Insurgency, page 22
part #2 of V-War Series
The debris soon began to settle, but he flicked a switch on the launcher to select smoke and fired out several charges. The building before them vanished into thick smoke once more.
“Let’s move. Go, go, go!”
* * *
Luna parried off a cut and closed the distance, driving a punch into Mason’s nose. He fell back several paces. Blood was streaming down his face, made worse by the amount of sweat. He was breathing heavily and pulled off his helmet, casting it aside.
“You can’t win here. Terminal will go on. It has to go on. That’s why you can’t defeat me, because I am in the right. I might as well have the Gods on my side, all of them.”
He held up both of his arms and looked up as if staring at a deity. But he soon let out another angry cry and charged. She parried off his strike, moved nimbly off to one side, and slashed in against his flank. The armour took most of the impact, but the edge still cut through at one of the joints, biting into his flesh as he rushed past.
He was slowing down now. Luna was not tired, nor seriously hurt. She could close in for the kill any time she wanted, but she was stalling. She didn’t want to kill him, even though she knew this could be the end of Terminal. She had to just finish him off, and everything could be different. But it wasn’t any life she’d have to take. She hated the fact that she would have to kill, and also wondered if she could ever forgive herself for killing Carter’s best friend. They were like brothers.
Mason came at her again. He thrust and cut back and forth, and she continued to parry the blows with ease. She was a better fighter in every way, and he could tell that. Finally, she locked his weapon arm and kicked out his knee to drive him down. The audience gasped as she held him firm. She was standing over him with her sabre held to his throat. She had but to draw across, and she would win. Not just the fight, but win the deal she had made with Zenner. The challenge she had made, and one he had publicly accepted. This wasn’t like the Axel Ward fight. Zenner could not cheat his way to victory now. She looked back to Zenner. He was in an elite crowd at one side of the castle square.
He was smiling, and he had been the entire time. Now she knew why. He had tricked her once again. There was no way she could win this fight because she could never bring herself to kill a man like Mason. A good and honest man, and a friend of someone she cared about. Once again, he had cheated, but not in a way she could expose. He had used her morals and principles against her. She felt betrayed and powerless. It was the moment she realised she had been played from the very beginning. She had called out for a fight with Zenner. Just like he had encouraged President Simmons to do, and yet he was cleverer than that. He knew how to play the system, and she had walked straight into it. She couldn't kill Mason, and they both knew it.
She released her grip slightly, just enough that Mason could resist. She pretended to not notice what he was doing as he raised his sword a little. She put herself at his mercy, without making it obvious. He cut up with his blade, knocking her sword aside, and quickly thrust forward. The blade impaled Luna at the chest, and she collapsed down to her knees with the blade still stuck in her. Her sabre had fallen from her hands, and Mason was reaching down to pick it up. There was still fight in her body, but not in her mind. She wanted nothing more to do with this violence. She could not make that decision for others, but at least she could stay her own hand.
Mason rested her sabre on her shoulder, ready to slash across her throat. She had failed, and this may be end, but at least it would be an honest end. One that did not cost any one else's life, and that mattered to her. Mason looked back to Zenner and the elite crowd of handpicked individuals that were watching. They neither said nor did anything as they waited for him to go on, as if he should know what was expected of him. He didn't look so confident, and his hand wobbled a little. There was doubt in his eyes, and he leaned in close to whisper where others could not hear.
"You let me win. You let me have this. All you had to do was finish me, why?"
"Because Carter loves you, and I will not take that from him," she replied softly.
He pulled back sharply and looked more conflicted than he was before. He knew he could never have beaten Luna. She was an incredible fighter, and he had never been anywhere close to her standard.
"You wouldn't kill me when you had the chance, why?"
This time he asked aloud for all to hear; Zenner, his people, and the millions watching online.
"I won't kill people that have done me no harm. That is Zenner's game. It is barbaric. I'll kill to survive, and I'd gladly end his life to protect the lives of so many others. But I will not kill for sport, not again."
"You have to lose this fight, but that doesn't mean it has to be your end," he declared.
She wasn't sure what he meant.
"Raise two fingers. Call for mercy, and accept defeat."
