Battle Earth IX (16 page)

"Sir, I must appeal to you for help," said Jones.

He looked back to Taylor who nodded in agreement.

"My resources are pretty thin, but I will do what I can for you, Captain."

"My wife. She was here as I said, taken from here by Krys agents or collaborators, or whatever."

"Yes, and I am deeply sorry for that."

"I don't need sympathy, Sir. I need her back, and I'll do whatever I have to for that to happen."

"I don't know what I can do to help, Captain."

"You have resources. You can use them to find out where that ship went, and where she has been taken."

"It's a pretty long shot," he replied, turning to leave.

Jones grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I'll take any kind of shot," he replied, knowing it had multiple meanings and was not lost on the General. Dupont turned back fully and thought about it for a moment.

"If I could do this, and I say if, it would take an immense amount of non-frontline staff to pursue it. Resources that are vitally needed elsewhere. What would you be willing to do for me?"

"You're holding me to ransom over finding my wife?" he pleaded.

He looked to Taylor for support, but he didn't get any.

"Tough times," Taylor said, "Take what you can get."

"What is it you want, General?"

Dupont looked over to Taylor.

"I want you. You've accomplished some incredible things against this enemy. I have reports of Erdogan's position. I suggested nuking the bastard, but apparently, his defence systems would stop anything we throw at him. And then there is you."

Taylor could already see where this was going. He always knew he would have to face the alien leader, but he never for a moment thought it could be so soon.

"Oh, no, no, you don't. You want me to go get my head blown off on some crazy ass mission..."

He stopped, noticing Jones pleading eyes; they were hard to ignore.

"Why not?" Jones asked him, "You've beaten these bastards before. You could end it all now."

"Yeah, or probably die and be a martyr without a following alive to remember."

He turned away and looked out to the tank battle raging in the distance. He shook his head, thinking of the fear he had felt at the prospect of facing Erdogan. Finally, he turned back and asked, "Where is he?"

"Munich."

"He's here? On Earth?" Taylor asked in surprise.

“All the reports I have would say yes, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t spare anything, and even if I could, it would never work. But you and your particular set of skills, you have a chance.”

Taylor looked to Jones who was only waiting for him to say yes.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Well think fast. Time is not on our side, Colonel.”

“What is to think about, Mitch?”

“This is not a decision to be made lightly, Jones.”

“Every moment we delay the search for Coco, we reduce our chances of finding her.”

Taylor nodded in agreement.

“Fifteen minutes is all I ask.”

Dupont agreed and left the room. The six remaining gathered into a circle, as they had all heard the facts. They waited for Taylor to speak, and after some consideration, he did.

“Going after Erdogan will be like nothing we have ever done before. He’s smarter and stronger than anything we’ve ever dealt with. I honestly believe it will cost the lives of whoever goes, whether they succeed or not.”

They were stunned and speechless by his assessment. They had never heard Taylor speak in such a defeatist manner. He walked over to the window and looked out across the battlefield beyond. Friendly armour continued to advance, and it was a welcome sight to see their forces making progress, but he knew it would be a rare sight. Jones paced up beside him and looked out at the same scene.

“You have a chance to end this,” he said.

“An opportunity, but I’m not so sure I’ve got a chance.”

“Of course you have a chance.”

“No, you stop. You’ll say whatever you need to here; whatever is necessary for you to get what you want.”

Jones turned face on to Taylor.

“No. I would never have you sacrifice yourself. Why can’t there be multiple reasons for my actions? I want Coco to be safe, of course, but she never will be while Erdogan is alive.”

“What’ll it be, Colonel?”

Taylor looked around. Dupont was in the room once more. It was nowhere near the time he had asked for, but he could see the urgency in the General’s face.

“Let’s do it,” he replied.

“Then follow me.”

Taylor knew he had so few options left, and at least this way, he had a shot at doing some good. Dupont led them out of the hospital and back through the base. Outside at a bunker they were heading towards, they could see a copter and Rains waiting beside it.

“What happened to staying put?” Taylor asked him as they approached.

“Things were looking up, and I figured you’d need me here.”

“Looking up?” asked Taylor, somewhat confused.

Dupont led them into a bunker and into his war room. Every single one of the personnel inside was fully combat equipped, a sign of the desperate times.

“So what have you got on Erdogan?” Taylor asked.

“What I already told you.”

“Wait, what? You know a city, and that’s it?”

Dupont shrugged.

“No, no, no. If I’m gonna do this, I need intel. I need a location. I need enemy positions, surveillance of the locations. Come on, I need something!”

He looked to Jones for support.

“Please, Mitch, just go with it.”

Taylor nodded.

“Captain, I’ll give you three of my best people to help you track down your wife. I have absolute confidence in them, and I assure you they will do everything in their power,” said Dupont, as he pointed and ushered Jones over to a corner of the room.

