The Legacy of the Lioness Page 6

  The scouts looked over the Mauler. “It looks big and powerful but is it quick and mobile?” a scout asked, removing his hood. His long, dark hair was matted and peppered with gray.

  “Plenty,” Luther replied.

  “Good. It will need to be. We’ve been monitoring the raider convoy for some time, and they have no shortage of speed,” he said.

  “Why exactly are they moving south?” Luther asked, crossing his arms.

  “To do what raiders do, pillage, rape, and murder,” Haik said. Luther stared at the scouts, not acknowledging General Haik’s response.

  “In the last several weeks, we’ve observed an influx of wanderers in this region. Many of them come from the east, and these raiders are taking advantage of it,” he said. The scout reported to Luther in a professional manner. His tone and body language seemed to display a sense of respect mixed with caution regarding Luther.

  Haik glanced back and forth at Luther and the scout. He yanked his thumb over his shoulder. “Scouts, great work keeping tabs on the convoy over the last weeks. Let’s make our way to the ambush point and get setup, we’ll talk there,” he ordered. Haik watched Luther as he turned toward the Mauler.

  The scouts loaded up in Haik’s jeeps as Luther clambered inside the Mauler. “What was that about?” Neona asked.

  Luther shook his head. “I don’t know. Seems like he doesn’t want me asking too many questions.”

  “Maybe he’s just intimidated by your presence, his scouts seem quite taken by you,” I said.

  “Let’s hope it’s that simple,” Luther replied. We made our way off the road and into uneven terrain. There was nothing but wilderness, patches of trees, hills, and snow.

  After twenty minutes, the transport truck dipped down into the snow, tossing the troops around in the back. From my perspective it looked like the frame of the truck was touching the snow. I heard some of them laughing as the truck’s rear tires spun. Soran, the nomad with the blond mohawk leaned out of the back, assessing the situation.

  The driver of the transport truck got out, walked around to the front of the vehicle, and put his hands on his hips. “What happened?” Haik radioed.

  I saw the driver bite his lip. He rolled his eyes and held the radio close to his face. “I’m stuck, General.”

  I pulled up next to the driver and looked at him. “Hey. Get back in the vehicle,” I said.

  The middle-aged bald man gave me a puzzled look, and glanced down at the Mauler’s tank tracks. “What? You think you can get me out of this hole?” he asked.

  “I know I can. When you feel the truck level out, give it throttle,” I said confidently. He hesitated then ordered the troops in the back of the transport to get out. They walked fifteen paces away from the transport and stopped.

  I backed up behind the transport. “Luther, let me have that radio,” I said. He handed it over as I eased next to the transport’s bumper. I felt the Mauler’s front grille nudge against the transport. Keeping it in low gear, I slowly accelerated.

  “Isn’t it too heavy to push out of that hole?” Neona asked. I continued gradually pressing the throttle. I could hear the front grille’s metal bending as one of the headlamps shattered.

  Black smoke bellowed from the Mauler’s exhaust as the diesel engine kicked in, assisting the battery motor, and pushing the transport forward. It leveled out. “Give it throttle!” I shouted at the nomad driver through the radio. The transport truck tires spun, slinging snow up on my windshield.

  The nomads started chanting as the transport slowly moved forward. One of them ran up close to the truck. “Come on!” he shouted in a crazed tone, whipping his arms around wildly in a circular motion as if he was assisting us.

  “Oh, that’s what we’ve been missing, telekinesis,” Leo said.

  Suddenly, the transport lurched out of the hole as the nomads erupted, cheering loudly.

  “Nice work,” Luther said. I heard him chuckle under his mask. Soran walked over to the Mauler. He stopped, looking up at me. He cracked a smile, double tapping the tank tracks with his fist before loading back up in the transport.

  The radio beeped as I handed it back to Luther. “We can do without running into any more holes. Follow directly behind us and that won’t happen,” Haik said in a condescending tone.

  “THERE, THAT MUST BE the place,” I said. In the distance, I observed three mountains. The two on the right were much larger.

