The Street Survivors (The Guild Wars Book 12) by Ian Malone (great books of all time TXT) 📕

“Where to?” Frank asked once everyone had dismounted the truck.

“Can you see anything?” Taylor tossed a battery to Jack.

“I hate to break it to ya, boss, but Buma ain’t like owls,” Frank said. “Our night vision is just like yours. Maybe even worse.”

Taylor grinned. “It was worth askin’.” He took a quick survey of their surroundings. They were across the street from the building they’d originally been caught in. “Okay, we need to get out of this dome, and we’re gonna need transportation to do it. We ain’t goin’ back underground to get it, so our best bet is the refinery.” He nodded down the street, where the lights of the plant glowed brightly.

“The longer we wait here, the more likely we are to be caught,” Torrio said. He indicated the men and aliens clustered around. “Looks like I have the preponderance of forces here; there’s seven of us, and only five of you, even if you count the owl and the elephant.”

“Hey!” Frank and Haju exclaimed in unison.

Torrio ignored them both. “I say we head for the dome exit and grab something along the way. The faster we’re out from under the dome, the sooner we can call for evac.”

“That may be true, but we don’t know how far their jammer reaches,” Taylor said. “Plus, as far as who’s in command, can we not do this now? I broke you out. How about following my lead ‘til we’re out in the clear? Besides, I’m the only one with a ship here, remember? And it’s a long hike home.”

Torrio raised his palms. “Easy, Chief. I’m not tryin’ to be an asshole here, I swear. I’m just statin’ the obvious. Sneaking around this facility with a giant-ass Sumatozou in tow ain’t gonna be easy. We need to get out of here, and we need to do it fast.”

“Paulie’s right,” Jack said. “We’re also gonna need transport. We can’t just run out into the snow. There’s no tellin’ what’s changed since we’ve been stuck down in that mine.”

Flashing lights in the periphery of Taylor’s vision caught his attention. “C’mon folks. We need to get off the main drag before the KzSha get here.” He looked at Torrio. “You with us or want to go strikin’ out on your own?”

Torrio shook his head. “Like you said, it’s a long way home, and I didn’t pack any shoes. We’re with you. All of us.”

Taylor nodded and raced to the edge of the building to wait for the others, still processing the colonel’s response. Historically, the words “Paulie” and “compliance” went together like oil and water, yet that’s exactly how Torrio had answered—compliantly.

“That’s on you, pal. Not me,” Genovese had said, referring to the scores of lives lost on Emza. “It’s all on you.”

Taylor winced. Hell, I’d be a little gun shy, too, if my XO had said that to me.

Haju had just rounded the corner when two truckloads full of KzSha approached the intersection from the mine, their lights flashing wildly as they communicated between themselves. The trucks slowed and made the turn toward the dome’s exit.

“That’s going to make leaving here a lot harder,” Torrio noted, looking over Taylor’s shoulder.

“Yep,” Taylor said. “Just what I thought they’d do, and another good reason for us to get some transport before we try to bust out of here.” He motioned toward the refinery. “C’mon, let’s go.”

* * *

“Well, finding an ore truck ain’t gonna be difficult,” Taylor said, looking out at the refinery across the street. “Grabbing one without gettin’ caught is what’s gonna suck.”

There were a number of trucks in the refinery yard, and several more had pulled up in the few minutes they’d been watching. The trucks waited their turn to dump their loads on a conveyer belt that went into the refinery, then they drove off back toward the mine. The refinery yard was well lit and had a number of KzSha guards, both stationed on the perimeter, and conducting roving patrols.

“I don’t see myself sneaking in there,” Haju said.

Taylor chuckled. “No, I think that’s probably right out.”

“How about the manufactory over there?” Frank pointed to the building down the street. There was less activity there, with only a roving pair of KzSha in evidence. “Think we could replicate a truck or maybe an APC?”

“If I knew it had CASPers in its database, I’d be all set for crankin’ out a few,” Taylor said. “That’d make gettin’ out of here a whole lot easier.”

“Might not be a bad idea to take a look,” Jack said. “There’s a warehouse just behind it. Might be some sort of transport there.” He motioned with his rifle. “We could probably at least get everyone armed up.”

Taylor nodded. “Makes sense. C’mon, everyone, let’s move.”

* * *

“Wait,” Taylor whispered as the pair of KzSha rounded the corner of the warehouse. “Wait…” He waited until there was no chance of them being seen by the soldiers at the manufactory. “Now!”

House and Jack fired in unison, and the two KzSha dropped quietly to the ground. That was the one good thing about lasers; they were relatively silent. There was no way anyone would have heard them over the clatter at the refinery.

At some point, though, they’ll be missed. Taylor hoped that occurred later rather than sooner. “Let’s go!”

The group raced forward to the building, and Taylor nodded appreciatively at Haju. The Sumatozou can move pretty fast when he has to. He wasn’t stealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but at least he could keep up.

Frank, on the other hand, was a lot slower, but Taylor had expected that.

“Locked,” House said as he checked the door. From what they’d seen, there were smaller personnel-sized doors on the sides of the building, and larger vehicle-sized ones on the