Bridgeiro, page 34
part #4 of The Xidoran Prophecy Series
“You’re going to force them to deal with you all right, and you’re going to lose. Give my men more time.”
“No. You’re out of time.”
“You’ve waited this long. Give us more time.”
The leader pointed his weapon at Charles and said, “I said no.”
Gage walked in and saw the leader pointing his weapon at Charles. He fired his weapon and hit the leader’s leg, wounding him.
Charles yelled, “Hold your fire!” as his men entered the room shooting.
The leader took cover then jumped from an opening that was behind him, providing him a chance to escape.
Sharif said, “We’ve got to get back to the others.”
They left in a hurry and headed back to where the squads were still fighting.
Charles said to his guide, “Take the samples and Rojaek to our destination. The two of you will have to complete the task on your own.”
They didn’t try to fight his orders. They left.
When Charles found the group, Tollie said, “It’s about time! Where have you been?”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you heard?”
“No. What?”
“Their leader, Havoc Jack’s been shot. Wounded.”
“Who?”
“Havoc Jack is what we call their leader. He’s wounded.”
“How do you know that?”
Tollie barked at him, “They’re demanding that you be handed over to their group!”
“Me?”
“Yes, you! I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, man, but it doesn’t look good. You haven’t made friends. If anything, you’ve made this worse! Now I’m trying to decide if I should hand you over to them and walk away. Let them take care of a troublemaker for me.”
Tollie gave orders to his men and ducked for cover. The man ran over to another squad intending to place the sharp shooters in strategic locations so his men would have cover when they dragged the wounded away from the firing.
As Tollie reached the other side, he looked back and saw the enemy fighting to get Charles’ head armor off. Once the armor was off, a Guinof placed a black hood over Charles’ head and shot something into the young man’s neck. Charles’ body instantly wilted, allowing them to drag him off into the darkness.
Tollie ran toward the terrorists, screaming for his men to cover him. He was shot in the back and fell to the ground. He was then shot in the leg as the fighting continued.
Oakes withdrew and followed Charles’ body. He watched as his leader was placed into a transport. He waited for the rest of Charles’ squad to catch up. The men discussed their options.
Finally, Gage suggested that they follow in the transport’s direction with the hope Charles’ armor would keep sending out a tracking signal. The men agreed to his idea.
Charles woke up on a black mat without his armor. His body and head ached all over. He rubbed his eyes trying to get them to focus. Across the room he could see a bed. He recognized the leader of the troublemaking hoodlums on the bed. Someone Charles didn’t recognize was standing beside the leader. Charles tried to stand but his legs wouldn’t work. Someone picked him up under his arms and roughly dragged him over to the bed.
He heard a voice say, “If he dies, you die!”
Charles mumbled, “How could he die. He wasn’t shot.”
“Yes, he was shot!” The person beside the bed pulled back the covers to reveal that the leader was bandaged and a yellow substance had soaked the gauze.
“You shot him!”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did and now you’re going to pay for your betrayal!”
“I didn’t.”
The leader gasped for air and died. They tried to resuscitate him without success.
The Guinof holding Charles threw him to the ground and began kicking him in the ribs knocking the air out of his lungs. As the Guinof kicked, he said, “He was our only leader. He knew the way. You’ve left us without hope. No cure. No future. I’m going to beat you and then slowly torture you until your body slowly gives out.” Someone picked Charles up. The adolescent punched his face and said, “You’ll beg for the end.” He then punched Charles in the stomach. “If you die, I’ll bring you back to life over and over again in order to torture you some more. Die, I dare you to die!”
Charles tried to fight back. He unsuccessfully tried to block the blows that kept coming at him, stinging his flesh. The pain was so intense he wanted to pass out. He could taste his own blood in his mouth. His right eye was swollen shut.
“I’ll have your head when I am finally finished with you. I’ll parade it around and keep it as a trophy.”
Charles reached out and grabbed the Guinof. He began punching him. He grasped, clawed and punched dizzily. He continued to strike his opponent. There was blood and ooze everywhere. It took eight Guinofs to restrain Charles. He heard a familiar voice before he passed out again.
It was too painful for Charles to regain consciousness. He wanted to remain asleep. He dared not move. He didn’t want the terrorists to realize he was aware of his surroundings. He was fearful as to what the creatures had done to him.
Charles could faintly hear voices. He didn’t know whose voices they were. The words were unrecognizable at that point. He floated around the room. He seemed to sense there was panic around him but he had finally escaped the pain that flowed through his body. He felt no pain only freedom.
Suddenly he was forced backward and thrust back into his own body. He could hear Sharif’s voice yelling in Arabic. Charles thought: If he was at least speaking French, I could understand him. What is he saying? Am I dreaming?
Charles gasped and coughed several times as he was forced to breath in air that shocked and jolted his system. The pain returned as he was revived against his will. He was no longer free of his body.
The ammonia inhalant brought him to consciousness. The first thing he saw was Sharif’s face as it came into focus. His medic’s ashen face showed concern. The look changed quickly to a smile.
