peered around the corner. The ground-floor landing appeared to be clear but was illuminated from the outside. Problem was, a squad of Zubaran soldiers had hunkered down by that door to shoot at my comrades.
The door was still open to the outside. There was no way we’d get by unnoticed.
“Hang on,” I whispered to Sarah. “Cover your ears.” I pulled a grenade from my vest and grasped it tightly in my hand. I peeked around the corner again and, sure enough, saw movement and shadows. The enemy troops were still there. I pulled the pin, leaned around the corner, and tossed the grenade down the stairs.
On the ground-floor landing was a dead solider. As I came down the stairs, another man entered the building, G3 rifle held at the hip. I snapped off a shot at point-blank range, aiming high so my shot would clear his body armor. The bullet tore through the soldier’s throat. Before he hit the floor, I was on the landing. Just outside the door was another wounded soldier. Two of his comrades were leaning over him, tending to his wounds. One was looking up at me as I appeared in the doorway. I shot him in the face, shifted over, and shot the other before he could react. I left the unconscious Zubaran alone and rounded the corner, heading deeper into the admin building.
We entered the operations center. It had been gutted, with all of the valuable equipment removed or destroyed. Crossing the ops center, we cleared its back door and entered the short hallway that lead to the north door. Sarah watched our backs. With the noise of the battle going on outside, I couldn’t hear very well. For all I knew another squad of Zubarans was parked just outside. I decided to crack the door as quietly as I could and take a peek.
The door was stuck. I swore aloud.
“Mike, they’re coming!” Sarah said. She had the door to the ops center cracked and was watching the way we’d come in. Before I could say anything she stuck the muzzle of her carbine through the door and fired off a long burst. “I got one!” she shouted.
“Get down!” I screamed as bullets punched through the metal doors and zipped down the hall. Sarah ducked to the floor, stuck her carbine through the door again, and fired off the rest of her magazine on full auto.
She looked over at me. “What are you waiting for?”
“Reload, reload!” I shouted. “The door is stuck! I can’t get it open!”
“Short, controlled bursts!” I shouted, then turned back to the door. I kicked it as hard as I could. It budged a little. More shots punched through the door and came down the hallway. One buzzed right past my ear. “Fuck this,” I said to no one in particular. I backed up, stuck my right shoulder out, and charged at the door, yelling like a madman as I went barreling down the hallway. I hit the door, and it popped wide open. I flew out into the rain, tripped, and landed face-first in the mud, right on top of my weapon.
I grunted and pushed myself up. A Zubaran militiaman stood behind me, to my left. He was standing against the wall of the admin building, rain drizzling off of the mask he wore. He was pounding on his M16 in a vain attempt to clear a jam. He looked up at me, eyes wide. It was too late for him. I rolled to my right and yanked my revolver out of its holster. Extending my arm, I snapped off a shot. The .44 roared in the narrow alley. Blood splattered on the wall behind the militiaman and he crumpled to the mud in a wet heap.
I reholstered my gun and pushed myself off the ground as Sarah came running out the door. “Mike, they’re coming!” she warned, pressing herself up against the wall. “Are you okay?”
“Good to go!” Swinging my rifle around, I leaned around the door frame and popped off four or five shots down the hallway, scattering the Zubaran troops advancing through the ops center. The door at the end of the hall was open. My middle finger moved to the trigger of my under-slung grenade launcher and squeezed. The weapon bucked under my arm, launching a 40mm high-explosive round with a loud
“Watch the door, watch the door!” She shouldered her weapon and covered the hallway as she crossed. It was clear. “Let’s go!” I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close to me. Sarah covered to the east while I risked a look round the west corner.
“Shit!” I said, pulling back just in time. Several rounds snapped past me. Maybe a dozen Zubaran regulars were creeping up the side of the admin building. “We can’t go this way.”
“Over here!” Sarah said, pointing to the chopper wreck with her carbine. I removed my last hand grenade from my vest and lobbed it around the corner, up the west side of the building. Sarah and I bolted for the chopper. The grenade detonated behind us a few seconds later.
We dashed into the open, running past dazed, wounded, and surprised Zubaran troops around the wreck of the Mi-17. We turned north and ran alongside the supply building. It wasn’t that far. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as I sprinted with sixty pounds of gear on. Thunder crashed again. The rain was pouring harder than ever. Tracers flashed by, but we kept running. There were bullets buzzing from every direction. Rounds splattered into the muddy ground ahead, barely missing Sarah’s legs.
“Mike!” Sarah cried, looking back. She stopped running and turned around.
“No, Sarah, don’t stop!” I screamed. “Keep going!”
But she didn’t listen. She started toward me. A hole was torn in her vest as a bullet punched right through it. A second bullet hit her a little lower, in the stomach. A third went into her side. Sarah’s face went blank. She collapsed to the muddy ground.
“
I crawled through the mud, bleeding, dragging my weapon on its sling. On my hands and knees, I reached Sarah and lifted her head up. She was completely limp, nothing but dead weight. Her pupils were dilated. Her beautiful face was smeared with mud. I held her body close to me as blood poured from her vest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. The rain poured down relentlessly. Sounds began to fade out. Everything sounded muffled, like I was underwater, except for my own ragged breathing and the pounding of my heart.
I was being shot at. I ignored it. The strange key I’d given Sarah was hanging around her neck, drenched in blood. I grasped it in my hand. There was a concussion. Then everything went black.
My eyes opened. I don’t know how long I was out. I was lying on my back, staring up into the rain. Sarah’s key was still in my hand. My ears were ringing, and I could barely feel anything. I couldn’t see out of my right eye. Warm blood, my blood, was pouring down my face.
I saw Sarah out of the corner of my eye. She was just a few feet away, but out of my reach. I couldn’t sit up. I was bleeding badly. I was about to die. Holding my last breath, I stretched my hand out and reached for her.
Then she was out of reach altogether. My last conscious thought was the realization that I was being dragged away.
LORENZO
“Squad of soldiers is heading right for your building. Eight of them.”
Carl’s voice now. He had a laptop in the van and could watch the videos, too. “The dorm’s a good position for them to take. Gives them cover and elevation against Dead Six. They’ll use the windows on the west-facing rooms.” Carl knew, because that’s exactly what he would have done in this situation, and he had a lot of experience leading infantry in combat. Unfortunately, that was the building I’d picked to hide in.
I grabbed the bag of money. I’d slip out the north stairs. I’d just reached them when a sudden rhythmic beating rocked across the compound. “What’s that?” I shouted.
“
