Page 7 of Trigger Discipline
He still refused to allow himself to believe they were fighting actualaliens.This had to be some form of unknown technology. A very advanced, but very human, assailant. Maybe North Korea was further along in its weapons development than they knew. It wasn’t as if they were big on the whole sharing thing.
Except that every country had suffered a similar attack. Almost every major city had been under fire, and it was unknown if Washington, DC was the only American city. The…assailantscouldhave moved on after they had mostly subdued the capital.
The only thing Gabriel knew for sure was that he didn’t know enough; it grated on him.
Judd caught his eye. He tapped his ear with an index finger, then gestured all around them.
Why is it so quiet?
Gabriel shook his head. He had no idea. Even the sounds of battle in the distance had faded to nothing. Were they too late? It didn’t feel like it. Dust coated his face and tongue. It tasted fresh, like it was still being kicked into the air. He could smell acrid gunpowder, too. That he expected. The weird thing was ozone. It was strong, almost overpowering. It reminded him of the water plant near his childhood home.
Judd held up his fist. Gabriel caught the move out of the corner of his eye and readied his gun. The scout was still, shoulders tense. He looked left, then right. Gabriel was about to ask him what he’d seen when he heard it.
A shrill whine. It sounded like a high-pitched whistle. Just this side of painful, Gabriel tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. That’s when he heard the clicking. Softer than the whine, it was more like pennies in an empty soda can. Phin hefted his gun and braced.
Ahead of them was a four-way intersection. The stoplight closest to them had been ripped out of the ground, shattered asphalt clinging to the base. The lights were dark. They hadn’t seen any sign of electricity since they hit the ground.
Suddenly, a silver ball about the size of a big dog came whizzing across the rooftops. It zipped over the buildings, as fast as a professionally thrown baseball. Gabriel could barely get a read on it before it was gone, taking the noise with it.
“What the fuck?” Phin whispered under his breath, eyes wide.
“A drone?”
“Assume it’s hostile,” Gabriel ordered.
Judd opened his mouth to say something when the whine returned. Gabriel had a second to think before the sphere thing turned. It almost looked like it saw them as it whizzed by and needed the time to make a U-turn to backtrack. Hovering just above the intersection, Gabriel could just make out a black orb affixed to the front face of the sphere. A camera?
Or the muzzle of a gun.
“Take cover!” he ordered just before the sphere fired.
Grabbing Judd by the back of his plate carrier, he dragged him behind into the alley they had just passed. An explosion rocked on their heels, close enough for him to feel the heat at his back.
They scrambled. Phin and Judd grabbed two ends of a dumpster on wheels, pushing it towards the opening of the alley. Gabriel checked out the rest of the backstreet looking for cover.
Judd settled his gun on his shoulder, looking over the dumpster. “I think we can stop assuming!”
“What the hell was that?” Phin roared, his eyes wide.
“I don’t know, just fucking shoot it!” Judd snapped.
Gabriel found some metal trash cans and dragged them up to make a barricade. The whining clicks were getting louder.
“Where is it storing ammunition?” Phin asked breathlessly.
It was a good question. Gabriel wished he had an answer. For all he knew, that was the drone giving them what amounted to a warning shot across the bow. Was it capable of a second shot? Whatever the answer, they couldn’t stay here.
“What’s the plan?” Judd called over his shoulder, eyes trained on the entrance to the alley.
Looking down to the other side, he noticed it opened out onto some smaller side streets.
“Let’s go.”
“Forrest Gumping it is.”
Behind them, the clicking grew louder.
CHAPTER 4