Black Guard, The (17 page)

"Sir, Solow, Catz, and Judt
have checked the back hallway. They report the area is clear. We let about
twenty flee out the back." Mintz said, smiling. "A good number were
from the second floor."

"Good," I made my way
back towards the side door, lost in the pain of losing Narkis and maybe Geller
and searching my mind for what I could have done differently to avoid Narkis’s
death and Geller’s near fatal injuries. Latner jarred me out of my mental
brooding. He and a lieutenant stood in the doorway leading to the rear exit.

"Captain Sapir, what’s your
status? Lieutenant Dische has just arrived with four squads ready to help
you." He nodded to a lean lieutenant with a long narrow face, who was
smiling. He bowed low.

"Captain Sapir, I have forty
troops available to you. Where do you want them?" he said, looking eager
to get involved.

"The bottom floor is clear of
rebels; however there might still be some upstairs. I don’t know how many, but
I’ve been told that a number of them fled down the back stairs and out the
door. I’ll leave whoever is left upstairs to you, since they aren’t going
anywhere soon. I have one dead, and three wounded. I’m taking two of the
wounded who are functional, but I’d appreciate if you would have someone see to
the others’ needs. Lieutenant Ceder has gained entrance to the side door of the
Administration Building, and I need to join him. He’ll need help clearing the
building."

"My God! How?" Latner
said. Dische stood staring at me, shaking his head in disbelief.

"We each have our expertise,
Captain. Please let Colonel Feber know the status here and that I’m on my way
to the Administration Building." I trotted down the hall, still wondering
what I could have done differently. Lieutenant Dische followed with his men and
deployed a squad down each hallway to check each room and secure the stairs. I
joined everyone at the back entrance.

"Strip their clothes," I
nodded to the dead. "We’ll need to cover our black body armor to cross
that field to the Administration Building." I waved to Dische.
"Lieutenant, could you have some of your troops shoot at us as we make our
escape to the Administration Building. We will shoot back of course." I
smiled. He gave me a blank look which turned into a smile and then a laugh.

"We’d be honored to
help." He collected a squad who took up positions near windows and the
door. I sent Ceder a message on my Mfi, "Hold the door open," as I
ran out followed by sergeants Catz and Judt. After a few meters, we turned and
began firing at the building as the rest of my detail poured out the rear door.
The army opened fire as we ran, and we occasionally fired back. As we did, the
rebels on the second floor of the Administration Building opened fire on the
Assembly Building. I smiled. People tended to see what they wanted to see, or
alternatively, what they expected to see: their friends escaping the enemy and
the opposing army shooting at the fleeing rebels.

Ceder was smiling as we blew
through the door into the side entrance. There were ten or more bodies piled up
against the wall. "Masquerade parties are fun," he said as I stood
catching my breath.

"Sure are," Elijah said,
but her smile was weak and her eyes sad. I looked at the building diagram on my
Mfi.

"Two stories with very
similar floor plans—a long central hallway with five intersecting ones.
The entrance we are in is considered an employee’s entrance. It runs through to
the front of the building, which is the main entrance. The last I’d heard, the
army on the first floor controlled up to the first intersection and the offices
on both sides, and the back stairs to the second floor. There are approximately
three offices down each side of the hallway, a total of sixty on each
floor—a building total of one hundred twenty offices."

"That’s a lot of offices. Are
we going to use the leap-frog technique again?" Elijah asked. I had been
considering the problem. That would work but would tend to get harder as the
residents became aware of what was happening via communication devices.
Injuries—deaths—could eventually reduce our number to where the
technique wouldn’t work.

"What’s our mission here on
New Keif?" I asked, looking at Ceder and Elijah.

"To help—" Elijah
said, emphasizing the last word "—clear the rebels out of the
government buildings."

"I agree, to advise and help to
remove the rebels," Ceder said, to general nods.

"Not to kill the
rebels?" I asked, as an idea began to take shape.

"Well, you have to do that to
get them out," Mintz said, again to general nods.

"Only if they won’t
leave." I smiled. "Lieutenant Ceder, is there a building intercom at
that station?" I asked, looking over at the reception counter, which
seemed to have video monitors.

"Yes, sir. I don’t think they
monitor the rooms but there are cameras in each hallway and speakers throughout
the building, most likely for emergencies or public announcements."