Gage pushed Sharif out of the way and said, “You gave us a scare!” The men in his squad gathered around the bed.
Before his men arrived, Charles had an unusual dream about leaving his body and meeting with a magical being in another realm. The being came to him in the form of light. It spoke with him and the light enveloped him. As Charles was surrounded by light, he felt his soul being magically transformed. While he was in that state, he could sense what was happening around his physical body without being distracted from the being. Charles spent what seemed like years in the presence of the energized-entity. In reality, the episode occurred in only moments. Suddenly the being told Charles it was time to return to his body. Without any physical movement, he entered his body. As his consciousness awoke, he was involuntarily forced to inhale.
Charles decided to mess with the men since he knew they had been talking about him and his role as their commander. He began whispering in Greek, “I do my job, that’s what I do.” The men were puzzled and looked at each other.
Rocco asked, “What did they do to him? He’s speaking gibberish.”
Orson said, “He’s not talking gibberish. He’s talking in some foreign language.”
Oakes said, “They must have really messed him up bad.”
Sharif said, “I think it’s Greek.”
Gage shook his head. “If we put our armor on, it will translate.” He put his helmet on.
Tian solidly patted his head and said, “At a boy.”
Gage leaned over.
Charles mumbled in Greek, “Είμαι αφιερωμένη στην ολοκλήρωση της αποστολής”
Gage repeated his words, “I’m dedicated to completing the mission.” He smiled at Charles. “I know, brother. Tharraléos. You’re one of our own.”
Charles slowly turned his head, looked at Gage and said, “By the way, did anyone tell you how ridiculous you look?”
Gage laughed then said, “He’s fine. He’s just messing with us.” The men laughed and were relieved that Charles was going to recover. Charles tried to smile but it hurt.
Gage said, “You gave us a scare. Sharif told us you tried to leave us behind. We said, ‘No way man. You can’t go anywhere without us.’”
Gage continued, “If you left, there wouldn’t be anyone to get us in these messes. It’d be pretty boring!”
North said, “No way will we ever give up on a brother.”
Charles weakly put his hand up in the air, they all high-fived him.
The new leader entered the room. Charles heard him ask if Charles was awake. Charles became dizzy. When he opened his eyes, Irsomin, the new leader, was staring at him. He said out loud, “I am sorry that time has run out,” and he walked away.
Sharif said, “On our way to rescue you, we ran into our guide, Neviron, and Rojaek. They were coming to tell us they succeeded in making the medication. We frantically raced to get here before Irsomin could kill you. We were completely lost in the tunnels. Then as we wandered around trying to find your signal, we found the spy, Dattori. He just suddenly appeared. I think he followed us after the chaos. He brought us here just in time. While Sharif was with you, Neviron and Rojaek were given permission to try the medicine. It worked, Captain. The results are amazing. Their bodies are slowly healing.”
Within the next few days, a truce was formed between the two sides. The president of the Guinofs met Irsomin with a mediator present. They were able to work out their differences and come to a conclusion. During that time, Tollie was released from the medical center. He decided to retire from active duty. It was decided that one of Bridgeiro’s squads would remain on Guinofah until peace was restored.
Charles and his squad were given orders to return to base. Charles was glad to finish the mission and return to Bridgeiro. He was given several days off duty to recuperate. During his time off duty, he visited Caroline at her college.
Chapter 69
Non grabbed hold of Maureen’s hand during the chaos and ran with her to his residence. They entered his house in the dark and left the lights off. Non withdrew his bound crystals from a coat pocket. Maureen shivered at the shimmering light it emitted. Non gently placed his fingers on her chin and turned her head. He looked into her eyes.
He breathed a sigh of relief that she was free of demons. He drew Maureen to his body and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and resisted the urge to squeeze the life out of him. She made a growling sound. Non released her and slowly backed away. He sensed there was a demon in the room.
He asked, “Honey, where is it? Tell me where it is.”
She covered her eyes. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. I can’t help you if you won’t give them up. Now where is it?” She shook her head.
He whispered, “Darling, we can’t be together if we can’t contain them. I don’t want to hurt them. I just want to be with you. Do you understand? They can’t be with us right now.”
Maureen desired to be with Non. She pointed in the direction of the corner. He said, “Don’t listen to what it is telling you. Do you hear me?” She nodded and covered her ears.
Non said, “I’m not going to harm it. I just want to let it be with the others.” She nodded and began whispering, mumbling nonsense.
Non went to his safe and pulled out a box. He held up the bound crystals and opened the lid. The demon flew to the box to be with the others. Its tail cut Non’s forehead as he closed the lid. He placed the box in the safe and locked the door. He breathed a sigh of relief then walked over to Maureen. She was on the floor, rocking back and forth, her chin resting on her knees. He slowly, gently placed his fingers on each side of her face and turned it toward him. He asked Maureen to open her eyes and look at the light. When she did, Non could see that she was free of demons. They held each other on the floor as he stroked her hair.
She whispered, “I’m free of them. I promised and I haven’t broken my promise to you.”
