Toy Soldiers

by Dabeagle & Ryan Bartlett

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Chapter 11

Sage

I wasn’t surprised to find Cass curled up beside me, sound asleep, when I woke, despite the fact he was supposed to be on watch. He was a civilian; he had no combat discipline. Harley was older; he’d been my squad leader, and the way I viewed our current situation, he was in command. He’d have to talk to Cass, because, make no mistake about it, we were now on a combat footing. If we encountered officers of the Corporation, there would be no negotiating, no talking our way out of things. There would be a fight, and they would kill us or we’d kill them. Our lives hung in the balance, and we couldn’t afford to be lax.

I couldn’t bring myself to wake Cass, though. He seemed so peaceful, and it made his face that much more beautiful. I heard tossing and turning and sat up to find Harley sacked out in the corner. I studied him, taking stock of everything Cass and I discussed the day before, and concluded that yes, Harley was pretty too. His hair was dark and cut short, a soldier’s haircut like mine. His eyes had always been friendly but also held a ferocity that demanded your respect. His body was a work of art, as the demands of our training had sculpted his muscles to perfection.

So why do you look at him and think of hugs and security and look at Cass with carnal desire? It had to be the familial bond. When you’re raised with someone, when you share close quarters and put your lives on the line together, the bonds of brotherhood take hold and are hard to escape. I loved Harley, but it was the love one might have for his family. When I looked at Cass I felt the potential for so much more.

Harley mumbled something in his sleep and tucked his limbs in close. I felt bad. There he lay, alone and cold, while I was bundled up in a heavy coat and had the warmth of Cass’s body. I stood and removed my coat, stooping over Harley to cover him with it like a blanket. I stared at him and wondered if he’d ever shared a kiss before. Surely he deserved to be kissed. He deserved it more than I did, at least to my way of thinking. A brother shouldn’t kiss another brother on the lips, but the cheek wouldn’t be taboo. I leaned down and kissed Harley’s cheek. I experienced a warm feeling, similar to what I’d felt with Cass, but different enough to know our relationship would never be more than familial.

I moved over to the nearest window and peered outside. The field surrounding us was clear, the morning quiet. Just because I couldn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t out there, the nameless agents of the Corporation hunting us like wild animals. I sighed and thought about Green Squad. They were my brothers too, and I’d failed them. I’d set out on this mission to find Harley and save their lives, but I couldn’t do it. Seeing Harley broke my resolve; I loved him too much to ever turn him in, and as I thought about it, I realized it wouldn’t have done any good anyway.

The Corporation was evil; I had the scars to prove it. They’d never shown any concern for my well-being or any of my squad mates in the past. Why should I trust the Director now? If I’m honest with myself, I think I agreed to the mission out of blind hope and desperation, but logic suggested the Squad was probably put to death while I slept in the infirmary. The Director had nothing to gain by sparing their lives. We’d been treated to the most brutal treatments the Corporation could devise and still rebelled. What more could they do to ensure our loyalty now?

All that was left of Green Squad was Harley and I. Together we would make the Corporation pay. We had to; we had to do something. We owed it to our brothers. As I stood watch, I wondered if Harley felt the same way, and I hoped he had some idea of how we could fight them.

“Oh shit,” Cass yawned, providing me with a distraction. “I can’t believe I fell asleep!”

“You aren’t trained for combat. You’re used to soft beds and warm blankets. It will take time for you to adjust to this life,” I explained. “In the meantime, Harley and I will keep you safe.”

“My heroes.” Cass giggled and joined me by the window. “Anything out there?”

“If there had been, I wouldn’t have let you sleep,” I smiled.

“Good point.” Cass smiled back.

“Cass, may I…may I kiss you again? Please?” I blushed.

“Sure you can, Sage. Anytime you want.”

I took his face gently in my hands as he had done with me the day before. I closed my eyes as he taught me, moved in close and promptly bashed his nose with mine.

“Ahhh.” Cass winced, and we both pulled back, rubbing our noses.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered, embarrassed.

“It’s alright. You’re new at this,” said Cass. “Why don’t you let me take the lead for now?”

“Yes, thank you,” I nodded.

“Close your eyes,” Cass smiled.