  General Haik’s jeep slowed as we approached the valley between the larger mountains. I noticed the path between them was about twenty meters wide. There was a small rocky footpath to the left that was elevated above the valley about seventy meters. The convoy stopped, and the nomads began to file out of the transport truck.

  Haik walked around the back of the transport truck with Kodiak in tow. “First things first, I want that fifty caliber machine gun set up on the mountain’s ledge, facing down into this valley. Secondly, I want snipers all along the ridge on both mountains, spaced evenly apart. When the Engineer brings his vehicle through this path, the raiders will be hot on his trail,” he ordered.

  I saw some of the nomads talking among themselves in the back of the transport truck. One of them rolled his eyes as General Haik spoke. They didn’t seem thrilled about the strategy, or maybe it was the blizzard conditions.

  General Haik and Kodiak split away from the group to talk in private. After several minutes, Haik nodded toward our vehicle. Kodiak branched off and walked around to Luther’s side, looking up at him. “Permission to come aboard, sir?” he asked, flashing his blackened teeth. Luther and I met eyes.

  Luther opened his firing port. “The door directly behind me. Get in,” Luther ordered. Something seemed off about Kodiak.

  “Xena,” I said. She immediately slumped down in the very back seat as Kodiak climbed on the Mauler’s tank tracks. “Leo, keep your eyes on him,” Luther whispered.

  “Understood, sire,” Leo replied. Kodiak opened the door and sat beside Leo. Snow flurries whipped inside as he closed the door.

  “Whew, I don’t know about you Legion folks, but I’m ready for the beach after all this cold weather,” he joked. I could smell his body odor immediately as he rubbed his hands together.

  He leaned back in his seat, unaware that Xena was ducked down in the row behind him. “Now, look at us, we’re all one big happy family, aren’t we? Legion and Nomads holding hands in harmony. After all these years,” Kodiak proclaimed, chuckling. His red eye glowed in the dimly lit interior. No one said a word. Luther turned around in his seat to look directly at him, while I watched him in the rearview mirror.

  “Did General Haik instruct you to ride with us?” Luther questioned.

  “The General leaves the choice to you, Engineer. If you want me to tag along and help you track down the raiders, I can. The scouts gave us a general location where they are, which I can tell you. However, the main reason the General sent me here is to reiterate the plan... so that there are no, de-vi-ations,” he replied.

  “Go on,” Luther said.

  “Right. If you look straight ahead at the valley, it’s obvious that this is the route you’ll take to bait the raiders into our ambush. Our weapons are angled so that you need to make a southern approach. This is important. If you pass the valley in the heat of the moment, it could spell disaster for all of us, but especially you. It’s unlikely we’ll be able to provide cover for your vehicle unless you come from the south,” he explained.

  “That won’t be a problem,” I said. There were plenty of visual markers around, there was no way I would overlook this area.

  He nodded slowly. “Good, that’s real good,” he said, panning around the interior of the vehicle. He ran his finger across the roofline. “Wow, never seen anything like this before. I’d always heard the Legion was leaps and bounds beyond everyone else in this region, with all your fancy weaponry, underground railways, and—”

  “When do we leave?” Luther interrupted.

  Kodiak stared ahea
d at Luther. He paused for a few moments. “It will take us the rest of the evening to set up. The scouts will head out later to relocate the raiders to ensure our intelligence is accurate. In the morning, you will receive that updated location data and embark on your mission an hour after first light, just as we planned,” he said.

  “Straightforward enough,” Luther said.

  “Just decide whether you want me to ride along with you before nightfall,” Kodiak reminded.

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll be in touch,” Luther concluded. There was a long pause as we waited for Kodiak to reach for the door handle beside him, but he didn’t.

  I thought it was odd, Kodiak never seemed this confident around Luther. He glared at him for a few moments, and then looked at Leo.

  Kodiak grinned. “Wondering why I’m still here?”

  “The thought crossed my mind,” Neona spoke up.

  Kodiak laughed. “Well-well. Do any of you play cards? Texas hold ‘em, blackjack, anything like that?” he asked. Leo and Neona looked at one another confused.

