The Wasteland Soldier, Book 1, A Fractured World

Twenty Two

"Captain, this is General Nuria, pull your men back."

There was silence beyond the door. Nuria knew they were preparing to enter the room.

"I have given you a direct order, Captain. Pull your men back."

Again the silence, and then she heard the Captain issue the order and the shuffle of boots as his men retreated back to the stairwell. Tomas ran to the window and saw hundreds of soldiers in the street below, forming a ring around the building. Beyond, he could see citizens looking towards the House of Leadership, many of them pointing.

"Who are you?" whispered Nuria. "Were you hired to kill Gozan? We spoke of a bold statement but ..."

The three of them looked at her with puzzlement. Tomas reloaded his crossbow and said, "We need to get to the basement."

"Captain," said Nuria, through the closed door. "I trust you have withdrawn your men?"

"Yes, General," he responded.

"You need to follow my orders very closely. Chett will need brave men today. The Chancellor is dead. The Ministers of the House of Leadership are dead. Take your men from this building and onto the streets. Calm any trouble with minimal force. No live weapons. Do you understand these instructions so far?"

"Yes, General, but ... I have bodies everywhere; ministers, stewards, clerks, I cannot just walk away."

"Captain, you have to. I am giving you orders. I am the highest ranked officer in the city and you have your orders. I also want a detail of men sent to Hamble Towers. No one is allowed access until further notice."

"Yes, General."

"And, Captain, ensure that no one leaves, either."

"Yes, General."

Stone heard the man sprint back down the corridor. He counted at least two other men. The Captain had not been alone.

"Did you come through the tunnels?"

Ignoring her question, Stone edged open the door and peered along the corridor. He saw bodies. No soldiers.

"I know about the tunnels. You don't need to ..."

Stone clamped a hand around Nuria's neck and, as she attempted to wrestle free, placed his revolver at the base of her spine.

"Walk," he said.

She led them slowly along the corridor, the barrel pressing into her lower back. She saw the bodies lying twisted and bleeding in the side offices. She felt nothing. She had met nightly with the real SOT whilst managing the fake SOT and, despite wanting to strip the city back to its roots and rebuild, no one had ever been committed to wholesale slaughter. This had been her desire, a radical shake of the Chett tree, the only solution, violence to end the violence that had infected the city for years. She had declared an interest in hiring mercenaries to complete the task but it had been voted down. It had been agreed, instead, to strike where it would hurt the most, with the withdrawal of workers from the plants and factories. She had allowed Jorann's murder to implicate Gozan and today the weapons used that night would soon be uncovered in his private rooms within the House.

They reached the stairwell and saw two Red Guard soldiers, both armed with automatic weapons and holding round shields.

"I ordered you to withdraw," she said. "I am your General and you are being given a direct order to withdraw from the building. Help Captain Andozini."

The men wore body armour and helmets with lowered visors. They looked up at the dishevelled man in the hat and he stared back down at them, his face grim. They saw he had a weapon jammed into the back of their General.