Hooded Man (104 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"W
AKE UP.
O
H,
please, wake up!”

He heard the muffled words, but didn’t want to. They sounded like his mother’s cries as she tried to get him up out of bed on a school day. “You’re going to miss the bus, if you’re not careful.”

But this wasn’t his mother’s voice. It sounded familiar, though, like someone else he knew. The same inflections, though maybe a little deeper. Lyrical in tone, almost like music – and if there was one thing he knew about it was that.

Then he saw a face in the darkness.

Sian.

She was in his mind, just as she’d been in his thoughts since he’d first seen her.

“Please, whoever you are, wake up!” The words were sharper now, more acute. More real. He was fighting against the dark, raging against it. Time to get up or he’d miss the bus.

“D-Dale...” he croaked, not caring for the sound it made in his head. He tried to ignore the pain, and hoped that fat git hadn’t damaged his voice permanently when he grabbed hold of his neck. He should have been grateful he was still alive. As it was, he was simply glad he might get a shot at revenge.

Not very Ranger-like thoughts
, he told himself. But then, hadn’t Robert himself exacted his own revenge – twice – on people who’d hurt the woman he loved?

Love. It was an alien concept to him. It was something he always thought he’d feel one day, that he hadn’t been able to feel for any other girl he’d ever been with, as much as he’d liked to. He just hadn’t been built that way. But the way he felt about Sian... it was either love or something very like it. Dale knew that when he saw what that slug had done to Sian, he’d do anything he could to save her. That’s why he
had
to wake up.

Dale opened his eyes, his vision blurred. And the picture of Sian’s face he’d held there became that of her aunty, Meghan.

“Please... Dale. You have to help her.”

Dale moved, and regretted it instantly. He ached all over from the beating the Dragon had given him. From somewhere he heard the sound of gunfire. Meghan looked up and out through the open door. Dale blinked and his focus returned enough to see what the Dragon had done to her hand, which she was holding against her chest as she knelt next to him.

“Please, we have to hurry,” she said.

“Where...” Dale croaked again. “Where is he?” There was no sign of the Dragon, just the men Dale had put out of action before the real fight began.

“He left, maybe to see what was happening out there – with your friends?” Meghan winced as her hand moved; whatever he’d been through, he was in better shape than her, Dale reminded himself. That hand needed looking at, and soon. But Meghan hadn’t finished talking. “Then I saw him on the screen back there, the one Sian had been on.” The screen had a crack across it, but still showed a picture. The chair Sian had been tied to was empty. Dale’s heart sank.

“Where is she?” he asked.

“He took her,” said Meghan.

Dale didn’t want to make things worse by saying that Sian had come here to rescue her.

“I was only trying to keep her safe!” Meghan told him.

Dale tried to get himself up, one hand on the floor. Meghan stood to help him with her good hand. “Do you have any idea where he might have gone with her?” Dale asked. He didn’t need to ask
why
. The Dragon had seen the Rangers in action out there and wanted some leverage. A hostage who meant something to one of them.

“Somewhere he’d feel safe, where his family are.”

“Right,” said Dale, picking up the rifle he’d been brandishing when the Dragon came at him. It wasn’t a Ranger’s weapon, but was the only one he had to hand, and he wasn’t about to go up against armed men with nothing. He began to make his way outside, but would have toppled if Meghan hadn’t steadied him. What was he thinking? He was in no shape to take on the Dragon. He’d get them all killed.

Dale could hear the sound of gunfire out in the corridor – then another explosion. There was a battle going on, and usually Dale would have wanted to be a part of that. Not this time. He let Meghan take the lead to the Dragon’s family.

They turned a corner and were confronted by two or three of the Dragon’s men, who opened fire on them before they’d had a chance to identify themselves.
Nerves and hair-triggers,
thought Dale as he pulled Meghan back behind the wall for safety.
Not a good combination.
The soldiers were seeing enemies everywhere.

Bullets pinged off the wall and Dale swore. He stuck out the machine-gun and returned fire, but drew even more in return.

He didn’t have time for this. For all they knew, the Dragon could have already killed Sian, and –

No, she was still alive. She had to be! Dale sprayed another burst of bullets in the direction of the Dragon’s men, this time chancing a look around the corner as he did.

There were even more now. He checked his magazine; there wasn’t much ammo left. Certainly not enough to take on all those guys.

He looked at Meghan’s terrified face and couldn’t muster any reassurance.

But if he didn’t do something, and fast, a young woman that they both cared about would be in serious trouble.

T
HE CASTLE HAD
sent all the reinforcements they could, but they were still heavily outnumbered.

But one trained Ranger was worth at least a dozen of the Dragon’s men, which evened it out somewhat. They also had the element of surprise on their side. Jack deemed the risk necessary. Had done since he’d learned of the connection between the Dragon and Tanek.

If that sadistic son of a bitch was back on the scene, then this outfit needed crippling sooner rather than later. Before another Sheriff or Tsar could come along and take advantage. For all they knew, the Dragon might have the credentials himself – he was certainly psychotic enough. What he’d done to their Welsh HQ, to the survivors he’d taken back to the Millennium Stadium, was proof enough of that. And although revenge shouldn’t have been the motivation for the attack, Jack’s mind kept flashing back to those bodies, to the Ranger who’d been dumped on the road by the Dragon’s men.

And the idea that Tanek might also still be around was too tantalising to pass up. Jack had a major score to settle with that man. On two occasions, he’d been bested by him – although the rematch
almost
went his way. And that was before the torture he’d put him through.

