***
Kaspar didn’t know how much longer he could fend off the squad of Agents who poured through the room moments before. He lost track of how much time had passed since Harvey and the other one left to raise the flag. Clarke was ducked and cowering behind a desk next to Kaspar as he raised the barrel of the Kriss over the top of the desk. He blind fired in a desperate attempt at keeping the enemy at bay until help arrived.
The mag in the submachine gun was exhausted. It took several clicks until Kaspar realized he needed to reload. After he pressed the magazine release he reached in his flak jacket for another mag. A wave of shock hit him like a freight train. He had exhausted his supply of mags for the Kriss. He cursed under his breath and slid the submachine gun across his shoulders to his back. He then reached down and yanked the P99 handgun from his thigh holster.
“I’m not going to let you die, Robert!” Kaspar cried.
Clarke said nothing.
Kaspar popped up from his cover and immediately ducked back down when a wave of automatic gunfire came in his direction. He slammed his fist against the metal desk behind him. There would be no way out of this unless they got help. This must be the night when he could rejoin Krys and Mother in the afterlife. They wouldn’t have to wait long for him, after all. If he raised his head, he knew that he was a dead man, but he couldn’t think about that. It wouldn’t be long before the Agents converged on his position and, if he was going to die, he was going out like a man and not a coward. He took a deep breath.
With both hands firm in their grip of the P99, he prepared himself to die.
.67
Before Kaspar could rise up to face the Agents, he could hear the sound of gunfire coming from his left. The two rebels caught the Agents off guard. They quickly turned their attention to the back entrance to the lab. Kaspar took this moment to move up and take his shots at a few Agents while they were focused on the new combatants. With the sight of his gun aimed on the center mass of an Agent, he fired the semi-automatic four times, taking that Agent out of the fight. Agents returned fire and he moved back down.
Harvey and his partner took out four of the Agents with their element of surprise. They then ran in different directions searching for cover. The five remaining Agents regrouped and started to scatter about as well. Kaspar was able to catch one off guard and took him out. Once again, he was forced to duck back down as the enemy returned fire.
There was a newfound resolve deep within Harvey. He simply wasn’t going to die after raising that flag. With a swift motion, he moved up from cover, found an Agent who moved up at the same time, then took him out with a quick four round burst from his Kriss. His partner moved up and tried to find a target. He couldn’t get a shot off, however, as a flurry of rounds were shot his way. He ducked back down and took several, quick breaths.
“Just stay down,” Kaspar said with a calm voice to Clarke.
“Okay,” Clarke replied.
Kaspar stayed as low as he could and moved left. He was out in the open for a moment as he moved forward. Right before he reached the desk to his left, an Agent moved up and fired at him. The rounds ate away at the tile floor underneath as he moved to the safety of cover.
Harvey heard the shots and moved up. He saw the Agent who was firing at Kaspar and took him out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another Agent come out of his cover spot. He took him out as well. Rapid flashes like a strobe light could be seen to his right. Harvey tried to get down in time but a bullet grazed his cheek and ate away at the skin. Through the torn black cloth of his Balaclava, a long, thin streak of blood flowed down. He could hear the cries from his partner beside him.
“NO!” the partner cried. He moved up from his cover and saw the Agent who was taking shots at Harvey.
Both the silent one and Kaspar fired their guns into that Agent. After the Agent took about fifteen rounds to the chest and a couple to the head, he dropped to the ground dead. There were no more Agents left in the room. Kaspar felt a huge sigh of relief hit him as his breathing started to move back to a normal rate.
The silent one dropped his gun and ran through the smoke filled room towards Harvey. Harvey held his hand on the wound of his cheek and was breathing quickly. At the same time, Kaspar moved over to check on Clarke. Kaspar started to think about when his luck would run out. There was simply no way in his mind that he could have survived so many close calls. It looked like his two ladies would have to wait just a little longer. He reached down to help Clarke off the ground.
“You need any more time on the computer?” Kaspar asked.
“No,” Clarke said as he walked towards the computers. He unhooked his hard drive from the USR’s computer. “What I’ve got is damning, and something needs to be done about it. I’ll tell you all about it on the way back.”
On the other side of the room, Harvey’s partner bent down in front of him. He tried to get a closer look at the wound. He moved the leftover’s hand away from it.
“Looks like a graze,” the partner said. “You’ll be fine.”
“Who are you?” Harvey asked with pain in his voice.
The silent one took off his Balaclava.
“We’ve got to get out of here, Father.” Buck said.
“Buck, I thought it was you. How did you…”
“I bribed one of your guys to let me take his place. Six packs of smokes.”
“You don’t smoke, son.”
Buck smirked as he pulled his mask back on. “They were yours.”
Harvey smiled underneath the mask. “Help your old man up, would you?”
Buck reached his hand down and gripped his father’s. With a thrust backward, he helped Harvey to his feet. The leftover tapped his son on the shoulder.
“You fought well, son.” Harvey said. He still had a smile that beamed underneath the mask, ignoring the pain that came with it.
“You, too.” Buck replied.
“Wait a minute,” Harvey said as they moved their way towards the stairs. “You told me ‘fuck you’.”
“Yes, I did. Sorry about that. Heat of the moment.”
“We’ll talk about it later.”