Howl: A World at War Novel (23 page)

Gavin had the ball. He had gotten much better. All of them had, in fact. There were no more embarrassing misses, awkward dribbles, that kind of thing. But still, the edge went to the people who actually played.

Danny shifted over as Gavin passed the ball to Miko. His team was trying to play a zone, aiming to keep Xavier and Selene away from the basket. He moved again to block off Selene as she caught a pass, but then she made a sudden movement. The ball sailed right by him, and he slipped. On his back, Danny saw Xavier dunk the ball.

Zach helped him up. “Man,” Danny said.

“We're still winning by a point,” Zach said.

Javy had the ball now. Their team pushed down the court, guarded in a man-to-man defense. Danny had Selene covering him.

To his left he saw Javy toss the ball over to Nora. She faked like she was going inside, then leaped and threw up a jumper. Xavier tried but failed to keep up. It clanked against the rim but still went in.

“
Man, people are really biting on fakes,” Danny said. “Me included, I should point out in all fairness.”

“
Well, we've gotten a lot faster. That means we can be a lot more aggressive,” Javy said. He was gone in a flash, stealing the ball from Miko as she made a pass and charging down the court. He made a layup.

Danny shook his head and smiled as he watched him go. They had indeed.

“
That was a really good game again,” Xavier commented.

“
Yeah,” Selene said unconvincingly.

“
Well, we know why you're not happy about it,” Danny said with a grin. “But come on, it was a pretty good one.”

“
I noticed that you're not gloating like you usually do,” Miko observed.

“
Well, we don't want any bad blood before tomorrow,” Danny said, still grinning.

Selene started to smile as well. “What, do you think I'm going to hang you out to dry?”

“Eh, you never know,” Danny said. “Never hurts to be safe.”

“
Gosh, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“
I'll back you up,” Gavin offered.

“
Thanks,” Danny said.

They were taking the evening off to relax before the big battle tomorrow. As far as he knew, a lot of other were doing the same. Their various groups were going out on the town, taking the time to unwind outside the game world. There were others that were also playing around inside World at War, getting everything ready and just fooling around as well.

Their group had chosen to play basketball, then head to the Belfast Manor pub for drinks and dinner. They had requested one of the side rooms, outside of the main bustle of the bar area. It was much easier to hear and to talk in here without having to overcome scores of other voices. There were also no TV screens in here. The Cubs were playing tonight, and Danny was pretty sure that he would end up with a massive hangover if he tried to watch the game.

He sat silent for a moment, listening to the chatter around him from the others. It felt odd to him in some way. There had often been talk about whether true relationships could be formed in a virtual world. That question had been the topic of discussion over the course of several interview sessions with Dr. Unger. It had been a puzzling question, with no clear answer.

Their group was a pretty good case study on the whole topic, though. Zach, Danny and Selene had already been close before World at War had come out, so there was nothing to be gleaned from that. Miko had been friends with Selene for a while, so it was natural that she was able to become a part of the group very quickly.

But the others were a much better example. Xavier, Gavin and Nora had joined later, and they had been accepted with open arms. The three of them had responded agreeably as well, and they had formed the strong core of Black Wolf Company. It had been easy to accept Javy when he had stumbled upon them. All of them had formed a fairly tight bond. Was it because they had been with each other in both the virtual world and the real world?

No, that couldn't be it. They had formed close bonds others that they didn't see in real life. Their alliance with Redd Foxx and Sacred Sword was an example; they had a tight relationship long before they started hanging out with Anna and Liz in real life. They were close with Grizzly and Hephaestus, and they put great trust in other companies like Bravehart, Crimson Eagle, Storm Hawk, Archangel, even Marauder. They had never met in real life, but the bonds were close all the same. Danny literally felt like he could go into battle beside them, and he had full trust in all of them.

And it wasn't just a matter of trust either. Hydra had an ethos, a cause that they all fought under. True, they all fought for fun. There was no point in playing a game if you weren't having any fun. But it also went deeper than that. Their battles were simple in nature, fought for dominance, but they were backed by Hydra's creed; cut one head. None of them ever fought alone. Teamwork and trust was their strength, and they had won many a battle through those principles. As soon as the enemy though they had beaten back one company, another would appear to turn the tide of battle. It was inspiring, and Danny took a considerable amount of pride in his part in that.

So was it real, or did it have lesser meaning because it happened in a virtual world? He thought that the idea of virtual reality carried an unfair stigma. People said you couldn't form a real relationship, a real friendship in a world where everything was just data, but to him that was just condescending. They would say that a virtual world romance was doomed to fail and had no meaning, but they would glorify a romance that was carried out by letter. What was the difference, Danny thought? Why did something new carry such a stigma?

Whatever, he thought to himself. The commentators, the pundits, they could say what they wanted. They could deride their experiences in the virtual world as nothing more than escapist fantasy, and he would simply ignore him. He knew better. They were his friends, his true friends and comrades. And he would be going into battle with them tomorrow.

They could say what they wanted. Their words weren't going to take this away from him.

