Black Guard, The (6 page)

"Unless someone sticks his hand up
it," Private Lipkin whispered, which provoked a few snickers.

"I leave it to you to make sure
they’re discrete." There was silence for a few seconds, then smiles appeared
and a few chuckles.

"We’ll keep them dead quiet,"
Lipkin said, grinning.

"Also, keep a few flash-stars on
you, probably in your pockets. We are going to pretend to be servants who chose
to stay when the cowardly Guard ran off with the governor and his family. We
dislike the current government and are sympathetic to the rebels cause. When
they relax, which they will since they will have just fought a victorious
battle, we’ll strike."

"And then?" Private Nadel
said with a twitch of her lip.

"And then, we will go lend a
helping hand to our male comrades. I anticipate the leader will send some
portion of his troops after them, although not all."

"Why?"

"Unless he’s a very unusual rebel,
he will want to stay here and gloat. He will see this estate as his. The place
he will rule from."

"And die in," Private Ganz
said, to general nods.

* * *

Since I had stored my Mfi in the
laundry room, I was out of contact with Ceder and Drezner and could only wait.
I collected everyone in the foyer, so our sudden presence didn’t surprise one
of the rebels and cause them to begin shooting, and I had a white sheet placed
on the flag pole out front in the hope that would keep them from shooting up
the house on sight. I hoped I had made the right decision. Time would be my
judge and jury.

Six hours later, cautiously watching
through the windows, I spotted the rebels advancing, meaning the military had
deserted at some point. Two hundred military against even four hundred rebels
should have been a good two to four day battle. The rebels stopped well back,
while two small scouting parties approached the estate from different
directions. An hour later, I could hear men entering from the rear terrace and
see others cautiously climbing the stairs, weapons at the ready.

"Everyone, kneel and raise your
arms," I said. This would be the tricky part. They needed to see us as
harmless and either civilians to be left alone or prizes of war. So long as
they didn’t want to kill us and begin shooting, either was good. It took them
several minutes leap-frogging from one structure to another to reach the
entrance. The first two rushed through the door, head swiveling back and
forward like watching a tennis match. They looked like military, although not
in perfectly matching uniforms, with military type clothing and equipment and
even bands on their arms that probably denoted rank. Then the older one
laughed.

"The previous owners left us their
servants."

"Yes, sir. The cowards ran off
with the governor. We refused to go. Good riddance, I say," I said, trying
to look happy and afraid at the same time. It wasn’t too hard. I was happy to
see them and get this charade over with, and at the same time afraid they would
do something stupid that would result in us having to protect ourselves
prematurely.

"Shyu, take your men and make sure
no one is hiding. I can handle the women."

"Yes, Sergeant," Shyu gave a
half salute and ran off, waving individuals in various directions—two
went left and two right down the first floor hallways, and four, along with
Shyu, went up to the second floor.

"No one else is here, sir."

"For your sake, I hope so."
He switched on a hand-held communication device he retrieved from his belt.
"Colonel, it looks like the place is deserted except for eight female
servants, who were either deserted or refused to leave. They claim the latter."
He stood listening for several seconds. "Yes, sir. My troops are searching
the building right now."

The next several minutes passed in
silence. He was probably listening for shots or shouts. Then the men began
returning with Shyu.

"All clear, Sergeant. The women
were right. The place is deserted." Several minutes later, a tall
middle-aged man appeared in the entrance, flanked by two men who appeared to be
bodyguards judging by the way they surveyed the area, walked, and held their
machine-gun-like rifles. He was middle-aged with a smooth narrow face,
brown-hair graying at the temples, and had the command presence of a leader.
His penetrating eyes—the kind that see what is, not what others would
like him to see, stopped to appraise each of us. I unconsciously held my breath—the
moment of truth.

"When did they leave?"

"Eight hours ago, sir," I
answered, and his eyes locked onto me like a hungry hawk on a mouse.

"How many and which
direction?"

I pretended to count on my fingers,
lips pursed in thought. "The guards had twenty-one, maybe twenty-two. Five
servants. And the governor, his wife, their two children, and the governor’s
mother. They took two skimmers and the three cars. I overheard them say they
were going towards the Ming Tree forest. But I don’t know where in the forest."

"Why did you stay," he asked,
his eyes searching mine.

"Sir, working for the governor was
a job. A poor job, but I need money to live. The governor treated us like
slaves, barely fit to serve him. I hope you catch him," I spat, while the
others around me murmured agreement. I looked down at the floor—he was my
better and looking at him too long wouldn’t be right for a servant.

"I wonder if they heard Baotou and
Hefei have surrendered to us?" a thin, young man standing to the colonel’s
right said. The colonel looked over his shoulder at the man and nodded.

"That would appear to be the case,
Lieutenant. A hundred men should be enough if they only have twenty-two guards
with them. The other guards ran like scared rabbits. Take ten squads and go
after them. I’d like the governor alive, but in no case let him escape. I’ll
stay here. I plan to make this our headquarters for now."

"Will a hundred and fifty be
enough if the foreign army attacks you? We lost fifty-five and have forty
wounded."

"Lieutenant Kam informs me that
the Jax army has redeployed between us and Ebao, and they were reinforced with
only fifty troops. Their commander must be an idiot. He’s trapped between two
forces that both outnumber him. He can’t attack the city because of us, and he
can’t attack us for fear of the Ebao forces attacking his rear." He
laughed. "I’ve ordered Lieutenant Kam to leave the city and crush the
invaders."

"What about the women,
Colonel?" Shyu asked smiling. "The men have fought hard, sir, and
could use some rest and entertainment."

"Sir, we aren’t whores!" I
exclaimed, keeping my head down and eyes looking toward the floor.