"Sergeant Zinn, release two
of your team to join Sergeant Mintz’s team. Sergeant Wahle, release two from
your team to guard this entrance along with the two wounded and one from
Sergeant Solow’s team. That will leave each of the four teams with five
members, and provide a five person team to hold this entrance." I waited
as the reassignments were made and the members of the new teams formed up.
"Lieutenant Ceders, you will take your two teams to the second floor and
secure the two intersections to our left, which I believe is the east end.
Leave one team at each intersection. That should give you sufficient shooters
to control all four directions. Kill anything that enters the hallway.
Lieutenant Elijah, you will do the same for the two intersections on the west
end. Keep your party clothes on and try to get into those positions with the
least amount of killing. Let me know when you are in position and then strip
down to your black body armor and put on your head caps. Go!" I waved to
the stairs. Ceder was at the steps first with his ten following and then Elijah
with her ten. I waited, mentally hoping if the space gods were watching, they
would sprinkle a little bit of common sense down on this building. My Mfi
vibrated. When I looked, Ceder had sent "Ready," and a few seconds
later Elijah did. I clicked on the building intercom.

"Attention, Attention. This
is Captain Sapir of the Black Guard. We now control all the hallways on the
second floor. You are trapped. Your friends who were in the Assembly Building
will tell you we killed everyone on the first floor and those that came to help
from the second floor in less than thirty minutes. We will clean out the second
floor in the same time if necessary to get you to leave. However. I repeat,
however. If you will leave peacefully, we will allow you to exit the north
entrance, which I believe your people still control, and you can join your
comrades and live to see your families. I give you ten minutes to decide. After
that we will begin the killing. Caution. Don’t step into the hallway unless you
have no weapons on you."

Within seconds, shots could be
heard all over the building but decreased rapidly over the next few minutes,
then stopped.

"Captain, a few are coming
out of the offices with hands over their heads." Elijah’s voice over my
Mfi.

"Here too, Captain."
Ceder’s voice.

"Be careful but let them
go," I said. "Steer them towards the hallway to the north exit."
I held my breath as the minutes passed, watching down the first floor hallway.
At first there were only a few, but as the minutes passed, it became a steady
stream which included rebels on the first floor. After twenty minutes the
building had a deathly silence. I gulped a breath, realizing I had been holding
my breath, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. It had been an immense
gamble. If they had chosen to die fighting, we would have killed most, but they
would have eventually overwhelmed the four teams. I walked up the hallway to
the intersection, looked in both directions, and saw no one. Turned right
towards the area the army controlled. The door opened fully as I neared, and a
Jax Lieutenant stood waiting. He bowed low but was smiling when he stood
straight again.

"I wish I had thought of
asking them to leave."

"We had the advantage of
having made some friends at the Assembly Building. Looking around he had over
twenty men and women in the entrance and several wounded. I believe the
building is empty, but I would assume there are rebels in every room until you’ve
checked. I’m going to collect my wounded and dead and leave," I said,
having checked my Mfi—four wounded and one dead, Corporal Eisen.

* * *

When I left the south exit with my
team, Captain Latner was outside with three trucks. He bowed.

"I thought you’d like a ride
to the medical station. I’ve been relieved and am heading that way myself. That
was an interesting approach, letting the rebels escape." He grinned.

"Thank you, Captain. I’d
appreciate the ride." I bowed in return. "Escape… I never thought of
that. The Guard was asked to help remove the rebels from the building. No one
said anything about capturing or killing them." I grinned.

* * *

At the hospital, my wounded were
treated and each of us inspected for damage caused by strikes to the body
armor. I had two dark purple bruises the size of a fist and a cracked rib. Most
of my team had similar or worse damage.

"It’s been an honor to serve
with you, Captain. I’d heard about you considering ’tradition’ and ’duty’ as
separate but didn’t understand until now. My instinct would have been to fight
in the Administration Building like we did in the Assembly
Building—tradition. But our duty was to remove them." Elijah
laughed. "I hope I get more assignments with you, sir."

"Yes, our Captain is an
exciting person to be around. Concentrating on duty, rather than tradition,
cuts to the reason we are on a particular assignment. I too hope I’m assigned
often with the Captain."

