Danger Close by James Sumner (classic novels for teens txt) 📕

know what would happen next. He didn’t know how this would end. All he knew was that he was now standing on a battlefield, the odds stacked against him, on what could easily be the last day of his life.

In that moment of horrifying clarity, his only thought was of Julie. He never told her how he truly felt about her. And he might never have the opportunity to do so again.

He pushed the thought from his mind and looked around. Away to his left, two groups of men covered the corners of the palace courtyard. Behind him, another secured the west wall. By the entrance was the colonel and another team. Above them, lining the balconies, were the remainder of their forces. There were maybe seventy in total.

They were outnumbered and outgunned. There was nowhere to retreat except inside, which would only trap them further.

No one moved on either side of the gate. An uneasy silence fell on the restless stalemate.

“What the hell are they waiting for?” murmured Jericho. He sensed the powder keg of tension was merely a single spark away from exploding.

Just then, his comms unit crackled into life. He moved a hand to his chest.

“Go for Jericho,” he said.

A voice he didn’t recognize spoke. “Sir, we’ve encountered some heavy resistance near a small village along the east coast of the island. Our unit is pinned down. We’ve sustained some casualties but nothing fatal.”

Jericho closed his eyes for a long second. “You gotta hunker down and hold them off as long as you can, okay? There are small skirmishes across the entire country. If any of the colonel’s men are nearby, they will help you. Our teams are securing the major towns one by one. If there’s fighting, they’ll find you as soon as they can.”

There was a moment of silence.

“You got it, sir. The general’s men… they’re good, but they aren’t well trained. However, their weapons are—”

“Yeah, I know. Listen, I’m at the palace now. One way or the other, this whole shit-show is almost over. You hang in there, okay? Drinks are on me when we get home.”

“Good luck, sir.”

“And you. Jericho out.”

One of the Palugan soldiers glanced across at him. “I… I’m glad we have GlobaTech here to help us, sir.”

Jericho nodded to him. “It’ll be okay, soldier. Be smart. Be strong.”

Despite the general’s order, not one of his men had attempted to breach the gates. Jericho looked over his shoulder, back toward the colonel, who simply shrugged in response to the unspoken question.

One of the GlobaTech operatives standing behind Jericho leaned forward.

“Mr. Stone… what do we do?” he asked. “What are they waiting for?”

Before he could answer, a distant noise rose into earshot—a deep thumping on the horizon behind the general’s men, beyond the hill on which the palace stood, out toward the city of Maville below. It grew louder and more intense, soon resonating inside the ribcages of everyone standing within the palace grounds.

Jericho ignored the glances of concern being exchanged. He focused his attention to the sky. He could guess what the noise was.

A few seconds later, his suspicions were confirmed.

Two helicopter gunships drifted into view, climbing steadily. He figured they were the same ones that had arrived an hour ago. Their outlines shimmered against the afternoon sun. Both were approaching at speed.

Jericho didn’t hesitate.

“They’re waiting for them,” he said, turning around. “Everybody, take cover!”

He sprinted toward the colonel and the entrance to the palace, gesturing with his hands for everyone who might not have heard him to seek shelter.

The first chopper approached the palace, swooping low as it unleashed fire from above. Red flashes of bullet fire traced through the air like laser beams, accompanied by a deafening shrill as they carved two parallel lines across the courtyard. Hundreds of tiny explosions of dirt and dust erupted in their wake. It moved across the palace, left to right, leaving destruction in its wake.

From inside the entrance, Jericho peered out, his weapon drawn. Across from him, the colonel did the same. They counted at least ten men dead. There were at least another ten injured but alive.

“Get your men to fall back inside the palace!” shouted Jericho. “They’ll be cut to shreds!”

Before the colonel could respond, the second helicopter approached, moving right to left over the palace grounds. More gunfire rained down, peppering the courtyard and the exterior of the building. The concrete and marble balconies splintered and chipped, quickly disintegrating beneath the relentless onslaught of overwhelming firepower. Lifeless bodies dropped to the ground below, further carpeting the courtyard in blood and death.

“Get inside!” yelled Jericho. “Defensive positions along the main corridors.”

What remained of their combined forces retreated inside as the second chopper banked away.

The colonel hurried along the main hallway. When he realized Jericho wasn’t following him, he stopped and turned.

“Mr. Stone, what are you doing?” he called out.

“Colonel, follow the plan,” replied Jericho. “We have four main hallways branching off the entrance. Defend all of them. Make sure two teams are covering the stairwells upstairs too.”

“I will, but… what are you doing? We need you back here.”

Jericho shook his head. “The general’s men will be coming through those gates any second. I’m going to slow them down and buy you some time to organize our defenses.”

“Take some men with you, then, for the love of God!”

“No, Colonel. You need everyone here.” He drew his GlobaTech-issue Negotiator and loaded a magazine of high-explosive rounds into the second breech. “I’ll be right back.”

He turned and headed outside, leaving the colonel standing, dumbstruck, in the corridor.

The air was filled with the bitter stench of gunfire and death. Dust clouds still swirled in the aftermath of the two helicopter attacks. Jericho squinted against the grit that blew into his face as he looked around the courtyard. Concrete flowerbeds, ornaments, even the footpath were all destroyed by the automatic fire from the gunship cannons minutes earlier.

He glanced over at the large gates. Soldiers were attaching cables to it that were connected to their vehicles.