CHAPTER 20

Red Beach

It was finally here. Several months of planning, weeks of scouting, vicious fighting up north and uncertainty everywhere they turned. All of that had lead to this point, and they were ready. Hydra was going to take the final steps to secure a city.

Zach stood in the field headquarters, taking it all in while he still had time. It would be chaos soon enough. Off to the north at about five hundred yards he could see Bravehart and Griffon making the final preparations with their artillery. The armored company was assembling behind him. They would head toward the bridge once the bombardment began, and then would wait until Marauder had signaled that the gate had been captured. Raven Flight was preparing as well, waiting for their chance to influence the battle. And ahead of him the infantry was assembling.

They had a mighty force here; Crimson Eagle, Sacred Sword, Marauder and Band of Brothers. They would be the muscle during the initial push into the city, taking vital streets and building and capturing the all important gate. Their plan was doomed if they couldn't get armored support, and they had chosen the best for the job. Marauder was considered to be wild by some, but they were ferocious on the attack, showing no quarter and giving the enemy no rest. They were perfect for a role where speed and aggression were of the essence.

Sacred Sword was the most numerous of the companies, and would provide the backbone of the attack. David's troops were stalwarts, dependable, unflappable, steady and disciplined. They could hold a line or storm an enemy position with equal skill.

Crimson Eagle didn't have quite the reputation that Sacred Sword possessed, but they were still a very formidable force. Their strength was on the attack, where they fought in a furious but controlled fashion.

Band of Brothers had nothing to truly distinguish themselves, but that was their strength. They could attack, defend, fight at range or up close, and they could be relied to do any of those well. Elite units might get all the attention, but they were nothing without the backing of the main line units.

And then there were the ranger units, Black Wolf and Redd Foxx. By now they were considered to be one of the elite units of the Hydra Alliance, on equal footing with the armored company. The might not have the staying power of the main infantry, but they were skilled fighters, savvy, smart and fierce. It was their job to storm the beach, and they would certainly do it well. The enemy would never know what hit them.

Black Wolf Company was going to be the first Hydra unit to step foot in the city, and he would be going with them, helping to command and coordinate.

His alert buzzed. Bryce was on the other end of the line, addressing all the company commanders.

“
Everyone, this is Buck Lead. We're going to start the bombardment in five minutes. All company commanders, please respond so I know that your communication systems are working properly.”

The radio started to come alive with responses.

“Sword Lead,” David responded.

“
Bear Lead.”

“
Angel Lead.”

“
Fist Lead.”

“
Hawk Lead.”

“
Raider Lead.”

“
Eagle Lead.”

“
Band Lead.”

“
Griffon Lead.”

“
Raven Lead.”

“
Porter Lead,” he heard Paige say. She and her workers had been formed into a temporary unit known as Porter Company for their reference.

“
Fox Lead.”

It was his turn. “Wolf Lead,” he said.

Bryce responded. “Alright, I hear you all loud and clear. Fox Lead, Wolf Lead, get your troops assembled and embarked on your transports. Head for the middle of the reservoir. Head for Red Beach once the bombardment lifts. I'll signal you when that happens.”

“
What's the signal?” Anna asked.

“
The signal is 'Rangers lead the way', OK?”

“
That's a bit long,” Zach commented.

“
I though it was appropriate.”

“
I'll signal once we make our final run toward the beach,” Zach said. “Code will be Alpha Green.”

“
Copy that Wolf Lead.”

Zach headed down toward the shore.

“
Coming along with us?” Javy asked. Bravo 2 was making their way into their transport.

“
Yup,” Nora said as she stepped in with them.

They had decided to divide up their leadership so that they wouldn't lose all their officers if one boat sank. Zach would be going in during the first wave with Selene's platoon, riding with Alpha 1. Selene would ride with Alpha 2, and Danny would ride with Bravo 1.

It was the first time that Black Wolf would be fighting together in a long time, and Nora was grateful for that. She had liked working with Anna, but there was nothing like the familiarity that her own company brought.

Nora's role in all this was as a liaison. Command on the ground would be divided up into several levels. At the bottom was the squad level, where the sergeants would direct their squads. The next level was the platoon, where the lieutenants would control the movement of their squad leaders in accordance with the situation. Then there was the company level, where the captain would direct the actions of the entire company and coordinate them with other units. Finally, there was the army level, where the officer in charge of the operation would control the flow of the entire battle.

Nora touched the rank pins on her shoulder. That was another thing that Hydra Command had decided upon. Officers would have proper ranks so that there would be a clear chain of command. Some commanders would be given a field promotion for the duration of an operation.

Bryce, for instance, had the rank of colonel for this operation since he was in overall command, though his normal rank was a captain. Anna was a major, since she was the commander of the ranger company. Gina was a major as well. Zach retained his rank as a captain, and Selene and Danny were both lieutenants.

She was a lieutenant as well, but her role wasn't as a commander. Nora would coordinate Black Wolf's movements with the other companies. That would give Zach the opportunity to exercise tactical command without being distracted. She would also take field command if he was killed or disabled, though she really hoped that didn't happen. She had never even been a squad leader, and there were better choices for it. Danny, Selene, Xavier, Karen, Gavin, Javy, all of them had experience commanding forces in battle. But they would be on the front lines fighting, and Zach had insisted.