"Thank you," I nodded.
"The feeling is mutual. You and your people are a credit to the Guard and
an excellent example of what the Guard produces. The Captain in charge tends to
get more credit than he or she should. It’s the people under him or her that do
the heavy lifting and deserve the lion’s share of the credit—" I
stood, seeing an army General and Colonel Feber approaching. I bowed low while
still maintaining eye contact.

"Captain Sapir, I’m General
Issak. The man who requested the… Black Guard send a team to New Keif. I don’t
know what I expected, but it’s going to look like I’m a genius in the history
addition." He laughed. "Colonel Feber has mixed emotions about letting
close to a hundred rebels free to fight again. I don’t. You saved many Jaxs’
lives. Agreeing not to use grenades or missiles in the buildings was a mistake
that was causing far heavier losses than normal. I visited the Assembly
Building. You killed over sixty rebels there, and I understand another ten in
the Administration Building before they decided to take your generous offer.
After visiting the Assembly Building and finding out it took less than an hour,
I too would have accepted your offer." He looked around. "I can’t
believe you had only two killed."

Two too many,
I screamed
mentally. "I’m glad we could help, General Issak. Your instincts were
correct. The Guard understands fighting room-to-room in a building. The
commandos and army are not trained for that kind of combat."

"I’ve arranged for shuttles
to pick you and your troops up for transportation back to Jax. They should be
here in two hours. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Captain Sapir." He
spent another hour talking with each member of my team, which said a lot about
the man.

 
The ride back was like a party—two
had died but everyone thought that close to a miracle considering the odds we
faced and the fact we had to start from outside the building. And I got the
credit, although as far as I was concerned, they deserved it, not me. I spent
hours meditating, trying to absolve myself for failing those two and hoping
next time I’d be smarter, or sneakier, or… better. By the time I boarded the
shuttle for the trip back to Sasser Mountain, I had committed the faces of
Narkis and Eisen to a place in permanent memory, so I would never forget their
sacrifice.

My spirits soared when I saw Hada
waiting as I exited the shuttle. She caught me in a tight bear-hug, and we
laughed like kids.

"About time you got back,
Tzadok and Dobrin are here. I’ve been working with them almost the whole time
you’ve been gone. I’ve beaten Dobrin a couple of times and Tzadok once, out of
the hundred matches we’ve had." She sobered, and her eyes misted. "I
don’t think I’m going to make dragon."

The thought of my sister unable to
fulfill her dream was unbearable. If it had not been for her, I would have
ended up in the commandos with all the life sucked out of me. I would have been
a shell of a person, lost in my despair. She had given me a beloved sister,
made the Guard my extended family, and helped me find peace.

"Come," I said, linking
my arm in hers and dragging her towards our favorite meditating spot. She
laughed as we wound our way down the narrow trail and onto the ledge.

"I heard a rumor that you and
your team were the heroes of New Keif. That you routed hundreds of rebels from
the government buildings when the army and commandos couldn’t. Even the Jax
military are calling us the Black Guard. I want to hear every detail."

"The rebels had already
captured the government buildings, which gave them a distinct advantage, and
the army and even the commandos aren’t used to fighting inside buildings. The
commandos did clear one building and the army had gained entrance to another.
So in the end, they would have prevailed, but their losses were heavy because
they couldn’t use explosives."

"But the Guard did clear two
buildings without help. Details or I’m going to…" She paused, eyes
downcast in thought.

"You will get all the
details, but first… your dream," I said. Her head jerked up and she stared
at me.

"It was a wonderful dream…"

"That you dragged me into,
and now that I’m here… how bad do you want to beat Dobrin and Tzadok?"

"With all my
heart—"

"That is why you will never
beat them!" It tore at me saying it, but it had to be said. She looked at
me like I had slapped her, then her eyes gazed off into the distance, and
finally she folded into a meditation posture. I took up a similar position,
content to be with her.

"You’re right, Rivka,"
Hada said hours later, returning me to the present. "I can never beat
either consistently if my mind is cluttered with wanting to win. I must learn
to enjoy the moment, not caring about winning or losing. Thank you, my sister.
I’m glad you’re in this dream with me. It’s a much better dream with you here."
She leaned over and hugged me. "Now, the damn details!"

* * *

I stood in the front row at a relaxed attention with my New Keif
team to the right of me. In the rows behind us stood unassigned Guards and
behind them the present candidates. Instructors sat in chairs on the raised
platform, and Commander Wexler stood in front of a microphone. Several cameras
were recording the proceedings as a permanent record for those on assignment.

