We The Forlorn (Book #2) (Completed)

17. The Strike

"How are you doing, Helga?" Bo asked over the radio. A moment later, Helga's voice came back with the static that was impossible to reduce when they used the secure channel.

"Oh you know, just trying to make myself look as tempting as possible."

"No one is biting yet?"

"If no one comes after the bait, then that just makes me useless meat sitting out here in the baking heat."

Bo sighed, and glanced at Adam. He ran a hand through the blonde hair that Bo was still not used to seeing yet.

He reached for the radio and brought it to his mouth. "Helga, are you sure you set up the campsite within sight of the guardtower?"

A sigh came over the other side of the radio, and Bo could practically see Helga rolling her eyes. "Yes, Adam, I'm sure."

"All right. Keep checking in at your scheduled times," Adam said, and set the radio down.

Bo chewed on her bottom lip as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the radio. "Do you think they suspect a trap? I mean, having nomads set up camp right in front of their compound, and then all the men wandering off and leaving behind the woman... isn't that a little obvious?"

Adam sighed. "Yes, having the men stay behind with Helga would've been ideal. But I know how the Judge operates. His men would kill anyone who wasn't a woman he wanted for his dungeons. I can't risk the lives of Horace and Jasper like that. We'll have to see if the Judge's greed outweighs his common sense."

"If he's anything like the militia, his greed will always win," Bo replied. "I just hope Helga will be all right."

Adam nodded. "The plan was made to reduce the amount of time she will be in there alone."

Bo paced back and forth as the minutes ticked away. Helga checked in when she was supposed, and Bo breathed a sigh of relief each time. Even though they were hoping the Judge would fall for the bait, she still didn't relish the idea of Helga being in danger of joining the ranks of the women he held captive in his dark compound. If the plan didn't go as they wanted, she might be stuck in there with no way for the Forlorn to rescue her. She'd become a slave to the Judge, and they'd probably never see her again.

Horace, Jasper, and Helga had set up the fake tent in the gray dawn, and Helga had been sitting out there by herself for four hours now. It was getting toward the hottest part of the day, and even though she would be under a tent, Bo knew it must be stifling for Helga. If the compound didn't strike soon, they'd have to send Horace and Jasper back in with extra supplies of water for Helga.

Adam was getting ready to give the order, when the radio crackled to life. It was Khan's voice.

"I see movement," he said. He'd been set up as one of four lookouts, watching Helga and the compound through binoculars. Khan was stationed on the upper deck of the airship, above where Adam, Bo, and the Forlorn that could fit were standing.

"Mr. Silver, please get the airship ready for take off," Adam said. Silver nodded, and bustled through the crowd and out to the upper deck where the controls were. Adam then waved Bo over and handed her a rifle.

"We're going to be going in soon," he said. "Be careful." His hand pressed against hers, his eyes searching hers until she let him know she would do as he said.

"I will," she replied. "But you keep safe, too, or else I'll kill you myself."

Adam flashed her a lopsided smile, before the radio interrupted them again.

"A handful of hoppers inbound," Helga said. "I'm going radio silence now, but I'll let you know when to come in."

"Good luck, Helga," Bo said, and the Forlorn repeated her wish before the radio went dead on Helga's side.

Everyone shook with nervous energy, staring at the radio as they waited for the signal. Khan gave them occasional updates, brief and to the point. He merely relayed the positions of the enemy as they approached the makeshift tents, tore them down, and took Helga with them back on the hoppers. Bo imagined they were a lot more violent than Khan was reporting, but she knew it did no good to rustle the Forlorn with such reports at a moment like this. They were so tense, it was as if something was about to snap in the air. Adam needed to keep that tension in place until it was actually time to launch in to the compound. If they released the energy too early, it could ruin the siege.

"They're about a hundred feet from the gate," Khan said. "Now they've stopped in front of it."

Adam turned to look at the men and women clustered around them with guns in their hands. "Once they let Helga in, she'll throw the grenade. It will distract the guards for a short time, and it will take us around 30 seconds to reach the compound at full-speed from our current position. So, as soon as the signal is given, be ready to exit the ship."

"Affirmative," the Forlorn barked out.

"She's in," Khan said, and it wasn't even a ten seconds later when an explosion cracked through the air. The airship lurched and everyone's stomachs plummeted as they barreled into the sky from behind the dunes that had hidden them. They slammed forward, Silver pressing the airship to go as fast as it could. The metal groaned and creaked around them, and Bo tightened her grip on the rifle.

Just thirty seconds until they were spilling into the enemy compound. Just thirty seconds for some of the people around her to breathe and feel the sun on their skin. Bo's eyes cut to Adam, her heart lurching as she thought of the idea of seeing him dead again. It had happened to her once before, and she knew she couldn't handle it again. She reached for him, her eyes frantic, and grabbed his arm. He looked at her, but had no time to do anything other than nod at her with reassurance.

The airship crashed to the ground, sending everyone tumbling into each other. But then the large doors that were used to load cargo on the ship opened and the inside of the compound revealed itself.

Smoke wafted in as the Forlorn spilled out. Gunshots and the smell of fire met them, and Bo ducked close to the ground as she raced for the nearest cover. Silver offered some cover fire from the airship, focusing on the guardtowers where the heaviest firing power was located. Adam followed Bo closely out, and soon they were joined by Khan as he raced down from the upper decks. He slid to as top by their side behind the corner of a building they were hiding behind. The rest of the Forlorn returned fire as they pressed forward, heading for the buildings where the women would be kept.

Bo, Adam, and Khan did not wait to see how the battle would turn out. Adam signaled for them to follow him as he spun on his heel and raced for the doors of a nearby building.

As the three stepped into the dark interior, leaving behind the loud gunfire, Bo closed her eyes for a second to pray that Helga and the rest of the Forlorn would be all right. They were hopelessly outnumbered, but thankfully most of the militia would be at a different part of the compound than where the Forlorn entered from. As long as they kept moving, as long as they made this fast, they might stand a chance of getting out alive with the captives.

She'd faced worse odds than this, Bo told herself. She just needed to stay close to Adam and Khan, and they'd be all right. She wouldn't let anything happen to them as long as they were with her. She drew in a deep breath, and followed closely as Adam pushed open a door in the empty hallway of the building with stairs that lead down.