Page 113 of Tribute
“It sucks,” Aled said tightly. “Kai Mexr is my world.”
She nodded as the light flickered again and a torrent of orders came in over her earpiece. She couldn’t share her feelings about Rehz with anyone. They were far too private. It was excruciating hearing the battle and not being able to do anything to help out. She’d always hated sitting on her ass.
Aled took her hand again.
“So here’s the plan. If Kai and Rehz kill Palk and his men, we’ll all go and live happily ever after, and you and I won’t go back intoUngrichspace. If our males die, and Palk captures us and hands us over to theUngrich, we’ll go back, find out the truth, and blow up as much of theUngrichworld as we can before dying heroes’ deaths. Agreed?”
“I don’t like any of it, but it makes sense,” she said reluctantly.
“Shake on it, then?”
They solemnly shook hands. Then Aled wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, and they settled back to wait.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Bron muttered as he stared down at the group of marauders attempting to get through the main gates.
There were three combat vehicles parked right on the front driveway, which meant they must have blown through the original security points damn fast. The speed and audacity of the frontal attack seemed almost suicidal. Kai reckoned the defenders were already outnumbered at least three to one, and that was only by the men he could see. But why be so blatant?
“What doesn’t?” He took a shot, but the soldiers were too far away to really be worried. He liked watching them duck for cover, though.
“Why are they attempting to get in through the most obvious place?”
“Because they’re overconfident and stupid? They certainly seem that way.”
“Somehow, knowing Palk, I doubt that. They must be planning a counterattack.” Bron pressed his com and then his earpiece. “Rehz and Farn? Any signs of activity on your side?”
“Not yet.” Rehz’s clipped voice sounded in Kai’s ear. “But from our viewpoint, I think Palk’s stooges are about to set explosives on the front door.”
“Fuck it,” Bron swore. “They still won’t get through that way, but they’ll probably cause some smoke and fire damage. I asked the president’s wife not to plant fucking flowers around the fucking front door.”
Kai glanced over at him. “Just think what a valuable training exercise this is for your security detail.”
Bron’s teeth flashed in a feral grin. “Yeah, if we survive, we’ll know exactly where all the weaknesses in our system are for future review. I just don’t get Palk’s tactics.”
“Incoming from the air, Bron.” Farn yelled. There was the sound of rapid gunfire and then a scream and a rattle, as though either Farn or his weapon had hit the ground.
Kai spun on his heel. “Where is he?”
“Roof garden. Take Wrantz with you.” Bron talked fast into his cuff as Kai cocked his weapon and sprinted for the stairs that took him upward.
He met Wrantz on the last flight and they continued up together, their panting breaths echoing in the stairwell. In his ear, Rehz reported that the explosives had been detonated—as if they hadn’t heard the huge explosion—and that the gardens were on fire and the front windows were cracking in the heat.
As they emerged onto the roof, a thick cloud of smoke rose to greet them, and Wrantz coughed into his arm.
“Find Farn,” Kai shouted.
Wrantz ducked and ran to the perimeter of the roof while Kai took a more circuitous route over to the dining area and bar. Above him, he could hear the whine of a helijet. He peered through the billowing smoke at the small two-person craft, which was open-sided military style. He sighted his weapon on the pilot. Letting out his breath, he gently squeezed the trigger, watching a straight red line bore a hole right into the man’s skull. There was an explosion of blood against the windshield as the pilot’s companion tried to jump clear and fell in a tangled heap on the roof.
The helijet peeled off, plummeting crazily toward the mountain range surrounding the house. He paused to report in.
“Watch out below. Pilotless helijet on the loose.”
Keeping his weapon at the ready, he advanced on the fallen figure groaning and writhing in agony on the ground.Unfortunately, he could already tell that it wasn’t Palk. As he warily approached, the man rolled onto his side, a small weapon raised in his hand. Kai shot him through the heart.
“Two dead. Helijet threat nullified,” he murmured into his comm. “Off to locate Farn and Wrantz.”
Rehz saw the four soldiers before they saw him, and immediately fired. The one in the lead fell off the scaling ladder, knocking the second guy off as well. They’d come up the sheer rock wall at the back of the mansion, where Rehz was stationed. He’d watched them inch their way up the climb, and then had leaned over the edge of the parapet and let them have it. He winced and fired again until the other two hung like dead fruit off a tree. Attempting to scale the back wall of the compound was a brave but stupid move, leaving the men exposed on the rough rock wall with no cover.
He frowned down at the lifeless bodies. Bron was right. Why were they exposing themselves like this? It didn’t make sense at all . . .
