C19 Chapter Nineteen

They staggered back through the portal, carrying their wounded with them. Several of the Chiang Shih tried to follow, but Cade had left Second Squad deployed around the entrance for just that reason and the creatures were cut to pieces as soon as they came through the Veil. After a few attempts, they stopped coming.

Echo hadn’t expected casualties, much less the deaths of several of their number, and Second Squad’s medic was quickly overwhelmed. A call went out to the commandery for additional doctors, but it would take some time for anyone to get there and they would have to make do for the time being. In order to be certain his men were treated as expeditiously as possible, Cade ignored his own injuries and made certain the others were triaged correctly.

Cade was the last man being attended to when, an hour later, Preceptor Johannson walked into the back room they’d converted into make-shift hospital. The knight commander was in the process of relaying orders to Riley as the doctor bandaged his ribs and didn’t notice the other man’s entrance.

“…for now. Get a hold of Sullivan at Delta and see how many men he can spare. Then check with the armory at Ravensgate. I want to know how many more bows we can get our hands on in the time we have.”

“Belay that order, Master Sergeant.”

Cade looked over at him, surprised to see Johannson there.

“I’m sorry, Preceptor, I didn’t see you come in. What did you say?”

“I told the Master Sergeant to strike your last order, as you won’t need those weapons.”

“If you have a better idea, please speak up. Firearms don’t work on the other side of the Veil.”

The Preceptor gave him a sour look. “I know very well what works and doesn’t work over there, Knight Commander, but that’s beside the point. You won’t need the weapons because you won’t be going back across the Veil.”

The Preceptor’s comment made so little sense that at first Cade suspected that he must have heard incorrectly. But on seeing the look on Riley’s face, he knew that he hadn’t. He felt his anger flare and couldn’t hold back his tongue.

“What are you talking about? They’ve got Lieutenant Duncan! Of course we’re going back!”

The Preceptor sneered. “You’ll do as you’re told, Knight Commander, and right now I’m telling you to stay away from that portal. There will be no further incursions into that hellish place except by my direct order.”

Cade came out of his seat so quickly that the doctor stumbled backward.

“I’ll go where I like and do what I like, Johannson. Or did you forget that that I don’t take orders from you?”

“I’m well aware of the hierarchy that governs us, Williams. Which is why I asked the Seneschal to put your orders in writing.” He reached inside his suit, took out a cream-colored envelope, and handed it to Cade.

The Knight Commander took the envelope and tore it open, extracting a single sheet of paper. He read it quickly, then slowed down and read it again to be sure.

There was the usual set of headers identifying the intended recipient and the classification of the message itself. Cade checked to be certain the orders were, indeed, directed at him and then focused on the relevant lines.

The High Command considers the portal to be an unacceptable breach of the integrity of our world. It is to be closed down immediately using any and all means necessary. We see this as the highest priority and destruction of the church is authorized if needed to accomplish this task.

Both Delta and Echo are hereby reassigned as adjunct support to the North American Preceptory until the threat of a Chiang Shih incursion has been neutralized.”

Jacob MacIntyre, Seneschal

“Damn it!” Cade turned to hand the letter to Riley and as he did so he caught the smile of satisfaction on the Preceptor’s face.

It was too much.

Lieutenant Sean Duncan might not have been with Echo for very long, and he’d certainly had his share of difficulties accepting Cade’s unorthodox leadership, but there was no doubt in Cade’s mind that Duncan was worth ten times what a man like Johannson was.

All three of the other men in Echo command unit owed their lives in one way or another to Sean Duncan.

It had been Duncan who had saved Flynn’s life when the chopper they were in had crashed into the Necromancer’s plantation house.

It had been Duncan who had worked with Riley and the shade of Cade’s dead wife, Gabrielle, to help them escape when the renegade angel, Baraquel, had forced them into some strange warped version of reality inside the Eden Facility.

And Duncan who had used his healing ability to stop Cade’s internal bleeding during that same confrontation.

Hell, Flynn had given his life trying to save Duncan! Abandoning the lieutenant to the hands of the Chiang Shih repudiated everything that Flynn had died trying to accomplish.

