Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) (22 page)

Wendy shook her head. “I already told you. I don’t know how to fly a ship.”

“I know but what if we forced one of the shuttle’s pilots to help us? I know that you can’t read Kurgan, but I can. I could assist you with the ship’s navigational computers.”

Wendy sat up and hung her feet over the side of her bunk. As much as it pained her, she knew that there was nothing she could do to help Tarina. Perhaps Angela was onto something. Wendy knew that without her friend to help sustain her courage that her days were probably numbered. Escape seemed the only logical thing left to do. She slipped her feet into her clogs and looked over at Angela. Feeling as if she was about to betray her best friend, she said, “Okay, let’s do this.”

“What are you two deceitful bitches up to?” asked Travis as he slipped out from the shadows. Neither woman had heard him sneak into the cavern. Both looked over at him with a look of horror on their faces.

He pulled a long knife from behind his back. “I said, what are you two bitches planning to do?”

“We were just about to go to the bathroom,” replied Angela. “After the guards have been drinking, it’s not safe for a woman to go there on her own.”

Travis stepped closer. He twisted the blade around in his hand. “You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes, you Kurgan witch.”

Angela moved Wendy behind her, protecting her with her body. “I’m not lying.”

With a move that surprised both women, Travis shot his hand out and grabbed Angela’s left wrist and twisted it hard over. She grimaced in pain and dropped to her knees. Before Wendy could help, Travis shot a knee straight into Angela’s head, knocking her out cold. With a lustful look in his eyes, Travis grabbed Wendy and pulled her close to him. The smell of alcohol on his breath made her turn her head away.

“What’s wrong, Captain? Don’t you like enlisted men? When I get finished with you, you’re never going to forget how much fun you had tonight.”

“No!” pleaded Wendy as she squirmed in his arms trying to break free.

He reached up and forced a grubby hand over her mouth. “Don’t fight it, little girl. Hell, with a man like me, you may even like it.”

No matter how hard she fought, she could not escape his vice-like hold on her. She tried to bring her knee up to hit him in the groin, but he had already placed his hip there blocking the move. The thought that he knew what he was doing terrified Wendy. Travis chuckled and pushed her back against her bed. They fell back and Travis landed on top of her. His hands began to tear at her clothes. Fear filled her mind. She knew that no one was coming to her aid. Even if any of the other prisoners were awake, they were all too scared of Travis to lift a finger. She closed her eyes and blocked what was about to happen out of her mind. All of a sudden she heard Travis gasp in pain. A second later, she felt his body being pulled off of hers. She opened her eyes and saw two men standing beside her bed. One was a Chosen soldier who held Travis’ knife in his left hand while the other man, holding Travis by the neck, was dressed as a prisoner.
 

“Are you okay?” asked the prisoner.

“Yes,” she replied. She turned her head and saw that the Chosen warrior seemed to be examining her face. Something about him made her look deep into the man’s eyes. Her eyes widened and her heart leaped for joy when she recognized the man standing before her. “I know you. You . . . you’re Michael Sheridan . . . aren’t you?”

“Shhh,” said Sheridan, bringing a finger up to his lips. Quietly he asked, “How do you know me?”

“I’d know you anywhere. You may not remember, but we’ve met before. Not to mention, Tarina has your picture all over her room and in the cockpit of our old Avenger.”

Sheridan’s pulse began to beat faster at the sound of Tarina’s name. Right away, his mind took him back to a cold, fog-filled morning on a distant world when he and Cole had rescued a handful of downed pilots from a Kurgan patrol. A smile crept across his lips when he recognized Wendy. He was aghast at her condition. Her clothes were ragged and torn. Her face was covered in weeks of dirt and grime. It looked as if she had lost fifteen kilos since he had last laid eyes on her.

“My God, I do remember you. Your name is Wendy. Where’s Tarina? Is she here?”

Wendy shook her head.

Just as Sheridan was about to ask where Taina was, a woman at his feet moaned and tried to sit up. He bent down and helped her up.