"Would you?"
"Yes, because there is no shame in losing. Not for you."
She nodded in appreciation, although the concept was so alien to her. She had never accepted defeat. She was not even accustomed to it, but only two options now lay before her. She took a deep breath, readying herself to do what she never imagined she would.
"Kill her!" a voice rang out from the crowd beside Zenner.
Mason heard. It was impossible not to in such a tranquil place, but he was not listening.
"Do it, Luna, and walk away to fight another day."
She smiled and looked into his eyes. She could see the same sincerity she saw in Carter. As if they were brothers. She hated the idea of begging for mercy, but death was a far worse option. Her hand was shaking as she lifted it. The prospect was bitter, but she took solace in the fact that neither of them had paid the price of defeat with their deaths. Her hand finally got high enough for all to see, and her two fingers were held out.
"Winner, Mason Price!" the announcer’s voice called out.
He tossed the sabre aside, and she gasped in relief.
"You've lost this fight, but you can walk on out of here," said Mason.
* * *
"Go, go, go!" Axel shouted as Victor led the way through the breach. He was now carrying a short combat shotgun while the bulbous grenade launcher hung from his back. The shotgun thundered twice before Axel could even get inside. When he did, he found his comrade had cleared the length of the room and was on a stairway heading to the upper floor. He wasn't being hasty or showing too little care, he was just fast, especially for such a big guy. He tossed a flash grenade up the stairs and held back as it blew. That was just enough time for Axel to catch up as they charged up together.
They had no shortage of targets as ILAN gunmen staggered about, trying to regain their bearings, but barely being able to see. Axel took aim at the nearest and put a round in each of his legs. He kicked the man's weapon away as he collapsed before him. They fired several more shots when Axel heard one ring out at his back, and he spun around. Hud had shot down one that was aiming right for him. Victor smashed another in the head with his shotgun, grabbed the next one, and slammed him up against the wall, lifting him by the throat.
"Incognito, where is he?"
He squeezed tightly, and the man did not hesitate to point towards a doorway at the end of the room. Victor smashed his elbow into the man's head and let him fall unconscious. Dia looked horrified. This was the kind of violence she had worked for so many years to prevent, and now she was complicit in those very same things. She had to suck it up for now. Bigger things were at stake. That made her question everything. The law had mattered to her most; now it seemed secondary to doing the right thing.
They approached the door slowly and cautiously. It was not just the risk of what they might face, but the anticipation, too. They stopped short of the door when they reached a corner of a wall. The room stretched out around the bend, and before them lay camera equipment and the entire Incognito set up. It was everything they had hoped for, but they still had no answers.
"So he really is working with ILAN?" Victor asked.
"You think whoever is locked up in there is here of their own free will?"
Axel had forgotten Zippo was even with them. She had stayed in the rear and out of the way.
"If that is him behind that door, we..." she said.
She stopped herself short, not wanting to tempt fate. Ava knocked on the door with the stock of her rifle, but there was no answer.
"If there is anyone in there, we are here to help. And if you mean us harm, you ain't getting out of here alive, you hear me!" she screamed.
There was still no response. She took out a charge and placed it against the crude lock. It blew off with ease, and she hauled the door open. Axel was first through with a pistol in hand. He looked around, covering all angles. Nui and Dia followed after him. The only thing in the room was a single person with a bag over their head, and they were lashed in chains, resting on their knees.
"You are not like them, are you?" the masked man asked.
"No, we're here..."
"For answers?"
"Yes," replied Dia.
They were wary about removing his mask, wary of who or what might be underneath. They had nothing to fear, and yet everything to lose. They had staked everything on this mission, even Luna's life. They had left her behind to pursue this avenue. They hesitated, but as they did so, Zippo rushed through and ripped the blanket from the prisoner’s head. She staggered back to the other two in disbelief.
"You are..." she whispered.
"Incognito?" Nui asked.
"Yes, yes I am," he replied eloquently.
"I’m Axel Ward."
"Yes, I know, and I know why you are here."
None of them could find a word to say. Zippo seemed to recognise him but was saying nothing.
