King David had enjoyed an evening in Portworth after visiting a factory that made some tidal energy platforms. The visit to the factory had been rather run of the mill, he'd meet with workers, spoken with bosses of some other local businesses about their ideas and concerns for the energy sector and then eaten some of the driest chicken known to man kind in the factory canteen with some of the young apprentice workers the company had hired. After he'd meet with some of the navies senior officers and thankfully had a much nicer dinner in the officers mess. He'd been happily asleep on a belly of fine venison and a few glasses of best Cenneg single malts when the phone in his room in the mess rang. "Your Majesty we're sorry to wake you but there is an urgent matter" The voice on the phone began to explain, it took him a few moments to recognise it was that of Quinn Germaine, his head of Royal Household. "I've a Steward on his way up to escort you to the Naval Command Centre."
David had just swung his legs out of bed when there was a knock of the door that began delicately and then proceeded to increase in volume until the King opened the door. "Your Majesty" The man held a tray with a cup of coffee on it and a plate of toast. "I'll wait outside" he added once he had placed the tray on the table in the lounge area. The King checked the time 1:30am and sighed in the knowledge that if this was something that couldn't wait until his scheduled 6am wake up call then something major must be happening.
"A million pounds Rokkenjima have done something stupid" David said to himself as he took a quick bite of toast and a swig of the coffee as he proceeded to follow the Steward down the stairs and into a waiting SUV which his protection detail where already assembled in. The King took his appointed seat in the rear and as the car began to take them to the opposite side of the base where the Command Centre was Quinn turned round from her position in the front seat and began telling the King what was dragging him from his sleep. "I had a call from Brigadier Corey, they have what he called" She scanned her notes, "reliable, actionable intelligence that would give them a potential shot at Barren." The Kings eyes widened.
"Are we in a position to take action?" David asked.
"Corey thinks so Your Majesty" Quinn said optimistically.
"Well we better get this show on the road" David said feeling his pulse beginning to race. They pulled up at the Command Centre, a small squat whitewashed building that stood on a hill overlooking the dockyards where several of the Navies ships were bobbing away in the moonlight. The King was shown straight in and down to the bunker that was set up as a place from where the Admiral of the Fleet could conduct major operations, today though the seat at the head of the table was set up for David who could see banks of video screens showing various others and most surprisingly was a group of three Red Legionnaires sat making a brew on a hillside somewhere all David could see was feet as they stood around the little stove. "Whose on four?" David asked pointing to the numbered monitors.
"That'll be Major Redfern Your Majesty" Quinn said as she placed a hefty pack of documents down in front of the King who was busy getting settled.
"The Big Boss is on" David heard one of the Legionnaires say and then watched as the camera that was mounted on one of the Legionnaires helmets was lifted and spun round revealing Alex Redfern "Good Morning Your Majesty" He said as he was clearly walking away from the others in his squad where he found a rock to use as his desk as he sat for the briefing.
"Good to see you Alex" the King said and was about to start a conversation with his friend when Grace Yacobs, one of the Kings most trusted intelligence analysts entered the room.
"Sorry to interupt" She said without no hint of real reluctance to halt the social occasion. She put down several folders and unrolled a map. "We're time critical on this one." She added and it seemed like everyone understood the urgency and so went silent, the King pulling his seat closer to the table. "The situation is that we've an asset entrenched with one of the anti-government milita units in Mersch. We've known for about six months that the group and the Borlanders have been exchanging weapons and we've had word that Barren himself has just visited to secure the sale of some missile systems for the Borlanders. Barren is expected to be heading back through the Alps in the next two hours and we've got the tip off of his route. He's coming through the Dalton Goat tracks, its a common route used by smugglers as its prone to rockfalls so most normal traffic avoids it. We've a genuine chance to get a shot on the guy."
"OK, then lets sanction an air-strike" David urgently spoke.
"Its not that simple" Alex said turning helmet cam so that the King and others could see the scenes, "Its gash weather up here. Visibility is a few hundred meters and we couldn't reliably call an air strike in, its a job for people on the ground and we just happen to be two passes east chasing down leads of a series of Borlander caches." Redferns camera showed a thick fog that was common in the Alps. "We've the gear to put a hit in but we need to be making a move. I'd also like the rapid action team from Keepton on standby."
"We don't need to discuss this" David said determinedly, "put the brew away, get your gear and get going. If we've a chance to get him then we take it. You need anything Alex then you call for it and it'll happen. Get hunting."
