Outside Ceuta

Northern Morocco

Dorian watched the wooded expanse fly by below him. Ahead, through the helicopter's windshield, he saw flashes in the distance, like fireflies in the night. Soon they would join the battle, and victory would follow soon after.

He pulled his helmet on. "Comm check, Strike Team Delta, this is General Sloane."

The four helicopters answered his call.

Sloane relaxed against the seat cushion. He watched the flashes a while longer and wondered what Johanna was doing, what she was wearing, what she was reading.

What was happening to him? Attachment. Sloppiness. Weakness. He would have to get rid of her when he returned.

The first bullets sprayed the metal scaffolding as David and Kamau reached the bottom.

They formed up, standing back to back, pressing into each other just enough to know where the other was, and opened fire. The empty sh.e.l.ls fell to the ground as they jerked left and right.

Immari infantry poured out of the barracks surrounding the command tower, and David and Kamau cut down wave after wave of soldiers. But they kept coming. If the Immari reclaimed the command center, they would likely repel David's forces and hold Ceuta. A group of Immari soldiers took up position across the yard and began focusing their fire on David and Kamau.

David began sidestepping to the building opposite the control tower, hoping to get to cover. Kamau matched his movements.

David's earpiece came to life. "Achilles, Ajax. I have the Myrmidons. We're closing on your position."

"Copy, Ajax," David said. "The sooner the better." He fired another blast until his automatic rifle clicked. He quickly reloaded and opened fire again.

Three ma.s.sive explosions lit the night sky, then rose into a fire that burned over the water. Dorian could see the outline of Ceuta base now.

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Dorian asked.

"Probably another rail gun barrage from the wall," the pilot said.

"Probably not, you idiot. It's burning over the water. Who fired those shots?"

"The attacking tribesmen?" the pilot half-said, half-asked.

Dorian's mind raced. These barbarians-on horseback. Would they attack an incoming plague barge? Unlikely. Something was wrong.

"Strike Force Delta, hold your position, repeat, halt your a.s.sault on Ceuta."

The helicopters flew on into the night, barreling toward the burning base and the mysterious fire in the water.

He grabbed the pilot's shoulder. "Take us down. Take us down." The pilot complied, and the helicopter nose-dived into the trees below.

"Strike team-"

The lead helicopter exploded and the two beside it instantly burst into flames. Shrapnel sprayed Dorian's helicopter. The rotors sputtered and it began to spin. Smoke filled the cabin and Dorian felt flames and heat from the top of the helicopter. The trees rushed up and he felt branches reaching in, and then he was flying, falling, outside the helicopter.

David fired the last round from his rifle, and drew his sidearm. They were coming too fast for him to keep up. Kamau spun around and fought side by side with him, cutting down a row of soldiers rushing out of the barracks. They were never-ending.

David's sidearm clicked. He didn't have another magazine. Kamau stepped in front of him and continued firing.

David activated his radio. "Ajax, Achilles. The Trojans are about to overrun our position."

Kamau slammed back into him, throwing David to the ground. He could hear Ajax responding in his earpiece, but all the words were lost. He grabbed Kamau's rifle and began firing from the ground, then got to one knee. How many rounds did he have left?

He glanced back at Kamau. He was writhing on the ground. David tried to turn him over, hoping to see where he had been hit.

Kate struggled to get up from the floor. The ship was shaking too much. The wail of bending steel was almost deafening. She felt for the pack at her back, making sure she still had it. She crawled over to Martin and pulled him into her lap.

Another shudder rocked the ship, and she was thrown across the room. The scientist, Chang, caught her, breaking her fall. "Are you okay?" he shouted.

The sprinkler system came on and the ship's alarms rang out.

The door swung open, and Shaw ran in. "Come on. We need to get to the lifeboats."

The European scientist followed close behind him. He surveyed the room in horror. "Our research!" he shouted to Chang.

"Leave it!" Chang yelled.

Chang and Shaw took Martin, and Kate followed them.

Bullets whizzed by David from behind and he spun, ready to fire, but it was Ajax and the Berber forces. They rushed past him, consuming the Immari soldiers.

David pulled Kamau to the building wall and rolled him over. There was no blood. Kamau looked up, shaking his head. "Got my vest, David. Just knocked the wind out of me."

Ajax and the Berber commander converged on their position. "What's our status?" David asked.

"We've almost got control of the citadel," Ajax said. "They're starting to surrender, but a few units are fighting to the last."

"Come with me," David said. He helped Kamau to his feet and they entered the barracks.

Outside, the gunfire was dying down. The occasional grenade explosion punctuated the din. They stopped at a large door, and David knocked gently. "It's Achilles."

The door opened, revealing the Berber chief. She wore a blue dress and held a pistol in her hand. She motioned them in.

Major Rukin was gagged and hogtied in the floor. A wry smile spread across David's face. The major struggled at his bindings and screamed into the gag.

David turned to the chief. "You intend to honor your word?"

