Текст книги "Wolf Pack"

47

In the week since the Stingrayhad caught us off-guard, we did a lot of skirmishing with Gamma Regiment. Per Colonel Wolf's plan, we were trading ground for time, trying to bloody Alpin's forces as much as possible, while minimizing our own losses. We'd been laying a lot of ambushes and were getting very good at it.

Now we were deployed in and around Silone Lake. Hidden underwater, I waited and watched.

My Lokiwasn't hot, but" the other 'Mechs in the detachment were sure to be. They were old tech and had been in battle while I had been waiting in the lake. They wouldn't be a lot of help till they'd had a chance to let their heat sinks vent for a while.

The video feed from the pickup floating above me came through the optical-fiber line. The quality of the image wasn't great, but it served to show me the 'Mechs approaching the lake. Most cut to their left and raced along the beach. A Vindicatorand two Waspsfired their jump jets and sailed over the water. The 'Mechs were pretty badly beat up.

A Fenris,the first of their pursuers, came over, the rise. The OmniMech was moving flat out, and rapidly closing the distance separating it from its prey. I let it go. There would be more.

Two Blackhawkswere next and I would have taken them, but they fired their jets and sailed high above the lake. The detachment would have to handle them as best they could. Although I was unhappy that all three of the Omnis we had identified with Ansell's company were still operating, I was pleased to see that they had also taken a beating.

Another half-dozen 'Mechs came into sight, the rest of Ansell's company. I was relieved to see that they were older designs; our limited intelligence hadn't told us what sort of replacements Gamma Regiment was getting. The charging 'Mechs moved in the tight formation we had come to expect from the warriors of Gamma Regiment, especially those under Major An-sell. Keeping their spacing required some of the 'Mechs to enter the lake; there wasn't enough space for them on the beach.

It was time to trip the switch for the Loki'sjump jets, which sent me and my 'Mech boiling out of the lake in a cloud of steam. The spy cable ripped away as I rose, but I didn't need it anymore. As soon as the Loki'sarms cleared the water, I triggered both the big lasers at the most massive of the hostile 'Mechs. It was a tricky shot, but nothing for which my targeting computer couldn't compensate. Twin scarlet beams sliced into the rear of a Marauder,cutting in beneath the port heat sink. The carapace of the Maraudererupted in a chain of explosions that blew the left arm out in an arcing trajectory. Even before the seventy-five-ton 'Mech had collapsed to the ground, I moved on to another target.

Grant's Archerrose from its crouching position in the depths of the lake like some leviathan seeking prey. The armored covers for the twenty missile launchers opened like jaws as the Archervomited forth a double salvo of long-range missiles. Grant held the big machine steady under the vibrations of the ripple launch, improving his chances of hits. Forty missiles screamed toward a sixty-five-ton Axmanthat was the deadliest in-fighter of the enemy company. The 'Mech rocked under the impact, then toppled in slow motion, arms flailing as the pilot struggled to reassert control. The missiles that missed banked in a tangle of contrails, each searching for a secondary target. Flashes from impacts on the two 'Mechs nearest the falling Axmantold me that the swarm warheads had been a good choice for this ambush.

I landed uphill from thebeach along the tree line where the dense woods would mask my silhouette. Dodging among the smaller trees at the edge, I swiveled the LokVstorso back to keep the firing arcs of both arm-mounts on target– Whenever I could, I put a shot into the Axmanstruggling in the mud at the lake's edge.

Our Vindicatorand Waspswere back as per the plan, their return sparking confusion among Ansell's jocks. Their formation broke, but they didn't run.

The pinging of the Loki'santimissile system warned me I had incoming missiles. A glance at the threat-assessment screen pinpointed a Sentinelas the launch platform. A standard Sentinelcarried only short-range missiles. I modified my fifing pattern to compensate for the heat the antimissile system would generate and prayed that it would catch them all. The AM ammo bar shrank and I felt none of the sharp raps of SRM impacts. The antimissile system was not good against the Sentinelsautocannon. Shells pocked the front of the Loki,ripping shards off armor in a vain attempt to reach my 'Mech's inner structure.

Reluctantly, I abandoned my attack on the Axmanin order to deal with the Sentinelsmore immediate threat. I triggered the left-arm laser and watched its beam boil away the last arrnor remaining on the Sentinel'sright thigh. Sparks leapt from the wound and the Sentinel'spilot shifted liis machine's course to the right to shield the exposed area. Trailing smoke, he raced past me along the beach. I tried another shot, hoping to take him down, but the heat levels in my

Lokiwere rising and affecting the targeting systems. I missed.

