Black Guard, The (23 page)

"Why do we need the Guard then?" Heflin
interjected through a sneer.

"If you feel the Halo army is sufficient, we can
leave," I said, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice.

"What do you consider you responsibilities?"
Maull asked. From her expression, she seemed to be seeking clarification rather
than confrontation.

"To keep the prisoner alive so that he can stand
trial. He’s here and unhurt."

"With the help of our military," Heflin shouted.

"That is correct. They were very effective. If you
would prefer not to use your troops, you could hire the Jax army to provide
future ground security."

"We’re paying the Jax to do just that, and not getting
what we are paying for!" Heflin shouted.

"If you will read your contract with the Jax, you are
paying the Black Guard to guard the prisoner, Gasparo, at the prison and at the
tribunal. In point of fact, the Guard accompanying the prisoner during his
transportation to and from the tribunal provides a service you’re not paying
for. We have no ground vehicles, no military grade weapons, and no combat
shuttles to provide adequate protection against an attack like today."

"Captain Sapir is right, Justice Heflin," Rickard
said. "We would all have been killed, including Gasparo, or he would have
escaped. The army had to call in air support or our losses would have been
triple what they were."

"Enough," Ulises said. "Gasparo’s safe and
unhurt, and everyone seems to have done their job. The trial will resume after
lunch."

* * *

"You remain untested," Gasparo said as he sat
eating dinner. Nadel, Behr, and Polak were off shift and eating at another
table. Corporal Alpert had responsibility for Gasparo and stood off to the side
watching him eat.

"Since you are alive, your friends failed, and none of
the Guard were injured, I’d say we were tested and passed."

"You didn’t chase… my friends off," he snorted.

"You miss the point, Captain Gasparo. Our
responsibility is only to keep you from being rescued or assassinated. You
think this a game; we think this just another contract. We have nothing to
prove, and there is no bonus for killing people or getting killed," I
said, wondering if mercenaries like him lamented those killed following his orders
or trying to free him. I wondered about Tzadok and Dobrin but not
Hada—she felt every injury to those under her command.

* * *

"Do you think they have abandoned roadside
ambushes?" Rickard asked as we rode to the Tribunal building that morning.
Two weeks had passed since the last incident.

"I doubt they have given up the idea of freeing
Gasparo. Judging by what I’ve read about him, his organization has been in
place for ten years, and he’s considered a good leader and has a loyal command.
That would suggest they will try again. The question is how smart are his
lieutenants? Although their last attempt failed, I would say a road ambush is
their best opportunity. The Tribunal building will have too many people in it
when Gasparo is there, and they can’t afford to kill a lot of people freeing
him. That would enrage everyone in the Alliance and result in the Halo navy
having ’find and destroy’ orders." I paused for Rickard’s comments. When
he only nodded, I continued. "But those in command might not be good
strategists. Rather than use the first disaster as a learning experience, they
may dismiss the idea and attempt a riskier solution.

* * *

It was shortly after lunch and the trial had just resumed
when my Mfi flashed, vibrated, buzzed, and flashed red from Corporal Markov,
who was monitoring the first floor entrance. "Captain, a large number of
men with Mfws just stormed through the front entrance. They are wearing
protective gear. They’ve killed or wounded the security guards. I killed one
maybe two before I retreated into the far courtroom on the first floor. Two
chased me in—they’re dead."

"Await further orders," I said, and switched to
an open channel to keep everyone appraised of what I was doing.
"Lieutenant Elijah, take Sergeant Mintz’s team plus Private Volpe and
Corporals Polak and Alpert along. Distribute them among the three administrative
offices. Keep the office people in there with you. Let’s see if they can dig
you out. I don’t think they want to indiscriminately kill civilians. But just
in case they may, I’ll let them know I’ve moved Gasparo; therefore, he could be
in any room. That should make them reluctant to use explosives but not gas, so
make sure you have your gas masks."

