Issue 25 – Cleaning House
They made their way to the command tent where Blackwood was already waiting, tapping his foot impatiently. His anger was visible on his face.
“Took your time, didn’t you?”
They both threw a regulation salute at once.
“Sorry sir. Reporting for duty.”
His previous anger seems to have evaporated at the sight as he dismissively waved her hand.
“Listen, you two. We have a problem.”
He continued before they had chance to respond, pacing around the room.
“I’ve been in touch with some old friends at Clayburn, but everyone suddenly went silent. Looks like Clayburn’s cleaning house.”
His words struck Seagrove with the force of a clenched fist.
“But... my family...,” he struggled, “they wouldn’t...”
Blackwood gave him a sharp look.
“Pull yourself together, Major. We knew what we were getting into.”
Seagrove nodded numbly.
“Besides,” Blackwood’s expression softened, “Your father is a smart man. They’ll be fine. The same, however, cannot be said of us.”
Kathryn looked angry.
“What do you mean, sir?”
She was careful to make the last word sound as anything but a sign of respect. Blackwood’s frown deepened.
“Are you familiar with all the military assets of Clayburn Industries?”
“I’m hardly an expert,” she responded, slightly taken aback.
“Well then, Major, let me put it like this. When the militaries of Europe went bankrupt, where do you think their ships went?”
Seagrove and Grey both turned pale.
“Oh shit.”
“Yes. Aptly put. Ibrahim sent me a coded message a few hours ago. It looks like Portsmouth is today much emptier than it was yesterday. He’s a little weasel, but I believe him.”
“And that means....”
“They’ll be here in a week or so,” Blackwood finished his sentence for him.
“That doesn’t leave us with many options.”
“Israel?”
Blackwood waved his hand dismissively.
“Be serious. They would shoot us on sight and I for one don’t feel like playing cat and mouse with their Migs in the desert. Besides, you can barely hide a man in the Gaza wasteland, let alone a unit of soldiers.”
Seagrove nodded.
“What about the west?”
Blackwood sniggered at the question.
“You want to take Cairo with three hundred men? Egypt is bristling with corporate units. We are lucky Suez is too scared to send its men after us after we kicked their ass here because they do have plenty of men left. They won’t be scared once Clayburn gets here.”
“And south is out of the question,” Seagrove added, ”because it’s just a desert full of angry mercs. On the upside, we could make wagers on what would get us first – hunger, thirst, mercs or Clayburn.”
All three cracked up despite the tension.
“Alright. What DO we do then?”
