Pepperdyne and the others were coming to the crowd's outer edge, which like the rest of the perimeter ended at a thin line of soldiers. Behind them was an empty space in front of the guardhouse, perhaps thirty paces in depth.
Coilla moved closer to him and whispered, ' Remember, you're an officer. Act like it.'
' I never would have thought of that,' he hissed sarcastically. 'Now leave the talking to me.'
She glared at his back.
The soldiers containing the crowd took Pepperdyne at face value. They saluted, and let him and the females through. The party of sentries at the guardhouse door seemed less sure. They were obviously surprised to see this unknown officer and his charges. They looked quizzical. All were noticeably tense.
As Pepperdyne and his retinue approached, one of the guards shouted, ' Halt! '
The man who had spoken stepped forward, and after a second's hesitation offered a perfunctory salute. He was short and wiry, with a pencil-line moustache and features that reminded Pepperdyne of a rodent. The stripes he wore showed his rank as that of sergeant.
Pepperdyne returned the salute in a languid fashion he hoped was fitting to his supposed status. He was about to speak.
'Can I help you… sir?' the sergeant got in first. There was a tinge of scepticism in his manner.
Pepperdyne adopted an authoritative tone. 'I've got three more detainees to join the ones you're holding.'
'I've had no orders to that effect.'
'I'm ordering you now.'
'On what authority?'
'By the authority of my rank. And you'd do well to address a superior officer in the proper fashion.'
'Yes, sir,' the sergeant replied, but it was cursory, almost insolent. 'However, my brief's strict. I'm to take no prisoners here without official say-so. That means a direct order from an immediate superior or written authorisation from — '
Pepperdyne pointed at the crowd. 'We have a situation here, Sergeant,' he blustered, 'in case you hadn't noticed. Sticking to the rules does you credit, but things are moving fast on these streets. These captives are linked to the rebels and they need locking up.'
'So why aren't they restrained, sir?'
'Are you implying that I can't control a few females, Sergeant?'
'I wouldn't know about that, sir.'
'I'm getting tired of this. Are you going to obey my order and take these prisoners?'
'If I have the proper authority.'
'Which I'm giving you.'
'Your name and division. Sir.'
Pepperdyne stared at the unsmiling pedant. 'What?'
'To check your credentials. I'll have to send a runner to HQ and — '
'You should know that I act under the direct mandate of General Hacher himself. I don't envy your position when he hears about this.'
'That may be so, sir. But we've had reports of bogus officials. It's my duty to verify the credentials of any… officer presenting themselves at this station.' He was maddeningly cool.
'Are you questioning my patriotism?'
'That's not my place, sir.'
'Don't you care that apart from your insubordination, your worship of the rulebook's stopping me from carrying out my duties? That's a serious step for somebody in your position, Sergeant.'
'My commanding officers would be the best judge of that, sir.'
'Of which I'm one!'
'Perhaps it would help if I went through it again, sir. Once you give me your name and — '
Pepperdyne capped his rising tension by maintaining a stern face. He saw that the other soldiers were eyeing him with something close to hostility. He was aware of Coilla shifting uncomfortably behind him.
From their vantage point, Stryke and Brelan were growing restive too.
'What the hell's going on?' Brelan muttered. 'He should have got them to open that door by now.'
'Maybe we've pulled this trick once too often.'
'What do we do?'
'Stick to plan. Be ready to give the signal.'
Pepperdyne made a show of listening as the sergeant spouted regulations, but his mind was on contingencies. And his hand was drifting towards his scabbard.
'So if you'd care to give me those details, sir,' the sergeant concluded, 'we can clear this up.'
'Eh?'
'Your details, sir. As I explained.'
'Look, if you're going to persist in — '
'Oh for fuck's sake.' Coilla came out from behind Pepperdyne and thrust a dagger into the sergeant's midriff.
He looked down at it dumbly, swayed, then fell.
' Shit! ' Pepperdyne said. 'What the hell, Coilla?'
'Just moving things along.' She swiftly drew her hidden sword. The pair of Vixens did the same, and so did Pepperdyne.
The other guards, stunned into immobility for a second, now raised their own weapons and closed in.
'That did it!' Brelan exclaimed from his place at the crowd's edge.
'Signal!' Stryke bellowed.
Any thought of concealment gone, they began frantically gesticulating at their confederates. As the order rapidly spread, Stryke and Brelan started forcibly elbowing their way towards the guardhouse.
Pepperdyne and the females fell into a defensive semicircle, their blades jutting like a predator's fangs. They gambled that their backs were safe. The nearest in the crowd, who had seen what happened, were reacting. So had some of the guards keeping them in check, but they were torn between joining in and holding the line.
The dead sergeant's comrades advanced, spitting rage. Pepperdyne, Coilla and the Vixens braced themselves.
A great roar went up from the crowd.
There were whirlpools of violence in that churning mass. Attacked by well-placed rebels and Wolverines, the scattered groups of militia were already beleaguered. And here and there ordinary orcs, civilians, were taking part. Hastily improvised weapons appeared. Some used their bare hands. The points where the fighting started were like raindrop impacts on the surface of a lake. They sent out ripples of agitation that built to waves.
The soldiers defending the guardhouse froze at the uproar. Pepperdyne didn't. He tore into the nearest trooper. They battered away at each other, blades pealing, and Pepperdyne instantly proved himself the better swordsman. The man's defence crumbled under the onslaught. He took a hit to the groin, and while he was busy with that, Pepperdyne followed through with a chest thrust. Another guard slid into the fallen one's place and the fight carried on seamlessly.
Coilla had already downed her first opponent and was hacking at two more simultaneously. Her speed and agility vexed them, and they struggled to land a blow. She inflicted a wound on one man, putting him on the back foot with a streaming shoulder, then improved the odds by dropping his companion. The next to step in was more seasoned, or at least cannier, and she found herself fencing rather than hacking.
Battling shoulder to shoulder, the duo of Vixens gave a good account of themselves, despite their relative inexperience. They fought with a zeal not far short of savagery, and a sense of ruthlessness that had their foes wary of engaging them at too-close quarters. Glancing from his own labours, Pepperdyne was in awe of the females' aggressiveness. But with at least ten guardsmen still on their feet, and who knew how many more zeroing in, fervour might not be enough.
The crowd was boiling now, with brawls all across the square. Wolverines and rebels were at the centre of nigh on every storm, and the Vixens were fighting with particular resolve. Dead and wounded soldiers were underfoot. To a lesser degree, so were orcs, resistance and civilians alike. But far from sobering the horde, the