"Yes, sir," Elijah said and proceeded to make
assignments as her team rushed to gather their equipment. "Volpe, Reti,
with me in office admin three. Mintz, you, Polak, and Haber in admin two.
Cerff, you, Alert and Volpe in admin one."

Just then my Mfi alert went off again, this time from
Private Krebs guarding the second floor hallway.

"Captain, I can hear fighting coming from the first
floor security area."

"Lieutenant Elijah is on the way. Secure the hallway
for her." I clicked on to Private Toch’s channel, who stood guard in the
second floor waiting room. "Private Toch, you have hostiles coming up the
stairs. Secure the stairway as you retreat to CR-1."

 
As Elijah and
her teams rushed out the door into the magistrate’s hallway, I raised my voice.

"Sergeant Catz, take Captain Gasparo, Ganz and Nadel
into CR-3 next door. There is a trial going on; hold everyone inside and keep
our prisoner quiet." As they left, dragging Gasparo between Ganz and
Nadel, I continued. "Corporal Behr, you’re with Corporal Toch and me in
CR-1. Colonel Rickard, take your pick."

"You’re putting a lot of civilians at risk."
Rickard’s voice sounded worried and concerned.

"You think they will be safer running in panic through
the building with our intruders and us firing at each other. In the rooms, they
can hide behind things," I said as we exited the room and made our way
into CR-1. The Justices had just entered when we arrived.

"Everyone, I shouted. Remain where you are. The
building is under attack by friends of Captain Gasparo. You are safer in here
than out there where you could get trampled to death in the panic, or shot by
Gasparo’s friends, or us shooting at them," I said as Toch rushed through
the door slamming it behind him. I waved for him to take up a position on the
right side and Behr the left. "In case any of you disagree about staying,
it is not an option. We will shoot anyone that tries to leave."

One of the guards opened the door, took two steps into the
entrance, and was thrown back into the room as multiple pellets slammed into
his chest and tore holes in the far wall. The other guard backed away from the
open door, holding his rifle at ready. Just then five men rushed in with Mfws
swiveling in a search of opponents. The guard got off one shot before three bullets
raked his body. His one shot hit a heavy-set man, who was obviously wearing
body armor from his lack of reaction.

"Hand over Captain—" a tall man began just
before my laser burned through the middle of his face. Standard Guard rules of
engagement for our present configuration—one Guard on the right, one in
the center, and one on the left—meant Toch would begin killing the
right-most opponent, Behr the left most, and I would start in the center. The
five men and a sixth who stepped into the doorway died in rapid succession
before they could identify and target one of us as we were using
lasers—bullets would have made noise and given general positional
information.

Reports continued to come in over my Mfi from the ranking
Guard in each room. The Mfi was able to queue the incoming communications and
deliver the highest priority first.

Sergeant Cerff in admin-three: "Two entering
admin-three. Both dead. Gas bomb exploded. Two men entered with masks. Both
dead."

Senior Sergeant Mintz in admin-two: One man entered door.
He’s dead along with one standing behind him in the hallway. Gas bomb exploded.
Two more dead."

Lieutenant Elijah in admin-one: Someone ordering the men to
guard the administration doors but not enter. Probably heading down the hallway
toward the courtrooms."

"Elijah, prepare your team to take the hallway on my
command," I sent, anticipating they hadn’t left a large force to guard the
offices, thinking no one would want to leave the safety of the rooms.

Senior Sergeant Catz in CR-3: "No activity."

After a few hysterical outbursts from my captive audience,
silence. The building seemed to be holding its collective breath.

"Let Captain Gasparo go or we will start killing
civilians," a man’s bass voice shouted through the partially open doors.

"I hope you don’t kill your Captain in the process.
You caught us by surprise, so I’m afraid you are going to have to check each
room. I’ll give you a hint. He’s not on the first floor," I shouted, just
imagining the leader’s frustration. What should have been an easy hit-and-run
had turned into a nightmare with at least seventeen dead plus their losses at
the security entrance.

