Renegades (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 3)

Chapter 39

The GDF soldiers in the convoy finally managed to arrive at the crash site, and surveyed the area for any sign of survivors. They saw that the carrier that they had been chasing had been cleaned out and crashed, and saw that there were a few Resistance soldiers dying or injured in the wreckage. They were each terminated with extreme prejudice. Then, some of the soldiers heard a beacon coming from the GDF armoured transport that had been carrying the AU Protocol. They moved over there quickly, and saw that the small bunker that was located inside the vehicle had been closed, most likely having been automatically activated when the crash had happened. The soldiers moved forwards and managed to open up the doors, looking inside. Morticia looked up from her seat where she had been belted in, and was uninjured. She unclipped herself from the seat, and stood up to see the soldiers salute. Morticia walked out and surveyed the aftermath of the crash, then saw who else had arrived with the remainder of the ground forces. Gottlieb had gotten out of the armoured car that had pulled up, and walked over to her. "High Monarch! Are you alright?" Morticia stared at him, and looked into the interior of the transport. "Seeing as how the Dorado Pieces are gone, Director, I would say you have bigger problems to worry about." Gottlieb instantly turned white, and looked at the transport like he was staring into his own grave. "High Monarch!" One of the soldiers behind them shouted out, and Morticia turned around to walk over to him. Gottlieb silently breathed out when she walked away. The soldier was looking down into the mine, and holding a viewfinder. As Morticia looked through it, she could see a GDF runner flying down the road, along with the crew of the Renegade and the case that contained the Pieces inside of it. She turned around and motioned to the convoy. "Move out! Do not let the fugitives escape!" Every soldier rushed to the vehicles, along with a few that had managed to borrow the armour to wear over their Resistance uniforms.

Dante drove the runner down towards the entrance to the mine, and then gripped the wheel tighter when he heard Andress call out from behind him. "They're coming down!" Dante floored the accelerator, pushing the GDF vehicle as hard as he could. "I'll give you cover. You just keep driving." Dante heard Bunker say behind him, then he felt the man in the large power suit pull out his chaingun, and stand ready on the back of the open runner. Bunker cocked the large .50 weapon, and aimed it at the incoming GDF vehicles behind them. He pressed the trigger, and felt the large weapon buck back and forth in his hands as it spat several large bullets at the armoured cars behind them. The plating that surrounded the occupants inside did little to nothing when the bullets hit them, for all of Bunker's ammo was armour-piercing, and could tear through pretty much anything it hit, including the drivers and gunners. Many of the cars were sent flying off the edge or just exploding in the middle of the road. Soon, some of the Elites and other soldiers driving began to fire back with their weapons, making it harder for Dante to drive since he was below them most of the time. But, Dante was skilled, and looking down at the bottom of the large pit, he had a plan. "Bunker, sit back down and hold on!" He yelled, and Bunker quickly got the message, putting away his gun and sitting back down. Dante breathed out, and then swerved the steering wheel to the left, driving off the road seemingly on purpose. But instead of flying off like he did earlier, he slowed down on the accelerator and began to slowly coast down the different levels of road, keeping the car steady if it ever began to slip off. Soon, they had managed to skip several levels of the road in a matter of minutes, and finally made it to the bottom, and saw the opening down into the mine. A few GDF soldiers were still stationed there, but they were taken out quickly by Bunker and Koil. As the group began to get out, Trace went behind the small runner, and placed something on it's back. "What are you doing?" Andress asked. Trace grabbed her pistols with a smirk, and ran past her. "Leaving a little surprise."

Kovak had managed to survive the first crash, and had gathered a few remaining Resistance soldiers to hide and launch a counterattack. But once the second wave of GDF soldiers had shown up, Kovak knew he was outmatched. So, he waited in secret with the two other soldiers, and had managed to stealthily kill a couple of GDF soldiers, and had stolen their armour, and resumed their positions. It was a risky strategy, especially with their low numbers, but it was the only option that they had. When the High Monarch had stepped into view, Kovak was willing to take her out in an instant, but he kept his resolve, knowing that would blow their cover. Then, she had said that the fugitives had stolen the Dorado Pieces, and in Kovak's mind, that meant that the crew had survived the crash, and were escaping. As they worked the disguises, they got in a runner and followed the large convoy down into the mines. When they caught up with them, they managed to dodge all of the bullets that Mackey had fired at all of them. Then, Kovak had come up with a plan. He would ambush several of the GDF soldiers using the mounted gun on the back of the runner, then drive it down into the caves, blocking it off. Afterwards, they would find Lovecraft and the rest of the crew, and secure all of the Dorado Pieces, and finally secure the victory for the Resistance. But, they saw that the crew had managed to outwit the rest of the convoy, and used the different roads as cover to move down faster. They had already escaped into the caves by the time that all of them had gotten down, and they all stopped to see what exactly should be done. Kovak saw that the High Monarch had gotten out, along with a Director, and several of the other soldiers and Elites. The Resistance soldier had already gotten onto the gun, and was preparing to fire. "Follow them! I want them dead, but the Pieces will be taken undamaged!" The High Monarch said, then everything exploded. The runner that the crew had taken had blown up, with a mine having apparently been placed on the end of it. Without thinking, Kovak accelerated, breaking through the pack and into the caves. Already, he could see that it was beginning to collapse, and could barely register one other vehicle making it into the cave behind him, before the entire entrance collapsed.