Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Class 1: The Delivery (Part 5)

Hope you're all enjoying this serial so far. If you're looking for previous parts, you can click here to go back to Part 1, or you can click on the Class 1 label over on the right side of the page.

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The darkness made it hard to follow, but the group chased after the sounds of the footfalls on the asphalt. Wendy kept her gun down in both hands. She kept the safety on, praying it wouldn't fall on her to pull the trigger if Barclay turned on them.

A metal door closed somewhere in front of them as he carried the girl into another hanger. Talassy swore under his breath as he waved the group on the side of the building, pointing at Wendy and motioning to the door. He gave the hand signs which indicated she would open the door, then he would lead the charge through, covering each other as they went. Wendy appreciated that, it meant she would be the last one in.

Everyone took up their positions, and Wendy held up her fingers for the countdown before turning the handle and yanking the door open.  No gunshots greeted them. The group moved quickly, their training coming through as the slipped into the building.

The darkness inside was complete, the only light coming from the green exit signs above various doors.

"Barclay didn't have time to make it out another exit, so he has the girl in here somewhere," Talassy whispered. "We're going two-by-two, searching  in a standard grid pattern. We need to find him and the girl as fast as possible. Clear? If he resists at all, our orders are to treat him as an enemy combatant and to reply in kind."

They all nodded, but Wendy had to force herself to keep the cold chill that ran through her from showing. Talassy told her to follow him while the other two went off to the other side of the building, another hanger that was mostly storage and supplies for repairs. That meant a lot of large crates, forklifts, and pipes piled up high.

Lots of hiding places.

"Sir, why don't we turn the lights on?"

"This whole operation is supposed to be low-key. All the buildings and lights within three-hundred yards of the pick-up area have been shut down to ensure things are kept in the dark as much as possible."

A shadow darted between two large crates to their right, both of them swinging their guns up towards it. Talassy didn't even hesitate as he loosed two rounds in its direction, both shots filling the silence of the hanger with the reports of bullets shattering wood. Then they were running, darting between the crates, chasing the tail of a shadow  as it ran, ducking behind boxes and around corners, just a hair too slow to lose them, but too quickly for Talassy to get off a clear shot.

The shadow ran into the back of the hanger, melting into the darkness. Wendy and Talassy charged around the corner they had last watched the dark blob disappear around and paused. The only sound was the footfalls of the other two members of their team, as they made their way over to meet them.
Nothing moved in the darkness. Talassy felt his way along the crate next to him, scanning the shadows with an intensity that made it seem like he had night vision.

Then there was the thick smack of flesh on flesh and Captain Talassy went down from the blow to the face. Then the darkness was on Wendy before she could flick the safety off her gun. The blow caught her on the right cheek, a strong, solid punch that sent her sprawling against the wall and left her dazed with the taste of blood in her mouth. Then there was the flash of a gun and a report which echoed around her, followed by several more.

They could hear Barclay swear in pain as he was hit, and then he was off into the darkness again.

Talassy leaned on her as he went past, checking her quickly and barking the orders to chase their rogue soldier down again. The other two of their group got there first as the sound of the exit opening and closing resounded again. The chase was back outside. 


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