"This is a critique of the Jax
contract on the planet New Keif, which began on the twentieth of March in the
year 1158 of the Jax calendar," He began. "The assignment was
non-traditional, in that we were asked to assist the army and commandos in extricating
hundreds of well-armed and trained rebels who had managed to capture three
government buildings: Administration, Assembly, and Presidential. Captain Sapir
and her team cleared the Assembly building, killing over sixty rebels, and
caused over a hundred rebels to surrender the Administration building after
killing another twelve. Because of their extraordinary performance in clearing
the Assembly Building, the following individuals are awarded the double dragon
to their uniforms and promoted one rank: sergeants Catz and Judt, corporals
Geller and Cerff, and privates Polak, Toch, Alpert, Volpe and Barnel."
Wexler’s lip twitched. "Lieutenant Elijah and Senior Sergeant Mintz also
received the double dragon award and our thanks. Captain Sapir already has a
double dragon and our thanks."

"Dismissed," one of the
senior captains shouted and the formation broke up.

"Captain Sapir, join us,"
Wexler said as I started to leave. I mounted the platform and took a seat when
he waved to a chair. "What you did reflected well on the Guard, possibly
too well. We have only been thought of as the Black Guard because of our uniforms,
but now the Black has taken on a new meaning—like the Grim Reaper. That
can be used to our benefit, as you did at New Keif. But I fear because of your
success there, people like General Issak will want us to participate in
assignments not typically our domain." He paused, waiting for comments.

"You did honor General Issak’s
unorthodox request, sir." What else could I say?

"And sent an unorthodox captain,"
Dobrin said, grinning.

"Yes, and in retrospect, I made
the right call. I’m not sure what a more… traditional captain would have done—probably
joined with the commandos or army teams assaulting the buildings. I suspect, as
did Sapir, that would have caused more Guard deaths, because we don’t train
together, and caused resentment at having to accept Guard among them. No, the
problem is that these unorthodox requests are likely to result in more Guard
deaths. And because of our very selective recruiting methods, we can barely
absorb the deaths caused by our normal assignments. Even I was amazed at how
few deaths resulted from Sapir’s tactics."

"I always wondered how well that
leap-frogging technique would work in the real world," Tzadok said.

"Having heard Lieutenant Elijah
describe it in detail, it sounded like a tsunami of death sweeping through the
hallways," Dobrin said, shaking his head at the thought.

"Let’s hope we don’t get caught up
in it," Wexler said as he exited the stage.

* * *

"I can’t believe how much better
Hada is performing," Tzadok said as we sat watching Dobrin and Hada
fighting. To my delight, the two dragons had been working with Hada and me for
several weeks. I hated killing, although I recognized that was an inevitable
part of being a Guard, but I loved Wuji. I had found a beauty in the nonresistant
nature of the dance. Since my return from New Keif, the contests were no longer
work but a graceful dance. And the dance was all that mattered, not winning or
losing, not being good or bad, not being hurt—only the beauty of the
dance.

"I think maybe she had been lost
in her father’s dream as I was in hers. Now I believe it’s her dream," I
said. She had been desperately trying to achieve her father’s dream for her.
Now it looked like she was enjoying her own dream.

Dobrin’s voice jarred me out of my
musing. "It’s time, Sapir. Come." He walked back into the circle we
used to fight with Tzadok following. "The best two out of three. I will
referee. You will stop when I say ’Stop,’ and I will award a point. The winner
of the match is the one who scores two. Start in the pushing position."
Tzadok and I met and took the position. Several seconds went by before he said,
"Begin."

Of course, that was unnecessary. We
were ready the second we touched. Tzadox surprised me by immediately sweeping
at my leg, since he normally waited to sense some weakness in me that touching
permitted. Knowing I was a fraction of a second too late to counter, I made no
attempt to avoid it, and let my feet be swept beneath me. Using the momentum, I
tucked and rolled away to a standing position in time to block a roundhouse
kick to my head and trap his leg. He somehow left the ground twisting such that
his other leg began another roundhouse kick. But when I felt his body twisting,
I let go of his leg and the anchor he had was no longer there, and he lost his
balance, crashed to the ground, and rolled towards my legs. I stepped over him
and delivered a kick to the spine.