Jones looked back as he went there. He felt guilty to be leaving his best friend, but he could not stop his search for Coco. As he reached the desk, he could see a surveillance video shot from the hospital with a still of Coco being led to the craft she had left on. It immediately grabbed his attention, and he couldn’t look away.

“That’s her,” he said.

The young female officer at the desk before him looked eager to assist.

“We’re tracking the flight path of the craft at the moment, Captain, but with most of the satellites down and our connections to what’s left, it’s proving difficult. I am Lieutenant Bisset, and I will do everything I can to help, along with my colleagues, Sir.”

Taylor ignored her introduction and delved right into the facts.

“Where did the ship come from?”

“Well, that’s a little easier,” replied the woman, “We can first identify it coming out of northern Germany. It was unarmed and alone, and therefore not considered hostile.”

“But it came from enemy territory?”

“Yes, Sir, but frankly, it’s a mess out there. Civilian craft are coming and going, and nobody is attempting to stop them. Refugees are pouring over borders, and deserters too.”

“What else have you got?”

“We’re still pursuing all leads. I believe we can pinpoint their final destination with relative accuracy within a few hours. We could do with a few more eyes to go over the information we have.”

“I’ll do whatever I can, just find her.”

He looked over to Taylor and nodded as a sign of gratitude. Taylor looked back to Dupont.

“So Erdogan is in Munich, what other information or resources can you give me?”

“Honestly, nothing. I’ve given what help I can to your Captain, and I have told you where you can find the alien leader. We’ll keep on fighting them on every front we can. Now it’s up to you to strike at the heart of the enemy. And with that, I must leave you. I have a lot to do and little time to do it. Good luck, Colonel.”

Dupont turned to some of his command staff and left Taylor to his own devices. Taylor shook his head and wondered what the hell was happening. He stepped outside for some fresh air and to think if it wasn’t all just a dream. He was greeted first by Rains with a big smile on his face.

“So what’s the plan, boss?” he asked.

“Singlehandedly bring the about the destruction of the enemy leader.”

Rains laughed.

“Of course, because anything lesser would be beneath you,” he joked.

He stopped smiling on seeing Taylor’s deadly serious expression.

“No, you can’t be serious?”

“Sadly, yes. We’ve got a shot, but I’ve got no idea how we’ll pull it off.”

“And Jones, where is he?”

“On his own mission. We’ll have to go without him. Evans, Wood, you’re with Jones. Do whatever you can to help. The rest of you are with me.”

“So it’s what, the four of us? I know we’ve pulled off some pretty impressive shit over the years, but don’t you think you’re being a little overly ambitious with this?”

Taylor nodded in agreement.

“Aren’t we always? Let’s not look for problems. Let’s look for solutions.”

He led them around a corner to where empty ammunition crates had been stacked and took a seat on one while the others joined him.

“What’s our time frame?” Rains asked.

“No idea, but we have to do this ASAP.”

“And how do you intend to kill him?”

Taylor shrugged. “Working on a few ideas.”

“I hate to say it, but we need help.”

Taylor stopped, looking up into the sky as he mulled it over in his head. He knew his situation was an impossible one, and he couldn’t find a sensible answer to their problems.

“So what do we do?”

“First thing is we gotta get into Germany, Eddie. They may have got across the border unnoticed or contested, but I doubt we’ll be so lucky. Neither can we go in by force.”

“So what options are left?”

“We go in as civilians.”

“As spies you mean? Minute we take off our uniforms and go into hostile territory, we aren’t marines anymore; we aren’t soldiers. We aren’t enemy combatants. We are clandestine forces and will be shot as spies.”

“Are you serious? All the danger we’ve gone through, and your biggest concern is being shot? We could have been shot and killed any time today, yesterday, and any one of hundreds of days in the war.”

“But we’d do it in our colours, as who we are.”

Taylor was surprised it meant so much to him. For a man who flaunted all the rules of uniform, the prospect of going without his identity scared him.

“I need you,” replied Taylor.

“Damn right you do,” he replied in a quivering tone, “Cos I’m the only son of a bitch stupid enough to do what you ask.”

Taylor smiled in response and got up to pat him on the shoulder.

“That’s right, but you’ve got us all this far, haven’t you?”

Taylor took in a deep breath. Some ideas were finally coming to him, and he knew he had to at least give them a shot.

“Eddie, your job is to find us transport. Something small and civilian that won’t draw any attention.”

“Round here?”

“I didn’t say it would be easy. Just get it done.”

He turned to the other two.

“Next, you will find us clothing. We need to look convincing as civilians, so find us the appropriate stuff.”

“Where, Sir?” Lewis asked.

“Gentlemen, this is a country ravaged by war where civilians are fleeing for their lives. Finding some clothes shouldn’t be an issue. Go to the nearest highway, and I bet you good money, you’ll find it backed up with cars packed with clothing from those without the cash to fly out of the warzone. So go and forage for whatever you can get.”