"You are here because you think I can save your precious UAN from the grasp of Mic Zenner?"
"Yes," replied Nui.
"Then you have come to the right place. I will help you save America from that monster, but you may not recognise your home nation when we are through."
None of them really had any idea what that meant, but any option seemed better than Zenner right now. They had so many questions, and so little time. An explosion rang out that rocked the building.
"We've got to go!" Ava yelled.
Axel shot the chains that bound Incognito and hauled him onto his shoulder.
"Run!"
They were out of the building in no time at all, but could see three pickups approaching, and they were packed with ILAN fighters. Victor opened fire with the last of his grenades. Explosions erupted on the road as one vehicle burst into flames and another smashed into the wreckage. A single gunshot pierced the windshield of the third as Juan hit with a precision kill, and the vehicle veered off the road as those on the back leapt off.
"We've got to move, now!" Ava hollered.
Hud was already hotwiring one of the trucks. It fired to life as they leapt into the cargo bed and cab. Axel tossed Incognito in and jumped in beside him for cover. The wheels spun as they tore off, just as more ILAN trucks appeared on the crest where they had entered the town.
"I'll meet you at the rendezvous," Juan said over the comms.
Even as he said it, a drone soared in overhead, under his control. Rockets lashed down against the enemy vehicles as they slid to a halt, and the crews ran for cover. They saw Juan mount a scrambler as the drone made another pass. It finally turned a bend and vanished over a hilltop in the distance. Axel breathed a sign of relief. He noticed Ava was cradling a gunshot wound at her shoulder, but she wasn't making a fuss of it.
"This better have been worth it," he said.
"It will be. Everything is about to change, everything," said Incognito.
* * *
Luna awoke breathing heavily. Her body told her she was hurt badly, and yet her vital organs had been missed. She wasn't bleeding internally. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. Mason was by her side, with a hand on her shoulder. The press were all around her trying to ask questions, but she could not focus.
"It's okay. Just breathe and you'll be fine," insisted Mason.
He turned back to the press with a furious expression on his face.
"Get back! Give her some room!"
A nurse was pulling out the lines and connections to her body. Mason helped her to her feet. She was a little unsteady, but managed to stand, only to find herself face-to-face with Zenner.
He looked put out, as if he were trying to conceal much stronger emotions.
"Clearly neither of you understands the meaning of a Terminal game."
"That's your rules, and I don't play by your rules," she said, gasping for air.
He wanted to say something more to Mason, but he could not, not before the nation’s press. He was desperately trying to be seen as the good guy, and had to hold his tongue.
"Are you gonna let me walk out of here?"
He looked at the press once more, and knew he had no choice.
"Of course. You came here, Luna. You came looking for a challenge. Perhaps now you can accept defeat gracefully."
"She simply looked up and smiled. They both knew she had not lost that fight. She pushed Mason aside so that she could stand on her own two feet.
"This isn't over."
"It is all a game. You win some and you lose some. But I will always be here when you next choose to test your luck. You may not always be so lucky as you were today."
She turned and walked away with the press surrounding her. She hated them, though thankfully they were her ticket out of there. She stopped as she reached the elevator and looked back at Zenner.
"You didn't win here today, Zenner. Soon the world will know what you are. Soon the world will know who we all are. I'm coming back for you, and I won't be alone."
He had no response as she stepped into the elevator, but Mason stayed behind.
"You can come with me."
"No, no I can't. But I will see you again. Give my regards to Carter, and tell him to answer his phone once in a while."
"Sure thing." she replied as the elevator doors closed behind her.
The moment they opened again she strode out with a newfound energy. She rushed out the main doors and straight to the nearest cab, without a word to the press as they hounded her.
"Drive!" she yelled.
Finally, she had peace as the Aircab soared out into the skies of the city. She tapped a speed dial key on her console. It rang a few times before Axel answered.
"Tell me you have him?"
Axel looked filthy and tired, and yet he held up a glass of champagne from the luxury of their chartered jet.
"We found him all right. Welcome to the new world."
He held up his glass again to salute her.
"Hooah," she replied with a smile.
THE END
Nick S Thomas, Insurgency