"Roger that" Alex said and as he donned his helmet the figures of Barks, Saxby and Rowe were already pulling their packs on steaming mugs being left behind. It would be touch and go but the boys were confident they could cover the distance required, especially because the majority of the tab would be done without the need for being tactical. The team were around an hour and a half of hard scurrying away from the Dalton Pass, giving them just half an hour to recce the area and set up their attack. The hike was done largely in silence, not for secrecy but just to allow each man to keep his breath for the fast paced hike. More or less bang on schedule the four men crested the ridge and could see the single track winding road beneath them. Redfern knew the path reasonably well having used it several times himself during the regency crisis. He knew there was another path around 2km further along that would have been the one they'd likely have turned off onto and Redfern was doing his best in the gloom to begin formulating a plan. He had contemplated putting something in the road but knowing their luck a poor farmer coming to feed his cattle would be the guy coming along and in this weather they'd never know and so they'd have to rely on the element of surprise and skilled marksmanship. "Rowe, you're a hundred yards up the road, you're our eyes. I need you to give us a go no go when they reach us. Take the grenade launcher and once you tell us to engage its likely they'll stop, if its one vehicle hit it, if its multiple hit the back one, lets try boxing them in. Saxby you take the sniper rifle. Aim for the engine, then the driver of the lead vehicle, then any poor sod you can. I'm going to stick a glow stick in that dry stone wall. When the lead vehicle gets level with it I'll call out, Saxby take your shots, me and Barks will be left and right flank respectively. Barks you take the GPMG and sweep from centre of the vehicle forwards, I'll sweep centre rearwards. Everyone good."
"Roger, lets kill the bastard" Barks said with genuine excitement in his voice.
The people hurried to their positions and got set up, Redfern placed a glow stick in the wall and from a position just about twenty meters away he could just about see it, luckily so could Saxby who had zeroed in on a patch of asphalt that seemed to stand out from the rest and would act as a nice sighter for him. Now it was just about waiting, they'd have fifteen minutes if everything they'd been told was correct.
Twenty five minutes later nothing had happened, there was the very first hint of light creeping into the world and the feint glow of headlights on fog indicated something was coming. "Two Landies, three up in the first, four up in the second" Rowe had spotted it coming and using a spotters scope had zoomed in. He was trying to spot Barren but there was no chance, he'd have to go with his gut. "GO!GO!GO!" he took a gamble knowing it would be worth it.
"Roger" three voices came back on the comms and then just a few seconds later a gunshot rang out and Rowe knew that Saxby had taken his first shot, Rowe posted up took aim at where he imagined the rear vehicle would be and hit the trigger on the grenade launcher. Already a second sniper rifle crack could be heard and then the sound of gunfire from the flanks. The sound of bullets bouncing off metal echoed off the steep valley walls. Rowe moved to approach the convoy from the rear, he peeked over the dry stone wall and seeing the vehicles beginning the get riddled he rolled over and took up a kneeling aim and poured fire into the rear vehicle which seemed like it had only been scorched by the grenade. The driver was now trying to inch it backwards with one tyre flopping about as its rubber had been shredded. Rowe aimed roughly for where he imagined the drivers head would be and squeezed the trigger on his assault rifle. The rear left door briefly swung open and he switched his bursts of fire from the imaginery head to the door and a figured flopped out onto the road seemingly hit by gunfire. The rear vehicle was stationary now and on the radio Saxby reported that the first one was likewise stopped. "Barks stay on overwatch, Rowe meet me rear vehicle. Saxby watch for anything coming" The others confirmed their receving of the orders and soon the steady gunfire was silent. The two men meet at the rear vehicle and Redfern opened the door as Rowe took up position to allow him to fire on anything that emerged. Nothing did, Redfern heard groans and grabbed the driver pulling him out the vehicle and dropping him onto the road. He then slid inside and looked at the passenger, he was clearly dead a pair of bullets had passed through his skull. In the rear Alex could see one dead and one moving but from his position couldn't see who it was. "Rowe get the X-Ray" The door swung open and Rowe dragged him out peering at the body a shake of the head indicating it wasn't Barren. The two men were left bleeding at the side of the road, they were weaponless and so with Saxby giving them cover they headed forward to the other praying to get something more. The driver and passenger in the front were dead, each with a bullet from Saxby lodged in their skull. In the back there was groans but no movement and with his heart pounding Redfern dragged the man out, he was covered in blood and three rounds had entered his torso, likely from Barks' machine gun. Redfern dumped him on the ground and pushed the hood on his parka back to reveal the mans face, Rowe saw his Majors face light up. "Got the fucker"
Rowe began removing a medi-pac from his belt kit. "What the hell you doing?" Barks asked now he'd come down and joined them.