"Consider it the price of
switching to the winning side. I doubt you would have left the governor if we
were losing." He grinned. "Two men for each woman. For today: Lieutenant
Hang, the sergeants, and six men you feel earned it over the last few
days."

"What about you, sir?"

"No. They are for you and the
troops." He turned and walked up the stairs. Hang immediately got on the
phone, giving the "lucky" men the news. I had to admit the women were
having fun, quietly sobbing, looking like they wanted to run, and trying not to
make eye contact. The colonel was about to lose a good part of his command
structure.

 
* * *

As the invited "guests" began
to arrive, Hang had us herded to the second floor, while one of the sergeants
went along the hallway opening each door, looking for a good sized room to
accommodate everyone.

"Sorry, Colonel," he said,
after poking his head through one doorway, and quickly closed it. Then three
doors later, he found the governor’s master bedroom. "Here. This will be
great." He held the door open and waved. The door had barely closed behind
the last person when the men began shedding their clothes and weapons on the
floor.

"Get your clothes off, women,
unless you want them ripped off," Shyu said as he stepped out of his
pants. "How do you want to proceed, sir?"

"By rank. She’s mine," Hang
said, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. "You’re going to be the best
fuck I’ve ever had or this is going to be the worst day of your life."
Laughing, his hand reached down and grabbed me between my legs. Silence. Shock.
His eyes flew open as his mind finally came to grips with what he felt. My body
armor was soft, but not the yielding flesh he had expected. My left hand snaked
behind his head, pulling him into my fingers and crushing his trachea. I held
him tightly and hooked my right leg around his waist—as though I was giving
him better access to me. In reality, it exposed my thigh and let me reach my
laser. With the lieutenant pressed tight against me, I shouted,
"Now," and began shooting. With the men’s attention drawn to me, the
women went into action. A mad scramble began as men dove for their weapons,
lying on the floor with their pants. It wasn’t much of a fight—much like
slaughtering cattle in pens. The two who got off a shot tore up Lieutenant Hang’s
torso, not that he cared.

"They weren’t much fun. No
stamina," Private Kott said, smiling "Maybe the others will have more
pep."

I prodded one of the bodies with my
foot to be sure he was dead. "Corporal Catz, take Haber, Jaffe, and Kott.
Clear the rooms starting after the central staircase to the end of the
building. Corporal Glick, take Lipkin and secure the staircase and watch the
hallway while we work the rooms. Nadel you’re with me; we’ll clear the rooms
from here to the stairs. We’ll meet at the stairs at the end of the hallway."
Skull caps magically appeared from pockets and inside uniforms. Made of the
same material as the body armor, they protected everything except the exposed part
of the face. "Go!"

We poured out of the room. Glick shot
two men talking in the hallway, jumped over them, and raced down the corridor
with Lipkin and the others behind her. I opened the door across the hall and
found two men rummaging through the room looking for loot. Their rifles were lying
on the bed. I shot one before the second realized I was there. He turned just
in time to get shot in the head. I was thankful we had lasers because they were
silent. The falling bodies were the only noise. Nadel exited an adjacent room
and raised two fingers as she headed for the next door on her side. The next
door I opened was the study. The colonel sat behind the governor’s desk sorting
through papers. He looked up as I entered.

"I should have known better. Po
Tong did warn me that the Black Guard—" His last words before my
laser’s tight-beam entered his right eye and burned its way through his brain.
The Guard always set their laser to the tightest beam possible as that ensured
it would burn through most material including walls, and a wider beam wasn’t
necessary as we seldom missed. Inside a building, we couldn’t afford to.

Nadel came out of the opposite room
shaking her head. Before I reached the next room, Glick signaled four as she
and Lipkin stood guard at the center staircase. I opened the last door and
Nadel flung herself against the inside wall, weapon raised. No one was there.

Finished with our assigned rooms, we
raced down the hallway, collecting Glick and Lipkin on our way to Catz and the
others at the far stairs.

"Five," Catz said.

"We’ve been fortunate. Everyone
has relaxed, celebrating with Ho Lew’s liquor, searching for loot, or looking
for entertainment." The others snorted. "We’ve managed to surprise
them without raising an alarm. Even the two shots in our room were ignored,
probably because of who was there and other random shots in celebration. The
main floor and the servants’ area will require speed because we can’t count on
luck. Those areas are too open. They have forty wounded plus others in the servants’
area. Some will have guns near. And if the sergeant’s count of one hundred ten
was accurate, there are another forty somewhere—probably on the main
floor."

"Luck? We’re the Black
Guard," Catz said, to general nods.

"Yes, inside a building, we have
no equals. But don’t get over confident. The foyer, reception area, and the
terrace are very open as is the servants’ area. We may surprise a few in the
beginning but not all for long." I held each woman’s eyes until she nodded
acknowledgement. "Corporal Catz, your team will take the servants’ area.
After you’re finished, retrieve our equipment. Go."

The four women flowed quietly down the
stairs.

"We don’t have enough people to
take on the reception area, the terrace, and all the rooms on the main floor. I’m
going to assume most are together celebrating on the terrace or in the
reception area; therefore, those are our objectives. Nadel you’re with me. Our
responsibility is the terrace. Glick, you and Lipkin will clear the reception
area. Does everyone have a flash star?" I asked. They looked something
like an old Ninja throwing star, but when they hit something with enough force,
like the floor, wall, or door, they exploded in a blinding flash of light.
Everyone nodded. "We’ll approach the reception area slowly like we intend
to join the party. Hopefully, that will give us a few seconds’ advantage."

We took the servant stairs, rather than
the main ones, and were unnoticed as we strolled along, talking and softly
laughing. We were halfway there when a gangly youth noticed us. He and a
sergeant were sitting in a small waiting area between the reception room and
the terrace.