Grant had the Axmancovered. Slogging ashore, the Archerswiveled back and gave him another double dose. Explosions blossomed across the Axman'sright arm and chest, shredding ferro-fibrous armor and opening craters to the vulnerable innards. The missiles that had failed to target the stricken 'Mech screamed around it, seeking in vain for other targets.

"Ken's down! Somebody help him!"

The call was on the command channel. Ken Shia-matsu was piloting a Dervish,the heaviest of the machines in our decoy element. If he was down, they were in trouble.

A laser cut across my Loki'sleg as I tried to assess the situation. I lost armor, but there was no warning of a breach. I snapped a shot in return, but with all the steam and smoke, I didn't know what I'd fired at, let alone whether I'd hit.

Wu's Vindicatorwas landing from a jump on my right. It hit ground poorly, its right leg collapsing under it. An enemy Jennercame through a smoke bank a hundred meters away, ripping at the fallen Vindicatorwith a quartet of lasers. The beams gnawed armor, then broke through to vaporize the myomer pseudo-muscle that moved the machine's foamed titanium bones. The Vindicatorwas out of the fight.

We'd done damage. The Marauderwas a definite kill and the Axmana probable, but we had too many down.

"Break off! Break off!"

The hostiles continued their fire as we retreated, but they used only energy weapons. Fed by the fusion reactor that powered a BattleMech, such weapons had inexhaustible ammunition supplies. Ansell's jocks did not use their other weapons and that worried me. Typically, they would have dumped everything they had in hopes of taking down a few more of us, but they were saving their ammo for something.

At least they didn't follow us. Maybe they were afraid of another trap. Or maybe they were finally learning respect.

* * *

Iota Battalion's losses were being made for by more down-and-out mercs eager for a chance at the Dragoon name. Dechan doubted that they had heard what happened to their predecessors; Elson had a tight rein on the news that got back to the World. Iota's jocks soon found out why there had been openings.

Spider's Web Battalion had shifted away from Fancher's line of advance through Green Sector, to be replaced by another force of BattleMechs that some reports claimed was led by Jaime Wolf himself. The shift made Alpin and Elson reconsider their plans. Svados' intel people predicted that Jaime Wolf was lairing somewhere in Red Sector, but the famous blue and gold Archerhad been seen among the enemy 'Mechs in Green Sector.

No matter who was leading Wolf's forces, they were effective. Their tricks and traps were taking a toll, and not just on the front-line troops of Iota Battalion and Beta Regiment. The morale of the rest of the forces was hit hard as well. What was supposed to have been a lightning campaign had been bogged down for too long. Wolf, for all he was on the defensive, had stolen the initiative. The so-called hunters were dancing to his tune.

Hunters.

The nickname had come into use when we'd learned that the rebels had taken to calling themselves the Wolf Pack. Dechan supposed they'd adopted the name as a show of loyalty to Jaime Wolf. Dechan didn't think it coincidental that the name simultaneously flouted their rejection of Alpin. Referring to the forces under Alpin as hunters had started in Beta Regiment. The Khan legitimized it when he put a bounty on his grandfather's head.

That bounty excited a lot of the mercs. They talked about hunting Wolf themselves, but their talk was as disjointed as their tactics. They couldn't agree on anything, each one trying to outdo the others. Elson had really scraped up the dregs.

Dechan had heard similar talk among some of his own Kappa Battalion. He cut it off whenever it started, going so far as to prohibit the topic from staff conferences. But he knew he couldn't keep a lid on it forever. Now that word was out that Wolf himself was leading the forces of our opposition, even relatively disciplined mercs like the Chevaliers were feeling the lure of a lucrative bounty.

Dechan doubted that Wolf was present in Green Sector. It wasn't that his troops weren't well-led; they were. It was just that he was sure Alpin would never have left to spearhead Parella's force in Red Sector if he'd believed that Jaime Wolf was here in Green. Then again, Elson hadn't left, even when Gamma Regiment moved to relieve Beta and started pushing past the ground Beta had gained. When it came down to it, you never knew who was in the BattleMech till you checked the cockpit.

Carter tossed aside the flap of Dechan's tent.

"We've got orders."

"Elson or Alpin?"

"Elson."

"A briefing in ten."

Carter nodded. Reaching up, he tugged the flap and let it drop closed. Dechan listened to him crunch across the gravel, passing among the other tents and rousing the officers as he went.

So far, Kappa Battalion had been held back from the fighting. Dechan had taken it as a sign that Elson had something special in mind for them. If Elson was abandoning the facade of working through Alpin, the decision point was coming soon.