I complied with his order and soon felt his soft lips against my own. He held the kiss for a few seconds, nibbled softly at my lower lip and held the kiss a few seconds more. Once again my insides turned to mush.

“I can see how that could become an addiction.” I blushed as Cass smiled.

“So, what’s all this stuff?” Cass asked, pointing at the pile of Harley’s gear.

“Ah, that is our standard combat uniform. Camouflage lightweight Nomex survival suit. Nylon web belt. Tactical helmet with night vision, infrared, target assist and heads up tactical display,” I pointed to the different items.

“Jesus, sounds like something Batman would wear.”

“Maybe this Batman works for the Corporation,” I reasoned.

“Batman’s a comic book character, silly,” Cass giggled.

I looked at him with the puzzled expression I was growing accustomed to wearing in his presence when I said, “I don’t…”

“You don’t know who Batman is?”

“No,” I blushed.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Sage. It just makes me think how fucked up this Corporation is. Every kid knows who Batman is but you guys – it’s like you never had a chance to be kids.”

“The Corporation stole our childhood. They took our memories and beat what was left into the shape they wanted,” I agreed.

“It’s just so hard to believe. I mean, how could anyone be so cruel?” said Cass as he pulled me into a hug.

“I don’t know,” I sighed as he rubbed up and down my back.

I held onto Cass, savoring the warmth of his touch as long as I could then turned back to the window. I spent the morning trying to teach Cass what I knew about counter-surveillance. I didn’t know where we were going next, but if I got separated from Cass in a crowd I wanted him to know how to dodge a tail until I found him. It was simple stuff, blending into the crowd, checking your six at regular intervals, but Cass listened attentively and seemed to absorb the things I told him. Before I knew it evening approached, and Harley stirred to wakefulness, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Hey, you’re up.” Cass smiled at him.

Harley ignored him for the moment and turned his attention to me. “Any activity?”

“Negative, all clear,” I replied. Cass was right – I did sound somewhat robotic. While I could teach him how to evade a tail, he would have to teach me to start speaking like a regular kid.

“Very well.” Harley nodded.

“How did your visit with Tim go?” asked Cass.

For a moment Harley’s eyes looked lost. I’d never met this Tim, but he must have been special. I’d never seen a look like that on Harley’s face.

“Fine.” Harley sighed.

“What did he say?” Cass continued.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” said Harley.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” said Cass.

“You recovered your equipment without incident?” I asked. I could sense Harley’s discomfort with the topic of Tim and quickly gave him an out.

“It was exactly as I left it, which is fortunate. I’ll need it tonight.”

“I wish you’d let me help you with whatever it is you plan to do.”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about that, and I will need your help,” said Harley.

“What can I do?”

“What’s in the pack you left behind at the clearing?” said Harley.

“Standard kit plus the beacon,” I replied.

“Do the night vision goggles have an infrared feature?”

“They do,” I nodded.

“Good. When the sun sets I want you and Cass to retrieve your pack,” said Harley.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“I will set up surveillance in the trees north of the Mullaney home. Once you recover your pack, you and Cass set up on the south side to cover the rear entry. Activate your infrared strobe; I’ll activate mine. Once we acquire each other, we’ll communicate with hand signals,” Harley instructed.

“Um, how are you going to see far enough for hand signals?” asked Cass.

“Telescopic feature on the night vision unit and tactical helmet,” I explained.

“Oh, cool,” said Cass.

“Cass, do you have any idea how many others might be in the Mullaney home?” asked Harley.

“I don’t really know. Brent’s mom is dead, and he doesn’t have any brothers and sisters. They might have a maid or something, but I have no idea,” Cass replied.

“I’ll discover that during my surveillance.”

“Ok, but how do you know Brent’s going to be there? I mean you put him in the hospital and…” Cass began.

“The wounds I gave him could be stitched and were not life threatening. They weren’t serious enough to justify keeping him in the hospital this long. He’s home,” Harley stated confidently.

“You’re not a doctor. How do you know how serious the wounds were?” asked Cass.

“We received a detailed education in human anatomy from the Corporation,” I answered.

“Why would they teach you…” Cass started.

“Knowing the body, its systems, its strengths and weaknesses, makes us more efficient killers,” said Harley.

“Whoa,” Cass breathed.