Still, he’d thought long and hard about this: putting even more Rangers in the line of fire for some kind of personal vendetta wasn’t what they were all about. But when the men and women had come to him themselves, saying this was the right thing, that they wanted payback for their comrades who’d died at the Dragon’s hands, that had settled it. Each one of them knew what they were letting themselves in for once they put on the Ranger uniform. It hadn’t stopped them before, and it certainly wasn’t about to deter them now. Far from putting them off, the Dragon’s actions had simply put fire in their bellies.

Then there was the small matter of one of his Rangers being inside. A man he’d personally sent there.

“I’m not one for speeches,” Jack had told the collected troops just before they’d headed off. “Robert’s the one you want for that. But I do know one thing: whatever happens today, you’re doing the Rangers proud. Now good luck to all of you, and let’s go and kick some butt!”

His people knew exactly what they were doing, which ensured he could rely on them to crush the lookouts on the outskirts of the Dragon’s territory without fuss and without them getting off a warning. Jack had watched one squad through binoculars from a deserted house, with equal amounts of anticipation and pride. The hooded soldiers slipped through the streets, coming up on the lookouts while the Dragon’s men chatted amongst themselves. If the guards had spotted trouble they might have sprung into action, but they were oblivious – and before they could even get off a shot, the group of half a dozen soldiers dropped silently to the ground, taken out by a mixture of arrows and bolas. Jack had allowed himself a slight smile, but there was a bigger test to come.

They’d moved through the city using the buildings, just as Robert had taught them. Nobody from the stadium would have seen their approach, and when they were close enough, teams of Rangers were deployed as planned, surrounding the stadium. There were a handful of Rangers present with scuba diving skills; they were not only well trained fighters, these men and women, but sometimes had hobbies from the old days that came in useful. They used the River Taff to approach the building, after Jack had sourced the equipment from a shop which used to sell tanks and gear before the virus. It would be just like the beginning of
Goldfinger
, he’d told them, but without the dinner jackets underneath their wetsuits.

Any guards they spotted were felled with arrows or bolas, some even with throwing knives if the Rangers were close enough. A team had been sent out to deal with the problem of the vehicles and weapons stashed at Cardiff Arms Park. As Robert had done during his battle with the Tsar’s men, they’d be using chemically-treated arrows to deal with this – the tips carrying a concentrated explosive. They’d shoot them into the smaller stadium, with catastrophic results for the Dragon’s defences.

A couple of teams had entered via Park Street and Scott Road in a pincer movement. There were emergency doors here – Jack had done his homework – next to the old media access area, which could be used to gain entrance after any guards had been dealt with.

Meanwhile for other groups, including Jack’s, the architecture of the stadium itself was a gift: struts and poles for climbing, perfect for ropes attached to arrows shot onto the roof. Jack had to admit, he didn’t relish the prospect of the climb, but he did all right keeping up with some of the younger Rangers. There were absolutely no guards up on top, as Jack had figured – nobody would be stupid enough to camp out there – so the Rangers were able to climb down inside, again using all those metal struts and poles to their advantage. Hanging from the rooftop inside, they could pick off any obvious guards, leaving the way free for the rest of them to abseil down directly from the roof. That one was inspired by
You Only Live Twice
.

Jack and the others watched as the Rangers disappeared under the roof on the opposite side. They waited, and waited. Then the all-clear signal was given; a faint whistle which could be mistaken for birdsong unless you were really listening for it. Jack nodded for them all to begin their run, and looked over the edge at the pitch below. Even with a head for heights, this was not something he was looking forward to. “Well, here goes nothin’.”

Holding the rope steady – his staff jammed under his arm – he lowered himself over the edge of the stadium’s canopy. Jack pushed himself off, swaying as he dropped, and let out the rope. He glanced over at other Rangers doing the same, spotting those who had already climbed up and under, now crouching between the rows of seats; quietly making their way downwards.

They’d been lucky so far, but that wouldn’t last. Sooner or later someone, somewhere, would spot the ropes dangling into the stadium. They had to move quickly.

Jack heard shouting. Raised voices that didn’t belong to his troops.

That was it. But the timing couldn’t have been better.

Loud bangs sounded from the smaller stadium next door, then explosions as the Rangers’ arrows found their marks – blowing up stationary jeeps and motorbikes, tanks and trucks... and ammo. A chain reaction ensued, the ground and the stadium shaking with the ferocity of it. The distraction bought them some time, but not much. Machine-gun fire came from Jack’s left, and he dropped a few yards. The other dangling Rangers, rather than waiting to fall to the pitch, swung into the rows of seats, detaching themselves as soon as they could. Their bows were out seconds later, trained on the source of the machine-gun fire.

Jack did the same, using his momentum to swing across. Bullets missed him by inches and he spotted the gunman. Holding on to the rope with one hand, he let his staff fall into his free hand and flung it at the Dragon’s guard, hitting the man squarely in the chest. The guard fell backwards, then flopped forwards over one of the blue plastic seats. Jack swung himself across, letting go when he was over the steps between seats. He landed well enough, but had to duck more rapid gunfire from another shooter.

A Ranger Jack recognised as Beth Garrett popped up between the seats and put an arrow in the guy; Jack nodded his thanks and went to retrieve his staff. He knew that inside, his other troopers were fighting their own battles – bow and arrow against hot lead. But Jack’s money was on the Rangers.

Heavy weapons fire suddenly drew his attention and he looked across the stadium to see a fixed mounted gun the size of a bloody cannon, spitting out... yes, dammit, those were grenades. A couple exploded near to one of his Rangers and Jack watched, horrified, as the hooded figure flew up into the air along with wrecked seats.

“Hawkings!” he shouted, pointing to the weapon, and was gratified to see the Ranger had already lit one of his chemical arrows. He shot it in the direction of the cannon, and the resultant blast spread across the Dragon’s men and set off the grenades they’d been feeding into the weapon.