* * *

Michi knew he was being followed, but he had no time to do anything about it. He walked down Lafayette Avenue among the midday crowds. There were too many eyes here for his pursuers to pose a threat, but that was a temporary condition. Soon he would have to leave the avenue. They might try to take him then, if they knew; or they might wait, if they only suspected. He could not tell their numbers. If there were too many, and they didknow, they might take him.

He turned off the avenue.

Once around the corner, he began to run.

He had covered two blocks by the time he heard the curses telling him that the pursuers had turned the corner. They would run now, too.

He was fortunate that he did not have far to go. They were younger, more fit for running. He heard their footfalls growing ever closer.

The ComStar acolyte was startled when Michi burst through the door—too startled to stop him, which was good. He heard the woman shouting for guards as he ran down the corridor to the inner court. The guards arrived in time to stumble into Michi's pursuers; he heard the scuffle start as the door closed behind him.

He was the only disturbance in the peace of the garden as he raced across it. But only for a moment. Shouts shattered the tranquillity; the ComStar guards had only been able to delay the pursuers. It was to be expected; the guards were not prepared and the pursuers were professionals.

Michi ran along the row of small cottages. He reached the one he sought and, without pause, he turned his last stride into a kick. The door flew open, bouncing off the wall and returning to strike him as he moved through the opening.

The air inside was warmer than that of the garden, the only light streaming in from the open doorway. The only furnishings were a chair, a bed, and a night-stand that held a computer work station. The bed was occupied.

The man grabbed a gun from behind the computer monitor, rolled off the bed, and took aim at Michi. In sync with the flash of recognition in the man's eyes, Michi tossed him the silver cylinder.

"GO!" he ordered.

Stanford Blake caught the cylinder with his free hand, then shouted, "Look out!"

Michi wheeled, drawing his sword and striking all in one smooth motion. The keen blade sliced the pursuer in half at the waist. Major Sean Eric Kevin looked surprised as he died.

Blake fired through Kevin's fountaining blood, dropping the second man.

There were more running across the garden.

"Go," Michi said again as he closed the door. "Now!"

Blake nodded curtly. He stuffed the cylinder into his waistband and pulled open the back door. "Thanks," he said as he bolted through. Michi watched him run across the garden. The house would shield him from the pursuers' sight once he left the direct line between the front and back doors. Michi swung the front door closed, then stooped and took the pistol from Kevin's holster. He stepped against the wall beside the door, well away from the frame.

He waited.

They were cautious, perhaps believing him trapped. He hoped that they would stay cautious; every second they wasted was useful. He knew they would not wait long, however. If they had suspected before, he had confirmed their fears.

A fusillade of shots splintered holes in the door and the wall on either side of it. Michi was moving forward as the door slammed open, this time dropping free from its abused hinges. He cut at the first commando as the man came through, the sword biting deep into his arm. Screaming, the man twisted away, ripping the sword grip from Michi's hand. Two shots dropped the second commando, but another one came crashing through the front window as her companion died. Forced back by fire from the two still outside, Michi was unable to halt the woman as she rolled to her feet and sprang through the open back door.

He could not know if he had delayed them long enough. He started to run after the woman, but his move was not enough of a surprise. Her companions fired on him as he cleared the edge of the house. Feeling a shock to his arm, he spun under the impact of the shot, then fell to the ground. He rolled aside and fired as one of the commandos came around the building after him. The man took the first slug and two more before he collapsed.

Michi knew that he had succeeded in his mission when he heard the mighty hyperpulse generator thrum with the sound of an outgoing pulse.

His relief almost cost him his life. The last commando had circled around the other side of the building, and only a scrape of gravel betrayed his presence. Michi was rolling before the man fired the weapon, and the slug slammed into the ground instead of into Michi. His answering shot went wide, but the man ducked back. Unfortunately for him, he moved into the path of Michi's last, unaimed shot.

Karma.

A gunshot boomed from the direction of the generator building. Michi forced himself to his feet. The gun in his hand was empty. Dropping it, he stooped to take another from one of the commandos. He nearly fainted as he straightened up. Too much blood loss and not enough concentration. He fought down the pain, banishing it beneath clarity of purpose.

He ran toward the sound of gunfire.

The door to the generator's control chamber was open when he reached it. He went in low, intending to roll into a firing position. He froze.

It was too late.

ComStar guards had weapons trained on him. They were very nervous. One attended to an acolyte who had been shot in the leg. The female commando and Stanford Blake lay in separate pools of blood that were slowly spreading toward each other.

"Drop your weapon," a guard ordered.

Michi complied.

Stanford Blake had managed to transmit the plans for Elson's final assault. Jaime Wolf would have the information he needed to unhinge those plans. Michi's part in this was over.

He fainted.