  Kodiak interlocked his fingers. “I used to play cards quite often myself. There’s a phrase you’re probably familiar with—ace in the hole.”

  “I know it. What’s your point?” Neona asked.

  Kodiak smiled. “You know it’s funny, not that long ago, we received a visitor at our cozy mountaintop resort.”

  I glanced at Luther. “Is that supposed to be unusual?” I asked.

  “Not really, but this time it was. This time it was someone we never expected to see,” he said.

  “Why?” Leo asked

  “It was one of your people,” Kodiak said.

  “From the Legion?” Luther asked as he tilted his head at Kodiak.

  Kodiak smirked. “Yep. He showed up half-dead on our doorstep, barely able to speak,” Kodiak said plainly. He leaned his head back, screeching his fingernail along the roof.

  “Stop that,” Luther commanded.

  Kodiak looked forward. “Oh. I’m sorry. Back to what I was saying. Strangely enough, our visitor from the Legion claimed to be exiled... by you, Engineer,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Luther.

  Luther shook his head and sighed. “Senator Barrus,” he said.

  “Ding. Ding. Ding,” Kodiak pointed upward and smiled. Neona and Leo’s eyes widened as they looked at one another. I bit down hard on my lip. I had forgotten about the Senator completely.

  “Did he survive?” Luther asked.

  “For a while. Yeah. I’m sure you’ll be distraught to know that the Senator had a terrible case of frostbite. We removed one of his feet and both hands, but worse than that, he had pneumonia. He only lived a couple of days under our care. Terrible to see a man suffer in agony like that,” Kodiak said, frowning.

  Luther shifted his eyes away from Kodiak. “And Barrus told your people why he was exiled?” Luther asked.

  There was a long pause before Kodiak looked up at Luther. “No. He didn’t tell my people much of anything. He mostly screamed in agony as they sawed his hands and foot off. Unfortunately, we don’t have much morphine these days.”

  I gulped as Kodiak assessed Luther’s stoic reaction. The old sniper popped his knuckles and snickered under his breath. “Barrus really didn’t get to tell my people much... but he did tell me a few things,” he said, grinning. My heart began to race as Kodiak met eyes with each of us.

  “I... know... a... secret,” Kodiak sung. “Wanna guess what it is?” he asked.

  Leo slowly removed his sword from his belt. Under his coat, he aimed it at Kodiak. Luther cleared his throat. “I get the feeling you’re coming to us about this in private for a reason. You’re the only one who interrogated Barrus? You’re the only one that knows this... secret?” Luther probed. I glanced over my shoulder at General Haik as he ordered the nomads to position their weapons on the mountain.

  “Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I’ve told other nomads to ensure my safety, just in case you were to react with hostility. I know enough about you knights, how decisive and ferocious you can be when crossed, especially you, Engineer. One would be wise to protect themselves,” Kodiak warned.

  “But how would any of the nomads know what Barrus said is true? If he was exiled by the Legion, then obviously his intent would be to cause harm to the Legion, by any means necessary, lying included,” Luther challenged.

  “Ah, that would normally be a good defense, but Senator Barrus swore to me that there are witnesses to this secret.”

  “What secret? Stop playing games,” Leo challenged.

  Kodiak leaned forward, glaring at Luther. “Don’t play dumb with me. He killed our Warden!” Kodiak raised his voice. I gritted my teeth. Kodiak wasn’t bluffing that he knew something, and Senator Barrus did about as much damage as he could in his final act of vengeance.

  No one said a word for several moments. “And I’ll take your silence as an admission of guilt. I might not be able to prove this yet, but if I tell General Haik and our men, they’ll want you to go to trial and prove your innocence, and that’s the best-case scenario,” Kodiak stated.

  “I don’t have a damn thing to prove to you or any of your people,” Luther said.

  “Then you would risk war between our two colonies?” Kodiak asked. “Think carefully Engineer. Barrus was confident there were several in the Legion that would testify against you about your admission to killing the Warden. Apparently, you viewed our Warden as a war criminal because of something he did many years ago? Under the control of the Architect? Who were you to judge and execute a man who turned his own life around, along with so many others? Huh?” Kodiak threw up his hands, baiting Luther to answer. I gathered Kodiak wanted Luther to elaborate and defend his reasons for killing the Warden to incriminate himself, but Luther stayed quiet.