"We need to take him in and put him on trial" Rowe idealistically stated.
"Now we need to end him." Barks began removing the pistol from his belt.
"Hold" Redfern stated as he walked a few steps away. He switched radio frequencies. "Operation Aerodrake is a success, we've got Barren in a bad way but salvagable. We can wait for the helicopter to get in now its getting light. Evac him to Keepton and then hand him over for trial." Alex waited but there was nothing but silence on the radio before David's voice came on the airways.
"We don't need a trial. Withhold medical care let the bastard bleed out" David said with a tone in his voice that made Alex think the King was envious that he wouldn't be there to watch it happen. Alex didn't bother to respond and merely walked back to the others and relayed the order.
Alex squated down next to the man, "Hey.....Your Majesty" he poked him with the end of his own rifle. "Look at me." They'd propped him up against the front vehicles rear wheel. "That's it sunshine" Barrens eyes barely opened and even that brought a groan. "Hey.....my names Alex Redfern and I've spent nearly half my life hunting arseholes like you across Mundus. You're dying here today because I wouldn't even waste a Micky Mouse elstaplast on you. So what is going to happen is I'm going to shoot you.....a lot....but not anywhere that'll kill you. We're then going to sit and wait for a helicopter while you leak. By the time it gets here you'll be dead because frankly I'm not hanging around all day wasting my time on you. So before I start shooting you I just want you to know, it was us who killed your kid, it was us who captured that wife of yours we hung and everyone of your buddies who died, it was us. Now if any tin pot wannabe King comes along after you he's going to meet us too and just like you end up nothing but a blood stain on a road." Alex fired a single shot at point blank range into Barrens right thigh and then stepped back. Barks and Saxby each fired shots into his torso while Rowe radioed for the helicopter. They waited for the call to end and then the four of them stood watching for a moment before each fired two more shots into Barren and then Rowe stooped and put some IV lines in as Barren lay there moaning as a pool of blood formed under him. At least this way the Air Force guys picking them up would at least think they'd tried saving the now slowly dying Borlander leader. The others who had been injured were dispatched with single gunshots and by the time the helicopter arrived Barren had seconds left. As the chopper touched down a team of Red Legionnaires piled out the back in a defensive circle. Among them was Captain Peacock who hurried over to Alex.
"Its true then" he said looking down at Barren who as if with perfect timing took his last breath.
"Yep" Alex said gleefully watching Barren shuffle off to spend eternity being punished by the Gods. The two officers shook hands on a job well done and then Peacock produced a body bag from his pouches. The two of them bundled him into the black bag as other Legionnaires began gathering the bodies of the others. Five minutes after the helicopter touched down it was gone leaving a team of four Reds watching the site from discreet positions until the clean up crews arrived from the Army. As they touched down in Keepton FOB it was clear word had got out and the bases garrison had seemingly come out to see the moment. As four of the Reds carried the first of the body bags out the helicopter cheers went round the aviation area as Legionnaires from various units alongside members of the Air Force found themselves high fiving and even hugging. Some closeby even spat towards the body bag. Barren's trip though was not over. From Keepton his body was put onto a plane and flown to Ostlake, by now the King himself had arrived.
Barrens body was taken into one of the medical rooms at the base and through a window the King watched while forensic teams took images and let facial recognition loose on them. Each ping of the computer that announced a finished comparison between videos released by Barren and the body before them indicated it was a match. Each ping was like a fresh wave of celebration inside King David who was watching. "That's the fifth match, I'm pretty sure its him." Three hours later the ultimate in confirmation came through, the DNA comparing the dead man and Kings own DNA showed distant relations but the DNA between the deadman and the child Barren had with his 2nd wife confirmed he was the father. "That's good enough for me." David said as he turned away from the room where Barrens body lay on a metal bed. "Take the body and dump it far out to sea, no grave, no location just get rid" David ordered before pausing just before leaving the room for a final look at his long time foe. "Under no circumstances burn it" He added knowing to the Cult cremation was thought to ensure the soul was released from the body. With that done he returned to his own suite of rooms at Ostlake HQ and there began to write something for real that he had written so many times in his mind before.
