She continued on to the trench where she had stood beside Taylor. Captain Friday was sitting on the side with his legs dangling down into it. He had ripped off most of his gear and thrown it down. Now he wore nothing but his BDUs. He was opening a ration pack with such excitement that anyone would think he’d been given a plate of steak.
“They don’t taste that great, you know,” she jested.
“When you’re hungry, they do.”
He dove into the meal.
“That new equipment really as good as it looked?” she asked.
The Captain nodded and grunted with a mouth full of food. As he swallowed it down, he looked up at the Major.
“It’s the shit. If we can get this to every grunt, then this war could be turned around as quickly as it started.”
“I fear they won’t give us that much time,” she mused.
“Well, we stopped them here, didn’t we?”
“It’s not the front line that bothers me. They’re building at an immense rate to the west, and whatever it is can’t be good. We won’t be the only ones looking for the next tactical advantage in this war.”
Friday shook his head.
“I’ll take the victory while I can. We did well today, and we should celebrate it.”
“Oh, I am, Captain, but we must also think of tomorrow, and next week, next year. We have survived this long, but many haven’t. How much longer do you think our luck will hold?”
Friday smiled as he threw the food down his throat.
“When it runs out, I won’t know it. I’ll be dead.”
Chandra laughed. She appreciated Friday doing his utmost to brighten the day.
“So you think Taylor will find the Captain?” he asked.
“I bloody well hope so, but I can’t say it’s likely.”
She sat down on the opposite edge of the trench facing Friday. There was nothing left for her to do that day but rest in readiness for the next battle. Trucks were already arriving with fresh supplies to keep them in the fight.
Taylor looked out at the passing landscape as they rushed along the treetops at barely a couple of hundred metres from the ground. The landscape was mostly abandoned and peaceful, but they saw the odd smoke plume in the distance from various battles. They could only guess at the outcome of the war that raged along the ever changing lines.
“We’re coming up on the town, Major!” shouted Rains.
“You know where we’re heading, right?”
“Yes, Siree. Major Chandra told me they were being held in a station directly south of the centre.”
He tapped his controls and a map projected on a screen. He pointed out an area along a main street heading out of the city.
“This has to be the place.”
“Okay, let us out over the roof.”
“Want me to stay in the air?”
“No, I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention. It that a field there?”
Taylor pointed to a square area of greenery just over a block from the police station.
“Looks like a kid’s park, Sir.”
“Alright, you can wait for us there. Keep the hatches battened down, and be ready for anything.”
Taylor stopped and looked to the empty co-pilot seat and then back to Eddie.
“They were busy with the Moon runs. I was all they could spare.”
Taylor smiled. For all of Eddie’s rebellious image, he was one of the most loyal and dependable pilots the Major had ever met.
“Good luck, Mitch.”
Taylor nodded and went back to his troops. All ten marines wore the identical new equipment as provided by Reiter.
“We’ll be dropping onto the roof. I want to be in and out as quickly as possible, got it?”
“Yes, Sir!” They shouted.
“Let’s do this.”
The marines stood up and took hold of the rails above them as the thrusters reversed. Eddie brought them in on a sharp and rapid decent until they came to a hover a hundred metres over the roof. Taylor reached forward and hit the door release. It quickly slid back and let the breeze of air rush in.
Mitch didn’t say another word, and he simply jumped from the door. The others quickly followed him. They hit their thrusters on the way down and came to a surprisingly soft and cushioned landing. The suits took the impact from their legs.
“Ortiz, Ryan, stay put, the rest with me!”
They reached the roof fire exit, but it was locked from the inside. Taylor lifted his leg and smashed it into the door. To the surprise of them all, the door flew from its hinges with ease and down the steps below. Taylor turned to Silva with a grin, they’d never felt such power before. The Major lifted his weapon and rushed down the stairs.
They arrived at the first line of offices to find nothing but empty cubicles and abandoned computers. Taylor rushed along the corridor with his rifle readied at the shoulder. He reached the stairwell he was looking for and charged down it. The building was seven storeys high, and he knew that the cell blocks would be on the ground floor.
Footsteps echoed out down the long stairwell as the marines rushed to where they prayed they would find their missing friends. They reached the ground floor and found the reception area. Taylor noticed a map and quickly identified the cell block.
“This way!”
As he turned, he saw the door of the cell block area lying in the hallway. It had been ripped off. As they grew nearer, they could see that the wall around the door had been demolished in a size that was about right for a Mech.
“No, can’t be.” Taylor rushed to the doorway as the others tried to keep up.
“Sir, hold on!” shouted Silva.
The Major came to a quick stop at the demolished entrance and looked in with despair. Silva reached his side and saw what had caused him to stop in his tracks. They could see inside that one of the doors had been ripped away, and a pool of blood lay in the middle of the cell.
Two of them slowly stepped through the rubble to investigate. There was no sign of life or any way to know if Jones had been there, but Taylor knew it was the right place.
“We don’t know for certain if this is where they were, Sir. They might have escaped.”
“No, they didn’t escape from here. They were taken.”
The other marines poured into the room and stared down at the bloody mess. They all thought it was evidence of the two soldiers’ demise, but no one wanted to say it.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Taylor.
“What is it, Sir?” asked Silva.
“They were taken from here, not killed.”
“They could have been taken for execution.”
The Major turned to Silva with a grim expression. “Why? They aren’t trying to hide anything. They may well still be alive.”
“But we have no way of finding out their location, Sir.”
Taylor nodded. He’d hope they may be alive, but he knew that this was not the day when they would be found.
“Sir, we should get the hell out of here before they come calling again.”
Taylor looked down at the pool of blood. He looked over at a Private.
