Rise

Chapter Thirty Two: Shadows of the Past

The motor pool stank of gasoline and grease, the stuffy air suffocating. The large warehouse used to store the assortment of vehicles at their disposal was little more than a sheet metal garage, but it was all they had. Matt spied the Bear leaning against the hood of a combat truck, a pick-up modified to carry a mounted machine gun in back. A belt of ammunition was slung across the broad man’s shoulders and in his hands he held a grenade launcher, it’s wide ammo drum resting on his thigh.

“Just a patrol?” Matt asked wearily, surprised that they would be using a weapon of that magnitude.

“Just a patrol,” the Bear replied cooly, climbing into the driver’s seat and mounting his weapon in the centre of the bench. He patted the passenger’s side cushion, or rather the moth eaten fabric cover that was once a cushion, beckoning for Matt to join him. 

Matt climbed in as the Bear started the ignition, the truck’s engine rumbling loudly, like the belly of belly of some great beast hungry for its next meal. And with a start, Bear floored the gas, whipping the truck out of the garage and out onto the earthen road, dust clouding behind them as they thundered out the gates and onto the open plain. 

The Bear’s expression was hard as he focused on the horizon, and Matt tried his best not to stare at him, his suspicions of this patrol only growing. They don’t have enough launchers and ammunitions to send them out on patrol. There’s something I haven’t been told yet. 

“You know you can trust me, right?” The Bear asked. Matt wasn’t even surprised. The old man had a way of reading his mind. 

“Yeah. I know. But does it go both ways?” Matt responded, eyeing that grenade launcher.

“Hey now! I was just about to fill you in. There are a few things that can’t be said where the wrong ears might hear,”

“Isn’t that what briefings are for?”

“Indeed. And I was briefed. So was Miss Swann. I grabbed you and left two hours early. I really hope she doesn’t mind,” The Bear said with a sly grin. Matt thought he heard the echo of a laugh as well. 

“You’re insane,” Matt said, grinning. He leaned back in his seat, his mind a little more at ease. 

“So what does that make you?”

Matt chuckled. He figured he really was insane. “So what are we really doing?” He finally asked.

“Hunter squad went dark last night. They had all of our long range transmitting equipment, but more importantly, they’ve been mapping the Ascendancy’s movements and the borders of their territory. Five years they’ve been running ops and not once has anything like this happened. We lost contact about twelve hours ago, not quite the quickest response, I know, but we had to take precautions. Their final transmission sounded bad, very bad.” The Bear handed Matt an earpiece and tapped his fingers into a small console strapped to his forearm. Matt didn’t have long to gawk at the device before the sound clip started playing.

Heavy breathing permeated the recording, and the sound of the scuffle of someone running haggardly was all Matt could make out at first. Then there was the unmistakable report of gunfire. It was very close to the microphone. Then a voice.

Come in Bird’s Nest! Come . . . Nest! This . . . Hunter-6 - emergency broadcast! We . . . heavy resistance at coordinates . . . Secret op . . . underground . . . unprepared. Survival . . . unlikely. 

More gunfire erupted over the microphone and then a pain-filled grunt. There was a heavy thud that sounded like the mic hitting the ground, and then more gunfire.