"Just give them Gasparo. He isn’t worth the lives of
all these people," Heflin shouted, which caused shouts of agreement.

"Let him go, and we’ll leave. No one else has to die,"
The man outside the door shouted.

"How can I be sure?" I shouted, then switched to
an open channel on my Mfi. "Lieutenant Elijah, prepare your team to take
the hallway and the security area five seconds after we begin our attack on the
waiting room. Then the security area and the first floor. Sergeant Catz, your
team and mine will take the waiting area. Leave one person to watch Gasparo. We
will begin on my signal with flash stars."

"You have our word. And the word of Captain Gasparo,
who is an honorable man," the bass voice shouted.

"Give me a moment to check with Captain Gasparo,"
I said, and set my Mfi to ten seconds on an open channel and hit start. Toch
and Behr began to creep towards the front doors as I worked my way towards the
back. All the Mfi flashed as the ten seconds elapsed. Toch and Behr stood and
simultaneously hurled flash stars and turned away, eyes covered. I covered my
eyes and counted to five. When I opened them, Toch dashed towards the door and
dove through with Behr only a second behind him. Gun shots erupted from the
intruders, since the Guard would be using lasers, and bullets were coming
through the doors and hitting the walls as they fired wildly, still unable to
see clearly.

By now anyone in the back hallway would be distracted by
the noise. I jerked open the door, shot the man standing there, looked down the
hallway, noted several others, threw a flash star, and slammed the door. After
a count of five, I opened the door and slid into the hallway on my back and
began selecting targets. I chose the two with weapons raised in my direction,
shooting in bursts but fortunately waist high. Then I shot the two who were
rubbing their eyes to clear them. I rose and began running down the hallway. At
the intersection, Corporal Alpert was watching the door to the waiting room and
Private Krebs the rear hallway. Reflexively, his Mfw sung toward me.

"Captain, the hallway’s clear. Lieutenant Elijah and
her team are on their way into the security area," Krebs said, then smiled

"Corporal Alpert, get ready to open the waiting room
door," I said as I approached with Krebs following. At my nod, he jerked
open the door, and I stepped through and to the right, he followed to the left,
and Krebs took a position in the doorway. The room was in chaos. A group of
twenty or more people were huddled together on the floor in the far
corner—presumably people who had been waiting there when the intruders
arrived. A number of bodies lay on the floor—presumably dead. Corporal
Toch had risen to a kneeing position and was firing Mfw pellets; Corporal Behr
lay near him, not moving. In front of CR-3, Sergeants Catz and Nadel were also
using their Mfws. By now, the intruders’ eyes had cleared enough to identify
the shooters, and they were focused on the three Guards while trying to back
down the stairs and having no place to hide.

I began shooting at anyone that looked to be returning
fire. With the combined fire from the six of us, it became a slaughter and the
intruders broke and dashed down the stars—into Lieutenant Elijah’s team.
The encounter lasted less than a minute. When I looked, Alpert was sitting on
the floor holding his ribs. Toch, Catz, and Nadel were functional but looked to
have been hit at least once.

Then I felt the pain in my chest and right leg. Bullets
seldom penetrated our body armor, but that didn’t mean they didn’t do damage
and couldn’t disable or even kill given the right distance and place—like
the head.

My Mfi lit with Eljah’s face. "Captain, the first
floor is clear. We killed four of the shuttle pilots who were in the security
area, but one got away. Orders?"

"Clear the first floor of any non-tribunal personnel.
When you’re ready, I’ll send down the ones from the second floor," I said.
I then contacted the Lion Heart, the Jax cruiser orbiting Halo.

"This is Captain Olmert. How can I help you, Captain
Sapir?"

"We just had an encounter with Captain Gasparo’s
friends. They apparently arrived here on shuttles that came from a cruiser
somewhere in Halo space. One of those shuttles just left the tribunal building.
In all probability, it will make a rendezvous with that cruiser. I wonder if
you might locate that cruiser and reprimand them."