Wendy jumped from her bunk and swung an arm around the woman. She looked up at Sheridan and said, “It’s okay. Her name’s Angela; she’s my friend.”

“Who’s this then?” asked Cole as he tightened his grip around his captive’s neck.

“His name is Travis,” replied Wendy, with hate in her voice. “He’s nothing more than a traitor. He sent Tarina and some of the other prisoners away to be butchered by the Kurgans.”

Sheridan’s gut felt as if he had been sucker punched. The ceremony was not supposed to happen for another couple of days. “When was she taken?”

“I’m not sure; some time after five this evening.”

Sheridan turned on a dime and took hold of Travis’s dirty uniform collar and pulled him toward him. “Where did you send her, and how do I get there?”

Travis looked from Sheridan to Cole. His days as master over the lives of his fellow service personnel had just ended and he knew it. “You’re both Marines, ain’t ya? What are you doing here?”

Sheridan tightened his grip on Travis’ collar and began to choke him. “Answer my bloody questions.”

Travis began to quiver. He gasped for air. “Look, sir, I was only doing what needed to be done to stay alive.”

“Where is she, and how do I get there?” Sheridan asked, inches away from Travis’ face.

“They were marched down to the train loading platform for movement out to the Kurgan camp in the desert. It should be leaving in the next few minutes. You’ll never get there in time.”

 
“I’ll be the judge of that.” With that, Sheridan pushed Travis back into Cole’s arms. He looked over at Wendy. “Where’s the nearest elevator?”

“Head out of the cavern, turn right, and it should be no more than one hundred meters away on the left-hand side of the tunnel.”

“What do want me to do with the traitor?” Cole asked.

“Kill him,” said Sheridan.

Travis’ eyes widened. He went to speak but found that Cole had wrapped his arm tightly around his neck. Like a boa constrictor, Cole began to squeeze the life out of the collaborator. Sheridan was surprised that neither woman looked away. Instead, they seemed to relish watching Travis flail about as he lost the fight to live and died in Cole’s powerful arms. After less than a minute, it was over.

“Where can we dispose of the body?” Cole asked Wendy.

“Leave him here with us,” said Angela. “I know plenty of out of the way spots to stash his body where it will never be found.”

Cole laid Travis’ body on the ground before looking up at Sheridan. “Now what, Captain?”
 

“I’m going to try and stop the train. If I can delay it’s leaving for a full twenty-four hours, then they’ll be here when the task force arrives.”

“The fleet, it’s coming here?” asked Wendy.

Sheridan nodded. “You have to keep it quiet. Your lives require that secrecy be maintained.”

“I think I can keep my mouth shut for a day or two.”

Cole stood. “Okay, then it’s done. Let’s go.”

Sheridan shook his head. “Master Sergeant, I need you to stay up here with the prisoners. I can blend in with the Chosen soldiers and do what I must. You, on the other hand, can do more good by remaining back here. Someone needs to help the prisoners when the Marines arrive.”

Cole hesitated a second before offering his hand. He did not want to split up from his friend but knew that he was right. He forced a smile. “Good luck, sir. I’ll see you in a twenty-four hours.”

Sheridan shook his friend’s hand. “It’s a deal. Try not to be late.”

With a look of fierce resolve in his eyes, Sheridan turned and ran for the nearby elevator. His mind fixed on saving Tarina before it was too late.

Cole looked over at Wendy. “Would either of you two ladies happen to have a weapon on you?”

“Actually we might just be able to help you, Sergeant,” said Wendy. She looked at Angela. “Why don’t you go and retrieve your pistol and anything else you think might help us from your hiding spot?”

Angela looked up at Cole with genuine fear in her eyes.
 

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” said Wendy, trying to reassure her worried comrade. “Trust me, everything will work out. You’ll be home with your children before you know it.”

Angela patted Wendy on the hand, stood up, and walked out into the darkened tunnel.

“What was that all about?” Cole asked.

“She’s just worried, that’s all.”

“Aren’t we all? How many prisoners would you say we can count on should things turn ugly?”

“You just met them. Everyone here is too afraid or too tired to lift a finger to save anyone but themselves. You saw what was about to happen to me and not a one of them could be bothered to help me.”