"Stop. Point to Sapir."
Dobrin said, grinning at Tzadox, who rose smiling. The next point Tzadox scored
after five minutes of intense attack and counter attacks. The third match, we
were content to wait for the other to show an opening. When nothing happened
for a few minutes, I closed my eyes—and another world opened up. I felt
at one with Tzadox, could hear his breathing, feel the muscles in his body
relaxing, and knew he could sense the same in me. Later I was told we stood
like that for over twenty minutes. Then I felt or sensed an extra heartbeat in
reaction to his intention of exploding into me. I twisted as the impact came
rushing toward me, directing it harmlessly past me. The twist released my left
side, bringing my right side to the left and my right palm into Tzadox’s head
as he passed. He stumbled to his knees.

"Stop. Point to Sapir. Match to
Sapir." Dobrin said.

"Nicely done. I thought I felt you
tense for a second," Tzadox said, rising to his feet.

"I did, hoping you were tired of
standing in the heat." I laughed. "What a glorious feeling."

"Beating me?"

"No, that feeling of being totally
at peace."

"Good," Dobrin said as he
stepped towards me, offering a pushing posture and letting Tzadox take up the
referee position. I shrugged and matched his position. I’m not sure why, but I
found myself at peace and at one with Dobrin and my surroundings. Dobrin wasn’t
as quick as Tzadox, but he was the better fighter. In the past, he’d seemed to
know what I planned to do before I did. But today, I had that feeling about
him. We fought in brief clashes and then long minutes of waiting.

"Stop," Tzadox said during
one of the waiting periods. "I declare this match a tie. At the rate you
two are going, I’m going to miss dinner and the night’s entertainment at the
club." He laughed.

Dobrin nodded. "I concede a tie,
Dragon Sapir. Congratulations."

Dragon! Oh no. It can’t be! It has to
be Hada, not me. She had to be first. I don’t care. She does. My mind exploded
in chaos, then shock as Hada landed on me—arms around my neck, legs
locked around my waist.

"You did it, sister. You were
magnificent. I’m so proud of you." She squeezed me tight. She let herself
down and wiped away a tear. "No, I’m not upset. You’re my sister. We are
not in competition. Besides, your comments the other day made me realize my
father had me focused on a symbol rather than the real goal, peace of mind. I
am at peace with where I am in my life. I have a new sister I love, and I’m a
captain in the Guard. I could be a trooper in the army or the commandos. I’m in
a position to save lives and help others." She grabbed my hand. "Come
let’s celebrate, I’m buying."

* * *

"Dragon Sapir, it doesn’t surprise
me. I’ve been around long enough to predict who will eventually become a
dragon. They have a… nontraditional way of thinking and the conviction to act
on it. When the individual is a senior sergeant or even a lieutenant it is
harder to detect as he or she hasn’t the authority to act independently and is
restricted by the team leader’s direction. But that thinking in a captain is
immediately apparent. For you, it was obvious after Lanzhou." Wexler took
a drink from his cup. "As I suspected, you and your teams’ performances are
beginning to generate nontraditional contracts, which the JAX Contract
Committee is approving. I understand their reasoning; we are mercenaries for
hire, and that fuels our economy. But as commander of the Guard, I worry. Our
normal contracts seldom produce more than one death every two or three
contracts. Of course, there will always be situations like Lanzhou that result
from unforeseen conditions. However, nontraditional contracts like New Keif and
others to follow will have higher risks and inevitably more deaths—because
tradition must be upheld." He stared at me as if daring me to argue.

"I have never questioned tradition
but believe duty is my… our first priority." I held up a hand to indicate
I hadn’t finished. "If my team and I and our contract are killed, have we
done our duty? We have certainly maintained our tradition."

Wexler sat glaring at me for a long
time before speaking. "We have another seemingly traditional contract
which I suspect isn’t what it appears. For that reason, I’m giving it to you.
The High Priestess of Suryah has contracted for the Black Guard to guard
political prisoners who will soon be tried for crimes against the government.
Sounds easy and simple, doesn’t it? How hard can it be to guard people in
cages?"

"So why would you need the Black
Guard?" I asked the obvious question he had and the reason for his
concern.

"Precisely. And she has agreed to
a team of twenty-one, to guard the current twenty-two prisoners, although the
contract allows up to forty-five. She is either very generous or…"

"She knows some military-like
group plans to break them out, and she intends for us to earn our Black Guard
reputation."