"I will, just as you have honored yours. No harm will come to those who surrender." The chief glanced at the spot on David's chest where she had branded him. "A true chief never betrays a promise to her people."

David walked to the major and pulled the gag out.

"You're a fool-"

"Shut up," David said. "We have control of Ceuta. The only remaining question is how many Immari soldiers will die tonight. If you go up to the command center with the chief here-" David paused to enjoy the shock on the major's face. "Yes, that's right, she's the chief. It was her daughter, by the way. The Berbers have a long history of female tribal leaders. History and cultural understanding come in handy sometimes. Even in war. If you go with her, and order your remaining troops to surrender, you could save lives. If you don't, that will please her and her people very much, I a.s.sure you."

"Who are you?" Rukin demanded.

"It doesn't matter," David said.

Rukin smiled contemptuously. "Men like you don't win wars like this. This isn't a world for nice guys."

"We'll see about that."

CHAPTER 54.

Plague Barge Destiny

Mediterranean Sea

Kate watched Shaw open another door. He was about to step through it when flames filled the corridor ahead.

"Back!" he yelled as he slammed the door.

Kate glanced behind them. Smoke drifted in at the end of the corridor. She couldn't even see the end of it anymore. Fire was consuming the ship, bearing down on them, suffocating them.

They were trapped.

Above her, Kate heard debris falling onto the floor. She felt the heat from the ceiling. They would be crushed, or burned to death, or suffocate. There was no escape-they were too deep inside the ship.

Shaw grabbed her arm, opened a door, and led her deeper into the ship.

"We can't go-"

"Shut up," he said as he jerked a cabin door open and practically threw Kate inside. Chang helped Martin in behind them and the other scientist followed.

"We can't stay here-" Kate began, but Shaw was out the door, which he slammed behind him.

Kate jerked the door handle, but it was jammed. Shaw had locked them in.

The courtyard inside the base's citadel was almost quiet. Here and there, gun battles still raged where Immari soldiers and Berber fighters clashed. David walked behind the chief and three of her men, one of whom was pulling Major Rukin by the arm-inflicting pain with every step.

To David's right, the ma.s.sive plague barge burned on the water. Occasionally an explosion went up.

Casualties of war, David told himself. Kamau had said that they were all enemy combatants-Immari soldiers or new recruits who had pledged: loyalists. There had been no alternative.

Kate heard a series of three explosions. The room was pitch black, and inside, the only sounds were the occasional grunt or cough from Martin, Chang, and the European scientist.

Kate heard clanging at the door, and it opened just as she reached it. Shaw grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

She looked back, hoping Martin was behind her, but she couldn't see anything. The smoke was too thick. It burned her eyes and filled her lungs.

She coughed and hacked as Shaw dragged her. He was going to rip her arm off.

The darkness and smoke ebbed at the intersection of the next corridor. Kate heard and felt the ma.s.sive fire burning before she saw it.

The fire burned up one side of the hallway, licking the ceiling and reaching for the other side. Past the flames she could see the open air. The ship had been blown to pieces. Shaw had used grenades to clear a path. It was as though some giant creature had taken a bite out of the side of the ship, leaving a jagged hole.

Shaw pulled her toward the flames.

David leaned against the doorframe of the operations center at the top of the control tower.

One of the Berbers ripped the tape off Rukin's mouth and shoved him toward the microphone.

Rukin eyed the chief, then David, and finally began speaking into the microphone. "Attention all Immari forces. This is Major Alexander Rukin. I am ordering you to surrender immediately. Lay down your weapons. Ceuta has fallen..."

David tuned Rukin's words out as he surveyed the carnage the screens depicted: around the base, beyond the wall, and on the water.

What have I done? he wondered. What you had to, he told himself. Across the room, Kamau's eyes met his. The African seemed to know what David was thinking. He gave him one slight nod.

Kate closed her eyes as Shaw pulled her past the fire, and then she was at the edge of the hall and the walls on each side of her were gone and they were falling- She landed hard on her feet; her knees buckled and she rolled across the deck. Shaw was already getting to his feet. The guy was like a super-soldier. Above her, Kate saw Martin, Chang, and the other man fly out of the flaming opening, falling toward the deck below. They crashed down around her a second after she rolled out of the way. The three men were alive, but Kate suspected there were broken bones. She threw her backpack off and began crawling over to them, but an explosion overhead sprayed pieces of the ship into the air. The debris fell in piles, raining down on them. Kate curled into a ball, trying to protect herself.

Shaw pulled her up. "We have to jump!" He pointed at the water below.

Kate's eyes went wide. It was twenty feet or more. A ma.s.sive fire burned over the water, ringing the ship. "No. Freaking. Way."

He grabbed her backpack and threw it over, then grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the edge. Kate closed her eyes and inhaled.

David took the Styrofoam cup of coffee from the soldier and thanked him.

He sipped it as he watched the screens around the room. The disarmed Immari soldiers were filing into the citadel. They would be the new inhabitants of the pens.