“Jesus, an army of three people. That is not what I’d hoped to hear.”

“Sorry. Anyone who pushed back or showed any spark of life was killed within days of getting here. Most of the people left alive are emotionally broken wrecks.”

“It’s not your fault. Aside from the tunnel that leads to the next level, do you happen to know how many elevators there are on the third level?”

“Six. Why?”

“Just a thought,” replied Cole, his voice trailing off while he pondered his next move.

Chapter 29

At the bottom of the mine, a long line of prisoners snaked down a darkened tunnel and then out onto the train platform. Heavily armed Chosen guards walked up and down the column pushing and beating the people to keep them from trying to escape.

“I don’t understand why they are doing this to us,” said the frightened teenage crewman at Tarina’s side.

“It’s some Kurgan ritual,” replied Tarina. “What’s your name?”

“Crewman Jones, ma’am.”

“I think we can dispense with rank. What’s your first name?”

“Mike. My name is Mike.”

“Mine is Tarina. Pleased to meet you, Mike.” Tarina looked away and smiled. She wished that it was her Michael standing there. If he were, she had no doubt that things would turn out differently.

A voice boomed out of a speaker mounted on the wall. “Move forward slowly and enter the train cars. Do not attempt to escape or you and the people around you will be killed.”

“I guess this is it,” said Tarina.

“I don’t want to die,” stammered Jones.

Tarina took his hand in hers. “We’re not going to die. I won’t let that happen.”

 
“I’m glad I’m with you, Tarina.”

The line began to move.
 

Tarina said, “Keep your head up and never let them see you looking scared.”

Jones nodded and put on his best face. He went to take a step when the sound of gunfire cut through the air. People screamed and dropped to the ground as a Chosen warrior shot down a couple of men who had attacked another warrior.

Tarina felt Jones grip her hard so tight that it hurt. She couldn’t blame him, she was scared too.

“On your feet!” yelled a Chosen sergeant. “Keep moving!”

Together, they walked forward as calm as they could knowing that each step brought them closer to their deaths.

The instant the elevator touched the ground, Sheridan jumped over the metal safety bar and sprinted down the tunnel. The sound of distant gunfire reverberated off the rocky walls. Sheridan picked up his pace. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there, all he knew was that he had to stop the train from leaving. Up ahead, he could see the light shining in the tunnel from the train station. He was almost there when two Chosen soldiers stepped out from behind a wooden barricade and waved at him to stop.

“You, there, stop,” yelled one of the Chosen.

Sheridan saw the soldier’s partner raise his rifle and aim it at him. He gritted his teeth, slowed down, and came to a halt at the barricade.

“Where do you think you are going?” asked the Chosen soldier. Sheridan saw that he was wearing a sergeant’s insignia on his collar. “No one can go in there. The ore loading platform is out of bounds until the train leaves.”

It hadn’t left. There was still time
. Sheridan came to attention. “Sorry, Sergeant, but I was told to report to the train. I’m filling in for another man who is sick. If I don’t get on the train, my officer will have me punished.”

The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t care. Orders are orders. The only people who can board the train are those from Captain Katulan’s company. Now step back and give me your name so I can check your story.”

The sergeant’s partner walked closer with his rifle aimed at Sheridan. The sound of the train’s engine powering up told him that he had to act before it was too late. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the barrel of the Kurgan rifle. With lightning-fast reflexes, Sheridan grabbed hold of the rifle barrel and pointed it at the ground. At the same time he reached behind his back, grabbed hold of a hidden knife, and threw it into the unsuspecting sergeant’s chest. The stunned Chosen soldier tried to pull his rifle free only to have Sheridan let go of the barrel. The soldier, not expecting the move, staggered backward. Sheridan reached over and pulled the blade from the dying sergeant’s chest, spun about, and sent it flying into the soldier’s stomach. The man let go of his rifle and reached for the knife protruding from his midsection. His face turned gray as he dropped to his knees with a puzzled look on his face. His last thoughts were:
Why would one of our own attack us?