Retired – Chapter Eleven – Un-Fucking-Believable

I had Lizell and Robert under me as pieces of the ceiling plaster fell.

My bob was talking in my ear. “We have a skipper missile strike on the Grand Meeting Hall. All units move the rabbits to warrens.”

Praetorian Guard were moving all around us. They scooped up Robert and Lizell. “Get them to safety. I have a military to command,” I ordered.

Angel was leading them out of the room and into the underground tunnels. I moved out the front door to see the smoking ruin of the meeting hall. If we had not moved the wedding at the last minute, we would have been in there.

I walked up to one of the soldiers standing guard with his rifle. “I need your sidearm, soldier.”

He un-holstered the weapon and gave it to me without comment.

The boom of a drop shuttle coming into the atmosphere was clearly heard over the noise. Then the air-defense cannons opened fire. The pilot was good. He flew a perfect evasive pattern on his way in. Once he dropped low enough, the shuttle opened its bay doors and people flooded out and dropped from the sky. More than a hundred men had parachuted out of the craft.


I moved to the first jeep I saw and commandeered it. As I drove, I spoke over my bob. “We have rats falling from the sky. Secure the palace. All troops converge on my signal. Terminate all targets with extreme prejudice.”

I was getting close enough to see the people falling from the sky. What I saw made me stop the jeep. I pulled the binoculars out of their holder on the dash and focused on the man in the center of the troops.

It was Dundal.

I had seen him die, and his brother as well. Then my eyes picked out a slight difference. This man had a scar on his face. It ran from just below his eye to his chin. They must have been triplets. Identical triplets? How often did that happen?

I pulled the pistol and took aim. It was a long shot at best, but I was going to take the shot anyway. Just before he dropped into the trees I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

I looked down at the gun in my hand. The clip was slightly dislodged. I cursed as I seated it fully and listened to the pulse battery in it charge the system.

I jumped out of the jeep and ran towards the tree line.