“Help me take my helmet off,” Andy asks weakly. Josh does and puts it onto the floor with the rest of the kit. “Dixon, can you take Sir Malcolm out of here, put him on the couch?”
Dixon and Downey go to move the body out.
“Josh,” Andy says, his head moving around slightly as if he has trouble seeing his son.
“I’m here, Dad.”
“Go to your sister, don’t let anybody separate you. Colonel Reed gave me his word we could leave after this mission.”
“I will.”
“Tell Emily I was killed quickly. Tell her the truth when she is older if you feel you have to. She won’t handle it yet. Look after each other, whatever happens. But it won’t be easy, especially now.
“I know how you feel about her, but see if you can reach your mum, forgive her, okay?”
“Yes, Dad, I will, I will make sure Emily is safe and well.”
“Thanks, son, I love you both, tell Emily for me.”
“She knows that, but I’ll tell her.”
“Fight this, Dad, you have to fight it, promise me,” Josh says taking his dad’s hand in his, it feels so cold.
“I promise. Now go.”
Josh places his Dad’s hand back down on the floor by his side and reluctantly gets up. Dixon is back in the doorway waiting for Josh. Downey has already gone back onto the roof with Alice. Josh has a thought and unclips the light from his rifle, switching it off. It’s only a matter of time until the batteries in the torch on the sink-top drain.
“Dad, I’m putting a torch into your hand for when you need it; can you feel it?”
“Yes Josh, I’ve got it.”
“Keep fighting, Dad, I love you. Contact us if you can okay?”
“I will look after your sister, Josh. Now get out of here.”
Josh gets up again and turns away from his Dad, whose head is dropping to his chin again. Dan flashes into his mind, lying on his back on the roof with his Dad standing over him, pointing his pistol. Josh cannot contemplate doing the same for his Dad or anyone else using that remedy. Josh and Dixon’s eyes meet for a second, Josh knows what he is thinking but nothing is said and thankfully, Dixon turns to leave.
Josh pauses at the door, taking one last look at his Dad before he leaves and pushes the door gently closed behind him. Tears well up in Josh’s eyes, he feels like he is shutting him into his tomb and the guilt of having to leave him behind is too much to bear.
Epilogue
Alders gains height from the roof of the Orion building, finally able to leave the godforsaken place behind. The rain lashes onto his windscreen, the wipers just about managing to handle clearing enough water to give him sufficient visibility. The risk of a lightning bolt hitting the Lynx has passed, along with the thunder. There is just the heavy wind and rain to deal with now.
With both of the hold doors shut, the helicopter is starting to warm up, bringing welcome relief to four soaked passengers sitting in near silence in the hold. There is no silence in their heads, unfortunately; along with the remnants of the battle ringing in their ears, dark thoughts start to fester.
Josh has gone into himself and sits in total silence, trying not to let the shock of the mission—knowing his father is infected and being forced to leave him behind—envelop him completely. His mind fights to not fall off an edge, as he knows that is the last thing his dad would want. He has to be strong for Emily and he will be. She will need him more than ever now.
Alice tries to comfort him, to reassure him with little success. She doesn’t give up though, she keeps talking to him from time to time and tries to make him eat something. She understands it will take time for him to come around and she will be there to help him.
The Lynx makes good progress despite the weather and it is soon touching down in Richmond to pick up the rest of the team and the holdall. With everybody on board, the Lynx is overcapacity and the hold is full. Alders is confident the helicopter will handle the extra weight and he is careful when he takes back off. The Lynx’s engines strain and protest but they take the helicopter up to resume their journey back to base.
The precious holdall is pushed under a seat, the whole team hoping the fucking thing was worth it.
To Be Continued
CAPITAL FALLING 3 - RESURGENCE
Chapter 1
Silence throbs inside Lieutenant Winters’ head, like an empty cavern. A low buzz of static, the only faint noise his headset generates, starts to fry his brain.
He thought he had wanted the noise to stop. The gunfire and desperate voices from his team that radio waves had been sending from the mission and into his head had seemed endless. Now the silence is enveloping him, the cost of the mission cutting him as sharply as any knife would. Yet he barely knew Andy and Dan—so why is their loss affecting him so hard?
Fatigue is playing its part, for sure. Winters has been involved in plenty of critical missions to understand that adrenaline fades and the body relapses. But even so, he has lost team members before that he knew better than Andy and Dan, and he can’t remember it immediately hitting him this full-on before.
Winters' hands rush up to either side of his head, take hold of the headset and yank it off. He throws the headset across and onto the table in front of him with force. It crashes
