hostility
between us, I had often appreciated her company. Now, like everyone else I had
ever allowed myself to grow close to, she was gone.

‘I could have done with a few more hours, then,’ Wildgoose
said with a yawn, placing his rifle beside me, where Yulia had been sat.

‘You’ll have a few more hours yet,’ I assured him.

‘That’s what I like to hear!’ the sniper said with a
grin.

I looked at Wildgoose quizzically, wondering how he
managed to maintain his morale under such dire circumstances. Although he was
hardly the platoon joker, the tall sniper never seemed to lose his enthusiasm.
Perhaps his role somehow desensitised him to death, I guessed, or perhaps it
was that indifference that helped in his selection in the first place. Either
way, I envied his apparent cheerfulness.

Wildgoose flicked his head toward the washroom. ‘Have
you used that shower yet?’

‘Not yet,’ I admitted.

‘You have no idea what you’re missing, mate. There’s
loads of towels left in there, so you’ve got no excuse. Trust me, you won’t
regret it!’

Taking Wildgoose’s advice, I returned to my room and
stripped off to my underwear. Taking only my rifle with me, I padded barefoot
into the washroom, finding the shower tucked into a corner beside a small
toilet and sink. It was unclear why a shower was located within a building that
had no purpose other than to store equipment, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Steam still drifted through the air, feeling warm against my skin.

I turned on the shower, allowing the water to run
for a few seconds before stepping under. Wildgoose had been right, the feeling
of hot water running across my tired muscles was wonderful. I don’t know how
long I stood there, imagining that the water could wash away all my woes.

Finally, I dried off, wrapped my towel around my
waist, picked up my rifle and then made my way back to my room.

Wildgoose’s head lifted from his perch amongst the
stacks of equipment. ‘Pure morale, right?’

‘Well worth it,’ I agreed with a forced smile.

‘Told you, didn’t I?’

Closing the door to my room behind me, I placed my
rifle down beside my thermal bag and then stared down at the rest of my kit,
trying to think of any remaining tasks to perform. There really was nothing
else to do except dry myself off, put my dirty underwear back on, and then
attempt to go back to sleep. I felt as though I was rooted to the spot, though,
unable to move. It was as though my body had decided it no longer wanted to
move. What was the point? Eventually I sat down on my daysack and put my head
in my hands.

I don’t know how long it took before I found the
strength to stand up and begin to towel myself off, but when I did there was a
gentle knock at the door, the sound abruptly ending my melancholy. It was
obviously Wildgoose, coming to confirm something I had failed to mention during
our sentry changeover. I was so tired it was inevitable that I would have
missed some important piece of information.

‘Yeah, come in,’ I said.

The door slowly swung open, but it wasn’t Wildgoose
who stepped through, it was Yulia. My mouth fell open as she gently pushed the
door closed and turned to face me. Her eyes flitted across my body.

Suddenly aware that I was naked, I snatched my towel
up to cover myself. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know it was you,’ I said automatically, my
cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

‘You don’t need to be sorry,’ she said.

‘I thought you were leaving?’

‘I am,’ she replied. ‘But I remembered that I never
thanked you for saving my life.’

‘You don’t need to thank me.’

Without warning, Yulia approached me, only stopping when
she was less than a few centimetres away. She was so close that I felt her
chest press gently against mine, and the soft caress of her breath against my
neck. Gazing deeply into my eyes, she flashed me a brilliant smile. It was the
same smile I had seen once before, in the aftermath of our battle to save the
people of Dakar.

‘I know I do not
need
to,’ she said, almost
in a whisper. ‘I
want
to.’

She tugged at the towel, and I let go, allowing it
to fall to the floor.

It was raining when we left Copehill that evening. The
heavy rain hissed as it struck the ground, forming small streams that flowed
along the road that led out from the crater. The sound was broken only by the distant
thumping of the ongoing orbital bombardment, causing the dark clouds above us
to flicker and reminding us that the war still raged around us. Once we reached
the surface, I turned to take one last look into the crater below, where the
lights of the old laboratory glowed warmly. As inviting as it appeared, there
was nothing there for me now.

Yulia was gone when Myers came to wake me an hour
earlier, which was probably for the best. It would have been pretty awkward
saying goodbye to her again, especially with my section then knowing that we
had been together. What surprised me, though, was that I had slept untroubled
for several hours - a rare blessing for me. Perhaps it was her company that
helped me sleep. Perhaps it was the woman’s touch. Either way, my body and mind
were recharged . . . but my soul wasn’t.

As I turned back to the forest I realised nothing
could reverse the damage that had been done to me anymore, not even Yulia. All
I yearned for now was revenge. I wanted to deliver punishment. Punishment for Helstrom
and Bhasin, perhaps even punishment to myself. Like the claws of some beast
pulling me back into the underworld, the dark branches of the forest embraced
me once again.

We reached the platoon harbour just after midnight,
identifying ourselves to the sentries before returning to our positions on one
side of the triangular formation. Everyone was asleep unless they were on
sentry, with atmospheric tents dotted about the harbour, just visible above the
undergrowth. I noticed that both the other two sections were in the harbour as
well, which was odd since I had expected at least one of them to be out on a
separate mission. We needed to maximise our footprint on the ground if we ever
wanted to deliver an impact in our ops box.

Perhaps the sergeant major had allowed
them to take some additional rest
, I supposed.

Leaving Puppy to organise the men, I made my way to the
centre of the harbour, finding the sergeant major and his signaller close
together in their atmospheric tents. The platoon’s last remaining tight beam
was assembled between the two tents, silently scanning the skies as it
maintained a link with the warships above us. As I approached I saw that the sergeant
major’s signaller was sat up inside his tent, presumably awake to monitor the
tight beam whilst his commander slept. He heard my boots squelch in the mud and
looked up.

‘Alright, mate?’ he whispered gently.

‘Yeah,’ I replied without enthusiasm. ‘Just
reporting in.’

The signaller flicked his head toward the sergeant major’s
tent. ‘He told me you should wake him when you get in.’

‘No worries.’ I stepped over to the sergeant major’s
tent and gave it a gentle shake, causing him to stir inside his thermal bag.