Beside her Javy activated his radio. “Bravo 2 is loaded.”

Nora looked across the reservoir as they pushed off from shore. It was time to go.

“Coming with us?” Selene asked as Miko walked up.

“
Yeah, Zach told me to attach myself to a crew for the trip across. This just seems right.”

“
Well, it's good to have you along again,” Selene said. The rest of Ethan's squad was filing aboard their transport. “What are you going to be doing?”

“
Support,” Miko told her. “Ranging ahead, scouting. Taking out important targets if I see them. That sort of thing.”

“
I'm glad you're along for the ride,” Selene said. It had been far too long.

She saw Miko smile. “Yeah, I am too.”

Danny had seen bombardments before. Bravehart and Griffon had always put on a show. The one they had performed at Fort Odin had been the most impressive he had seen. But this was in another league entirely.

Red Beach was covered in smoke and flame. He could hear the thunder of artillery behind him, the abrupt bangs of the mortars firing and the larger blasts of the field guns. There was noise coming from in front, booms, bangs as the entire scene in front of him exploded. It looked like there was no way anything was going to survive the bombardment. He knew better, though.

No matter how impressive it looked, some of the enemy would find a way to survive. They were going to run into resistance on the beach, and they would have to crush it. Not that he was ungrateful for the fire support, however. Every enemy that Bravehart and Griffon killed was one more they wouldn't have to deal with.

And they weren't even going to take the worst of it. Alpha Platoon was going in first. Danny silently wished them luck.

“Rangers lead the way.”

Zach looked out over the water toward Red Beach. Shells were still falling, but the bombardment would end in around thirty seconds. It would take them about a minute to get across the rest of the reservoir.

“Acknowledged, Buck Lead,” he responded. “Code is Alpha Green.”

His craft took off at full speed for the beach, flanked by two others. Zach made one last check of his carbine and took a deep breath. So it would begin.

Nora watched from her boat as the three craft in front made their way to the beach. The distance was disappearing fast. Only a few more seconds and they would land.

“Nervous?” Javy asked.

“
I'm just hoping we don't screw this up,” Nora said. “If we win, I don't care what else happens. All of us can get killed as long as we take the district.”

Javy laughed. “That's one advantage to this being a game.”

That was right, Nora thought as she looked back toward the beach. This was a game. And the game was about to get thrilling.

“GO! GO!”

Alpha 2 leaped over the side of their craft into waist deep water. As soon as they were clear the boat's gunners opened fire on the buildings along the shore, aiming for loopholes, windows, anywhere an enemy might use to fire at them. There was no return fire. The bombardment must have done its job.

Regardless, Alpha 2 pushed onto the beach as fast as their legs could carry them, urged on by Ethan and Selene. The defenses along the shore might be gone, but reinforcements would be on their way. They needed to establish a strong position before that happened.

Bullets suddenly came at them, fired from the second story of a partially destroyed house. Alpha 2 didn't even stop to fire back. It took discipline to keep pushing ahead while being shot at, but this wasn't the place for them to start a firefight. They were too exposed out here with no cover. It was better to move fast, move aggressively and storm the enemy position. They would tangle with the enemy once they had a better spot. Plus, they weren't completely helpless out here.

The enemy fire died out as their transport sent a recoilless rifle round through the window. The enemy gunner didn't reappear.

Selene saw Alpha 1 and Alpha 3 landing further down the beach. Logan's squad had landed along a section with jagged rocks. They took cover behind them and started firing. Apparently there was heavier resistance down that way. No matter. They had to do their own job first.

“
OK Bravos, let's move!”

Danny could see the assault unfolding in front of him. Alpha 2 was pushing up the beach with no problem. So was Alpha 1. Alpha 3 looked like it was pinned down in a firefight. Thankfully they had cover, but they were still in a tight spot. That was right where Karen was going to land too.

“Bravo 3, Bravo 3, come in,” Danny said, thinking quickly.

“
I hear you, Bravo Wolf,” Karen answered.

“
Change of plans. Land along my section of beach, then move up and launch a flank attack on the troops that have Alpha 3 pinned down. No sense in putting yourself through the grinder.”

“
Understood, Bravo Wolf.”

He tapped his pilot on the shoulder. “Shift over to the left once you drop us off. Give those guys there some fire support,” he said.

The pilot gave a thumbs up in acknowledgment, then relayed the order to the rest of his crew.

Danny looked back over his shoulder at the rest of the boats. He could see the Redd Foxx craft trailing behind them, waiting for their turn to unload their troops. Further back in the distance he could see the large transports carrying Marauder and Sacred Sword, waiting for a clear beachhead.

Well, it was their job to take it. Selene looked like she had the situation well in hand except for the left flank, but she still could use help. There was no sense in being too stingy with their forces.

Danny switched channels and contracted Nora. “Wolf 2, this is Bravo Wolf. Once we get ashore, relay this message to Alpha Wolf. Bravo Platoon will take the right flank once we push off the beach. They should take the left flank.”