FIFTY-NINE

AFTER DRESSING QUICKLY in his black fatigues, King felt more like a soldier again, but still didn’t quite look the part. His feet, like Sara’s, were now bare. Sara joined King and Queen, dressed once again in all black, her short hair dried flat against her head.

After strapping on the belt to which his KA-BAR knife and a Smith & Wesson Model 39 9mm handgun were holstered, King took an AK-47 from Queen and slid five spare clips into his cargo pant pockets. Queen placed a satchel bag over her shoulder. It contained spare clips for her AK as well and two RPG rounds for the already loaded launcher lying on the bed.

“Where did you find all this?” King asked.

“Storage room in the caves above,” Queen replied. “Looked like they’d been collecting weapons from a variety of forces since the Vietnam War.”

He nudged the large backpack with his foot. “What’s in here?”

Queen grinned and opened the backpack. Several bricks of C4 plastic explosives complete with wiring and a handheld detonator were inside. “They must have bagged a demo team at some point.”

King nodded and returned Queen’s grin. “I have an idea.”

“Thought you might,” Queen said as she picked up the RPG launcher and headed for the door. “I’ll slow them down.”

King held a weapon out to Sara. “This,” he said, “is an AR-15 assault rifle. Fires eight hundred rounds per minute, so don’t hold the trigger down. Short bursts with accurate aim is a hell of a lot more effective than praying and spraying.” He quickly showed her the safety, how to hold the weapon against her shoulder, and how to reload it. He handed her the weapon and placed three spare ammo magazines in her cargo pant pockets. “Stay close to me. Do exactly what I say.”

Sara nodded, nervousness beginning to swirl within her core. She’d been in several firefights since this mission began. Each had rattled her severely, but this one would be different. With only three members of the previously seven-man team present, she was expected to fight. King strapped a belt around her waist. It held a knife and handgun, just like King’s.

“Safety is off on the handgun,” King said. “If you need it, pull it out and squeeze the trigger. A round is already chambered.”

A loud swish erupted from outside the stone building. King and Sara looked out the window. A trail of smoke traced through the open cavern behind an RPG. It shot in a straight line, headed for the stone staircase and the men descending it. Seconds later, the RPG struck the cavern wall and exploded. The sound rolled throughout the massive space and the orange light of the explosion blossomed throughout the cave, enhanced by the crystals. A portion of the staircase shattered and a pursuing hybrid fell off the side. But the VPLA soldiers continued down while the horde of hybrids paused at the edge of the gaping hole in the staircase.

Queen reloaded the launcher. “Better get a move on, King! If I can’t hit these guys, they’ll have our position.”

The dull glow remaining in the cavern as the crystals filtered less and less light from the setting sun hidden by storm clouds outside made seeing and moving more difficult. But it also helped conceal them from enemy eyes.

A second RPG soared through the cave, this one spinning madly as the old RPG failed. It struck and crumbled a small building in the first gallery of the city. Queen whispered a string of curses and loaded the third and final RPG.

King took Sara by the wrist and pulled her toward the door. “Time to go.” They exited the second-story room and descended a flight of stairs as a third stream of smoke shot into the air. This RPG, like the first, soared in a straight line. But, unlike the first, it generated sudden screams from the men still pounding down the long curved staircase. Queen’s aim was true. The men lunged forward, some diving down the stairs, no doubt injuring themselves in the process. Most evaded the explosive, but two were caught as the RPG slammed home, shredding stone, flesh, and bone alike. Another man shot off the side of the staircase, propelled by the explosion’s shock wave. He screamed the entire fifty feet down until striking the stone floor below. The seven remaining Death Volunteers continued on, bolting down the staircase without any concern for the hybrids still stuck behind the large gap.

One of the hybrids attempted to jump the distance, but fell short and careened to his death below. The others then retreated back up the staircase and disappeared from view.

Queen discarded the RPG launcher as King and Sara joined her. “Which way, boss?”

King motioned toward the temple, barely visible in the low light and looking more ominous than ever. “The temple.”

They ran for several minutes, their bare feet allowing them to move in silence. As they reached the temple perimeter, facing the snake-covered balustrades, King stopped. He turned to Queen. “No one gets through that gate.”

Queen nodded and took up position behind one of the balustrades. King looked at Sara. “No one.”

Sara also nodded, with much less confidence, after realizing the order was intended for her and Queen. She mimicked Queen’s prone position, aiming her AR-15 at the thirty-foot gate, praying no one would enter it before King returned. She looked back for King and saw him running up the temple stairs, the backpack full of C4 over his shoulder.

The dark outline of the main temple gate became harder to see as the rain pouring through the holes above poured into the chamber, striking the large crystals overhead and forming an honest to goodness subterranean monsoon. Water poured down the courtyard, flowed from the temple, and surged down through the large gate like a wide, shallow river. Knowing the general layout of the city, Sara knew the water would flow down the incline of the main street, through each of the five gallery gates, and into the horseshoe-shaped river surrounding the city.

“Nice knowing you, Pawn,” Queen said to Sara.

A nervous laugh escaped Sara’s mouth. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

Sara marveled at how there always seemed to be a little levity before a fight. She’d seen smiles on the team’s faces before every battle they knew was going to happen. No one seemed to appreciate the surprises. But before the Chess Team traded bullets and bombs with the enemy, they traded smiles. She realized the subtle last-moment mirth was actually some kind of warrior bonding. Before they put their lives in each other’s hands they reaffirmed their camaraderie. That Queen was joking with her was a compliment. She decided to return it. “I’ll try not to shoot you.”

Queen cracked a wide grin, which quickly disappeared when the thump, thump, thump of approaching boots echoed up from the city, growing louder with every second.

The Death Volunteers were approaching the gate.