“Once the lights go off, I will breach the Mullaney home and eliminate the targets. Sage, you and Cass will cover the rear. When the targets are neutralized, I’ll signal you to join me, then we will torch the house, activate the homing beacon, and make our escape via the river,” said Harley.

“You want to set off the beacon?” Cass exclaimed. “Won’t that…”

“Draw the Corporation? Yes,” said Harley. “I thought about what you said, Cass. By now the Corporation is probably searching the routes leading out of town. Activating the beacon will draw them in while we slip out.”

“Pretty smart,” Cass agreed.

“The sun will set soon. We should eat now. We might not have time to do so for a while once we get underway,” said Harley.

We passed out some of our canned supplies, and I decided I had to ask Harley a question while I ate my fruit cocktail.

“Harley, what are we going to do about the Corporation? They’ve eliminated our squad by now. We can’t just let them get away with that.”

“No, we can’t. The Corporation has to pay for what they’ve done. We’ll never be safe as long as they are after us, and I can’t imagine they would ever stop looking for us. I’m not sure exactly what to do yet. Let’s get through tonight first.”

“Okay.” I sighed.

“Sage, we will punish them. I swear it,” said Harley.

“Okay.” I smiled.

When the sun went down and the sky turned twilight purple, Cass and I set out. The deeper we moved into the woods, the darker the night became. I didn’t like separating from Harley and moved as fast as I could in order to ensure a quick reunion. That was unfortunate for Cass, who struggled to keep up.

“Ouch, son of a bitch,” Cass swore as he stumbled over a fallen log and bashed his knee.

“Are you alright?” I paused.

“Yeah, just, how the hell are you going so fast?”

“The Corporation treated us with an enhanced version of vitamin A, 11 cis-retinal, to improve our night vision,” I explained.

“Wait, are you telling me you can see in the dark?” said Cass.

“No,” I giggled. “But my natural night vision is probably several degrees higher than yours.”

I extended my hand to him and held his as we resumed our march through the woods. Cass didn’t hurt himself anymore, and I enjoyed his touch. He continued to hold my hand when we reached the clearing half an hour later and crouched inside the tree line to watch the area I’d left my pack. When I was confident the coast was clear I ran to the garbage can, found my pack and raced back to Cass.

“Man, that was tense,” said Cass.

“Why are you breathing heavy?” I asked.

“I was worried about you. I guess I held my breath while you were getting your gear.”

I smiled at Cass’s concern for my well-being then crouched next to him and opened my pack. I felt naked without a weapon of some kind and quickly extracted my Ka-bar. Each soldier is issued a Ka-bar knife. Mine wasn’t any different, but the scabbard was. It clipped to my belt and hung low so that the knife’s hilt was in reach when my arms were at my side. There was also a strap that wrapped around my thigh, securing the weapon in place. As a scout I needed to move stealthily and couldn’t risk being detected because of the sound of a knife slapping against my leg.

Now armed, I put on my night vision goggles, took Cass’s hand, and had him guide me to the Mullaney house. We set up an observation post on the south side of the house, then I used the infrared feature to pick up Harley’s strobe. Once I located him, I zoomed in, and he gave me the all clear signal. I quickly surveyed the house then returned the all clear.

Cass was nervous and tried to talk to me, but I hushed him. Combat operations demanded vigilance, and I was focused on the mission at hand. I did take his hand though and hoped he drew comfort from it.

The lights went out at a quarter to 11. At 11:00pm exactly, Harley gave me the 'go' mission signal and disappeared from view. Moments later we heard something that sounded like breaking glass.

“Why doesn’t he just shoot them?” said Cass as his teeth chattered. Whether it was from cold or fear I did not know.

“Harley’s is the only firearm we have. We had to use them the night we made our escape, and he’s probably trying to conserve his ammunition in case we need it against a more serious threat later on. Also, gun shots would attract the attention of law enforcement,” I explained, but Cass became distracted.

“What is that,” he pointed at the house. “I think I see something.”

My head snapped around and I found a white male, age unknown, racing out the back door. I sprang into action, running across the open space to clear the distance to the target as quickly as possible. I drew my knife and slammed into the target as he looked over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. The force of the impact took the target down to the ground and before he could register he’d been hit by a person, my knife was deep in his throat. I withdrew the blade and let him choke on his own blood. Cass and Harley joined me simultaneously.