He hoped she was telling the truth. He wanted to believe her. He would have believed her if Raul hadn’t told him otherwise.
Chapter 70
The Sojourners’ Council, the selection board and General Platz met after the Guinofah mission. The council and selection board members agreed that Charles should once again be promoted. They requested that General Platz call a meeting with the generals in order to execute the promotion.
When he returned to base, Charles was ordered back to Sinomicron to be checked out before being assigned his next mission. He passed Sinnie’s tests and went right to work.
The mission seemed simple enough. His squad was assigned to protect a political figure as he was transported to Bridgeiro. Charles went to tell his squad to get ready for deployment. He was thankful for a less complicated mission after what they’d been through on their last mission. He thought: There’s not much that can go wrong. We land then escort the ambassador onto the aircraft. We return to Bridgeiro. Simple.
He entered the men’s barracks and told them to get ready to be deployed. He left the barracks for what base personnel called the “bird’s nest.” They were once again being assigned to the Skyviaator, which was another perk of the mission. Thinking back over the briefing he’d just left, a nagging thought rattled around. He didn’t want to entertain it, but it kept coming up: This mission sounds too easy.
When the men arrived at the bird’s nest, they were very jovial. Rocco was giddy and said, “This is the type of mission for me.”
North said, “Sign me up, brother.”
Watching the men and their lackadaisical attitudes, gave Charles cause for alarm. He tried not to show it, but in that instant he knew intuitively there was more to the mission than the brass told him. It wasn’t going to be as easy as he had hoped. For his own best interest, Charles played along with the high spirits of his men.
The squad stepped into the Skyviaator. They were ready to leave when the pilot called back and told them that he couldn’t take off because of a mechanical problem. They would have to fly this mission in another bird, the Skylear. It definitely wouldn’t be a technological bird as special as the Skyviaator. The men groaned.
Gage said, “We should have known it was too good to be true, men. Everybody hop out of the nest. Move it, soldiers! Now!” Charles didn’t say much about the exchange.
The Skylear wasn’t too bad. After all the government wouldn’t want to send the ambassador in a transport that wasn’t favored. The flight to the mission was uneventful. The bird went through the military Passageway into Earth airspace. They only encountered a few rough bumps at high altitude. Other than that the men were back in the good vibes mode. They were teasing the stewardess that was assigned to the flight. In turn, she was spoiling the men by handing out treats that were stocked on the plane. They’d never had a stewardess on any of their flights before.
Charles listened in as she attempted to convince the squad that the Skylear was better in some ways than the Skyviaator. The men played hard to get until Gage mentioned that he could be bought. Holland, the stewardess, briefly disappeared into the cockpit. When she returned, from that point on the trip became a party. The pilot played music for them to set the mood. It was good-natured fun and the relaxed atmosphere relieved the stress of the past missions they’d been on.
Upon their arrival, the mission went back to a business mode. When the Skylear landed at an approved military site, the men exited and took three vehicles to the ambassador’s residence. Charles went to the door and rang the doorbell. The butler answered the door. Charles could hear the ambassador talking within the residence as he stood at the doorway waiting. The man seemed to be a character. He went from room to room searching for items that should have already been packed. The ambassador asked his assistant questions then seemed to forget the answers he was given.
The man then came to the door with a teacup and yapping dog. He addressed Charles, telling him that he absolutely abhorred flying and it was the worst day he’d ever had.
Charles offered to assist if there was something he could do to make the flight less stressful. The man declined but handed Charles the yapping dog. The pet had a bow tied to a tuft of hair on top of its head and was wearing a tutu. The ambassador walked away babbling to his assistant. Charles was noticeably uncomfortable holding the pampered creature. The pet squirmed trying to lick Charles’ face. Charles lost his grip on the dog and it leaped out of his hands. He tried to catch the canine but it was too quick and wily. The dog ran around the yard and seemed to be mischievously laughing with its tongue sticking out. Charles was not impressed. The men in his squad were standing on the porch, hooting with laughter and taking bets as they watched Charles chase after the little fur ball in a tutu. Charles was exasperated at the entire ordeal.
The butler came to the door and called for Fifi. The pet ran into the house. The butler thanked Charles for exercising the dog and closed the door. Charles was not amused.
The ambassador was running late. He strolled out of his residence carrying an attaché case and stood by the vehicle, waiting for someone to open the door. Charles walked over and opened it for him. As soon as Charles stepped into the car and closed the door, the driver drove off. His men thought the entire ordeal was hilarious.
The sad fact was it didn’t get any better. There was one bumbling event after another. A storm was brewing. The ambassador nervously talked from the time they left his residence. He continued to talk as they boarded the plane and took off. The stewardess spilled the ambassador’s beverage on his shirt when the bird went through turbulence. The storm became even more violent. The ambassador turned green from all of the bumps. He rushed to the lavatory and threw up. Then the unimaginable happened, lightning hit the plane’s engine. The ambassador was panicked by the incident. He began to point and stutter. To make matters worse the engine caught on fire in front of their eyes. Everyone quickly sat and buckled up.
