Interdiction by Hardman Matt

Author:Hardman, Matt [Hardman, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Double Dagger Books
Published: 2022-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Mike’s eyes opened reluctantly as his brain played catch-up. He was face-up in a tangle of arms, legs, and debris with his head propped on something soft. At his feet he could see a blurry set of steps, down which water flowed like a waterfall—which explained why his entire back felt wet.

He blinked once. Twice. Then a third time, trying to clear his vision. Without moving his head, he could now see the top of the stairs. The heavy security door was bent, forced in against its own frame. He could see shafts of light pouring through cracks in the frame, one of which illuminated a broken sprinkler pipe from which water continued to flow.

The air was heavy with the smell of cordite and smoke and Mike remembered why he was laying at the bottom of a set of stairs. He struggled to sit up, using one arm to prop himself up while the other tried to remove whatever it was that was laying across his chest. Mike looked down, his head throbbing as he did so. His hand rested on a boot.

Mike turned to check on Miguel and was relieved to see the other man blinking.

“Miguel?”

Miguel groaned. “Fuck.”

“You hit?”

Miguel pushed himself up onto all fours and rocked back onto his heels. He ran his hands over various parts of his body, checking for injuries. “I’m good. Fucking hell of a headache though.” Miguel turned to look behind him, his gaze falling on the wrecked door ten feet above them. “That how we came in?”

Mike nodded, trying to stand. “Yeah.”

“Dave and Andrew?” Miguel was pulling himself up.

Mike reached to touch his ear. The earpiece was gone. He stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen was shattered, with whole chunks of glass missing. Mike pushed the power button on the side of the phone and held it in place. Nothing.

“Phone’s shot. Yours?”

Miguel was looking at his own phone and shaking his head. “Nothing. What the hell was that all about?”

“No clue.” Mike steadied himself against the wall. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Take it slow, mano. My legs are wrecked.”

Mike took a step and wobbled. “Mine too. Use the wall.”

The two men proceeded down the passage, sloshing their way through puddles of sprinkler water, struggling to control the movement of each leg.

Miguel broke the silence. “Captain of the guard knew. Didn’t he?”

Mike nodded in the dark, picturing the scene when they’d have to tell the General that one of his own was in on the attack. “Yeah. Khan’s gonna be pissed at that. Wonder how many others?”

Miguel didn’t say anything for a few minutes, focusing on his plodding and painful footsteps. Then, “Hey Mike. Doesn’t this seem odd? All of that to steal a truck?”

Mike shrugged as well as he could under the circumstances. “Maybe they thought the bombs were real.”

“No way they’re that dense.”

“It’s possible. Figure they heard about the new facility, ask their guy about it and he tells them.

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