“Excellent, you got him,” said Harley.

“Oh fuck,” said Cass, on seeing the dead body. He bent over and retched.

“Take deep breaths; it’ll help with the nausea,” said Harley.

“How did he escape?” I gestured at the body.

“Brent’s father was stronger than I anticipated, and it took me longer to subdue him. Brent saw me and ran,” Harley explained.

Harlequin

“Drag him in. Bring your pack,” I directed Sage, who moved to comply. I went back inside the home to the living room, where Mr. Mullaney was sprawled on the floor with his neck at an unnatural angle. I began stripping the clothes from the corpse and ignored Cass's gasp at my ghoulish work. Once he was down to his underclothes I forced his body into my uniform. It was more than a tight fit, but I didn't mind if his skin were caught in a zipper.

“Sage, strap your knife to Brent's leg and leave your bag by him. Got the beacon ready?”

“My...Harlequin, my knife?” Sage asked. I turned to look at him and was surprised at the look he wore – almost as if I'd asked something dear of him.

“What is it, Sage?” I asked, trying not to be irritated.

“I...It's nothing,” he said and began to unstrap the knife.

“Sage, what's wrong?” I asked in a kinder tone. A tone I only ever gave him, at least of those in the squad.

He glanced up at me and pursed his lips. “I have no other weapon. I'd be defenseless.”

I rose slowly. “You are anything but defenseless. But I understand your qualms. I need it to be on him, your pack too, in the hopes the Corporation will accept Brent as you. My own uniform,” I pointed to the elder corpse, “will fool them into thinking this is me. If we are lucky they will believe at least one of us died here, so we must stage it well.”

He nodded. “I understand.” He pulled his knife and its holster from his side and knelt to place it on Brent's leg. I pulled my own knife and sheathe from my suit and walked to Sage, who was done attaching the leather straps to the dead boy.

“Here. I will have my pistol, and you having a weapon brought Brent down where I did not. You should have it.”

“Harley...that's your knife,” Sage said softly. The same knife I'd defended myself with for who knows how long.

“Not any more. I gift it to you,” I said, pushing it into his hands. His face told me that my gift of a weapon was important to him, and I understood why. We are expected to live and die with the same weapons, generally. I'd had my knife since I had arrived. For me it was a gift of a steady, proven companion to another steady, proven companion; it would serve him well. I turned back and finished my work, reminding Sage to set up the beacon, but not to engage it.

“If you guys need weapons, my dad has a butt-ton.”

I glanced at Cass and then at Sage, who voiced our shared question.

“What is a butt-ton?”

“You know, a shit load,” Cass said.

“What is...” I began.

“A lot!” Cass threw his hands up. “He's got a lot of guns and stuff. He thinks he's a commando or something.”

“Good. He will be our next destination. Cass? Check the kitchen for liquid flammables and look in the drawers for a map. Sage? Garage. I will check the basement. Then set the beacon off.”

We split up and returned to the living room quickly. We splashed cooking oils and motor oil throughout the space. The gasoline from the garage I trailed from the mess in the living room to the oil tank in the basement. I took a cleaning rag and soaked it in gas and wrapped it on the end of a broom handle. Once upstairs we spread alcohol through the kitchen and to the door.

“Sage, go down to the boat house,” I said pointing towards the river. “Find a canoe, a flat bottomed skiff – anything unpowered. We don't want to make noise.”

He nodded and they both took off. I waited until they were out of sight and then pulled the matches I'd salvaged from Sage's pack. I struck one, which blew out immediately. Striking the second, the flame caught, and I applied it to my makeshift torch. It leapt to life, roiling black smoke, and I threw it deep into the house. I turned, hearing the air displace as the flame flew throughout the soaked home. I raced towards the boat house and was still brought to my knees when the oil tank blew. I didn't spare a glance behind me, but ran to Sage and Cass, who were waiting with a canoe in the water.

“Go, go!” I shouted, and we were in and away.

We drifted down river easily, the wide Hudson carrying us unnoticed past small towns and river-side buildings. As it was night, I told Cass and Sage to sleep if they could. Cass was in the middle and pulled Sage down so that he covered part of Cass's body. I knew it was for more than warmth, and I felt another flash of hurt. Soon they were lulled to sleep by the rocking of the boat.