  Leo looked at Luther as if to request permission to kill Kodiak. Luther shook his head slowly.

  “Hm.” Luther tapped his metallic fingers on the seat in front of him as he gazed through Kodiak. “Look at you, the old, unsuspecting sniper in a position of power suddenly. You hold the key to peace, and you toy with it like a child.”

  “Not a toy, as I said, more like an ace in the hole. You understand what that feels like don’t you, Engineer? Of all your political adversities that have met the end of your sword over the years, surely many of them were caught by surprise at some point,” Kodiak stated.

  “My question is, why are you keeping this information secret from your general?” Luther asked.

  Kodiak held up his index finger. “Ah. Now, we’re getting to the meat and potatoes. The reason I haven’t told them is because I’m very, very smart. In case you haven’t noticed, we nomads aren’t exactly happy with our current leadership... accommodations,” Kodiak said, glancing past Luther at General Haik.

  “I suspected,” Luther replied.

  “Now, I’m a diplomatic man, and I realize that making an enemy out of the Legion is a huge gamble. Haik’s not that smart. Here’s what I propose; you and your knights help me remove General Haik from power tomorrow, and we’ll remain allies,” Kodiak offered plainly.

  “Wait. What?” Leo asked.

  “You mean murder your general?” Luther confirmed.

  “Did I stutter? We’re not going to ask nicely. Of course, we must kill him, but the only way to do it is by making it look like an accident, and you will help me,” he said.

  Luther shook his head slowly and met eyes with Neona, Leo, then me. “Let’s hear your scheme,” he said. My head whipped toward Luther in disbelief.

  Kodiak looked at me. “After you get the raider convoy’s attention, it will be chaotic as they chase after you. When you drive this vehicle back through the valley, I want you to make it look like you lost control,” he said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  I arched an eyebrow. “Huh? You want me to run over the General? He will be too high up on the mountain. The Mauler doesn’t have wings,” I said.

  Kodiak chuckled. “Listen up, driver. You can’
t see it from here, but the incline isn’t that steep. I want you to drive along the side of this cliff and get near General Haik. That’s it. When you do, he’ll be caught in the crossfire from our snipers on the other side of the mountain, completely accidental of course,” Kodiak said, smiling.

  “And what guarantee do we have you won’t double-cross us after you’re finished plotting against your own leader?” Luther asked.

  “There’s no guarantee but think about it. If any knights end up dead, I know the Legion will be at our doorstep. I can’t risk that.” Kodiak winked at me. “You just get close to General Haik and it’ll all be over.”

  “This is insane,” I muttered. “Luther, you can’t be entertaining this nonsense?” I questioned.

  Kodiak chuckled. “Of course he is. If he doesn’t go along with what I’m offering, I’ll tell Haik who killed the Warden. It’s possible he’ll execute you before we even get back.”

  “But you just said you don’t want war? Executing us would certainly pit our colonies against one another anyway. Thousands would die,” Luther challenged.

  “And that’s exactly why you must take my offer. It’s our best bet. Even if you leave now, I’ll tell Haik and that would be an admission of guilt. He’ll march our army against the Legion win or lose. He’s a fool and you know it. But you can prevent this, Engineer. Without Haik in command, your secret stays safe with me and there will be no war,” he said.

  “And how will you have the power to ensure this?” Luther asked.

  Kodiak put his hands on his chest. “Because I’ll be in charge.”

  “I saw that coming a mile away,” Leo said, rolling his eyes.

  “And I’d wager the Engineer did as well. How many have died by your hands simply because they thought they might offer a different path or ideals? You should have killed Senator Barrus and not left it to chance—”

  “Silence!” Luther roared and ignited his sword, stabbing it through his seat. The fiery blade stopped centimeters from Kodiak’s stomach as he leaned back, panting heavily. His eyes widened as Luther slowly pushed the sword toward him, sizzling his white coat.