014: Underworld II

Leonid

Fucker is not doing that again.  Cap-Cat takes the bolt out of her liner while I cover the breach.  She's done.  He hasn't popped up.  We go in.

The dead stare at us.  The madman was right, she has an honor guard.

She went down.  Another took her place.  He sees the beam sweep the passage.  Let them.

He scampers silently away on bare feet.  Down the side pasage to the first wire.  Tighten it up and pull the pin.  Grenade surprise, yum, yum.  He wishes he had set them on the main passage.  But the brothers did not approve.  It will have to do.


They'll come slow, time to set the other tripwires.

I ghost down the tunnel.  The others, not so quiet.  Not good hunters.

We secure the first intersection.  Each way lies a short tunnel length, archways, and more cross tunnels.  Place is a maze.

Cap and the others guard the intersection.  I slow walk down to the left, AKR drifting from archway to tunnel to archway and back around.  Hold position.  Something's not right.  I kneel.  There, about ankle height, stretches a wire.  One end ties off on a nail in the archway.  In the other archway, grenade in a can.  Wire cutters fix that.

Report back to Cap.  Down the other passage.  Same thing.  Consistancy good.  Snip.

He talks to the men.  Orders understood.  They will guard her to the last.  He will make it so that does not happen.  The Amerski are in the passages with the brothers.  He nods to himself, they would hold them hostage as they advance.  The rifle and the grenade would take too many of them as well as the invaders.  He has one option left.  Don't forget the mask.

Nerve wracking.  We move up and secure.  Check for trip wires.  Repeat.  Where is he?

We should be cats hunting a mouse.  Maybe we are the mice.

Something flies out of the cross tunnel.  It bounces from the dead, skulls clatter to the floor, and rolls right by me.  Fuck!

"Grenade!"  screams Cat.  I'm dropping.  It won't matter.  We're too close.  The stone too tight.  We're dead, so I look.

Miller and Irish are dropping.  Not the Cap.  She pivots around, takes two strides.  She kicks out and the grenade takes off down the hall.  It starts spewing smoke.  Cap's riding high on adrenaline and shouts, "Gas!" 

It's done.  He hears the Amerski's paniced calls.  He tightens his grip on the pistol and knife.  A wall of billowing gas fills the catacombs.  May the brothers forgive him for their pain. 

Soon they will retch and weep.  In the darkness he will go to them and end this.

"Alphabit"

Cap made sure of him, Eddie and any other troop that fell under her command.  Keep your gear together.  Keep it clean, secure and ready to go.  Then, damnit, timed them.  Woke them and timed them.  Made them fit helmet, vest and mask from a dead sleep.  Always reminding them how men died in the mines due to stupidity and carelessness.  Worse, were those who'd died because they hadn't cared to learn theitr safety equipment.

As the wall of white smoke engulfed me my mask was already in place.  I could feel a low burning in my hands and the back of my neck.  I clutched the M16 close and covered our rear.  Can't see anything.

I hear a muffled order, "Sound off."

"Leo"
"Doc"
"Alpha"

"Hold tight."

Nothing.  He's tight and ready.  There's nothing.  He should go.  They cannot see.  Anyone he touches is the foe.  They, they won't be so sure.  Yes, he should go.

Unless... no, don't wait.  Go!  

What if it is one of the brothers he finds in the dark?  Who takes his knife.  Not again...

Screams fill his head.

Cap speaks low and firm.  Hold position.  The gas will disperse (eventually).  Meanwhile, I'm blind with sweat dripping into my eyes surrounded by the angry ghosts of dead Poles.

My imagination's running away with me.  I'm waiting for rounds to fill the corridor.  Just ignore the itching and wait it out.

He pulls himself from the floor.  Too much time has passed.  Too late to go out after them.  Fool, he curses himself.  Clear headed for a moment he knows the brothers are dead, the men are dead.  It is just her and ...

He hears the order, Fall Back.  "Tak, Colonel.  All units fall back to phase line Sobieski.  Acknowledge!"

The gas thins.  Doc's blurry shape snaps her fingers at me and waves when I look.  Take a deep breath Donald.

Last man out.

Check the rear.

Leo's gun roars in the confined space.  "Saw him, saw him."  We're all running.

And then, we're out of straight ahead.  Leo peaks out from under his IR set.  Turns to us with a feral snarl.

"Lights"