Cade didn’t care what his orders said. He was going to rescue Duncan or die trying.

It was simple as that. No pissant little self-important politician was going to stop him.

Riley must have seen the change in Cade’s expression, for he tried to stop him; moving to put his body between the two men.

“Boss, I don’t think…”

But Cade was already in motion. He surged forward, past Riley, grabbing Preceptor Johannson around the throat with one hand and forcing him backward until they crashed into the wall. Cade leaned in close, his iron grip still locked on the other man’s neck, squeezing.

“Listen to me, you pompous son-of-a-bitch!” Cade said in a grim voice only the two of them could hear. “That man has put his life on the line for this Order more times than I can count and I’ll be damned to hell if I simply abandon him because a coward like you ordered me to do so.”

The Preceptor had both of his hands on Cade’s, trying to break his grip. Cade tightened his fingers slightly, just to show who was in charge.

“The majority of men in this building would rather take orders from me than from you any day of the week, so I suggest that you get your sorry ass out of here before I tell them that you just ordered me to abandon one of their own. Understand?”

Johansson’s eyes were rolling wildly and his face was turning a deep shade of red as he fought for air, but he must have understood for he managed to nod. Riley was pulling at Cade’s arms now, telling him that it wasn’t worth it and that he should let go, and Cade did so.

The Preceptor immediately fell to his knees, his head bowed as he sucked in great gasps of air. When at last he could breathe, he pointed his finger at Cade and, turning to Riley, said shakily, “Master Sergeant, arrest this man for striking a superior officer. Arrest him and throw him in the brig.”

Riley looked down at Johannson for a moment and then shrugged.

“Superior officer? I don’t think so. If you want him arrested so badly, get up and do it yourself.”

And with that the two men from Echo turned away and walked out of the room.

“You’ve done it now, boss,” Riley said, as they walked down the corridor toward the sanctuary.

“Screw it. No way am I taking orders from that stupid son-of-a-bitch. We’ve got to go after Duncan and we’ve got to do it now.”

“Agreed. So how do you want to handle things?”

Cade stopped and gave it a moment’s thought. “Who do we have with us right now?”

“First and Second Squad, minus Jones, Santiago, and, well, you know.”

Riley couldn’t bring himself to say the dead man’s name and Cade didn’t blame him. Echo just wouldn’t be the same without Flynn.

“Third Squad?”

“Won’t be here until later tonight. They were in the midst of an exercise in the Sierra Madres when the call came down. Denton got them underway as soon as possible but it still takes time to get a group of that size halfway across the country.”

“All right, we’ll have to make do with who we’ve got. Assemble the men in the sanctuary in fifteen minutes. I’ll address them there.”

“So that’s where things stand. I’m sure Johannson will have both myself and Master Sergeant Riley up on charges before the hour is out. I’ll happily submit myself to face those charges, too, but not until I’ve tried to rescue Lieutenant Duncan.”

Cade stopped and looked out over the men assembled in the front pews before him. They were good men, all of them, but what he was asking them to do went against everything a professional soldier stood for. Chain of command was the backbone of any professional fighting force and to blatantly disregard it as he was asking them to do was, well, asking a lot. Still, no one had gotten up and walked out, so he took that as a good sign and went on.

“It’s my intention to mount a raid against the Chiang Shih encampment and rescue Lieutenant Duncan. I’ll not leave one of my men in the hands of those vile things and a rapid strike seems to have the best chance of succeeding.

“Understand that this is strictly a volunteer operation. Anyone choosing to accompany me will more than likely face charges of insubordination and disobeying a direct order, never mind mounting an illegal and unsanctioned operation. Nor can we expect backup should anything go wrong and I’m sure I don’t need to remind any of you how often that can happen. Our previous excursion is a perfect example.

“Still, Master Sergeant Riley and I can’t do this alone. We need all of the help we can get. So we’re going to step outside of the room, and give you a chance to talk this over amongst yourselves. There is no shame in choosing to stay behind. After all, I am asking you to follow an illegal order. All I ask is that you give us enough time to make the crossing before reporting our departure to the authorities at Ravensgate.”

Cade glanced over at Riley, to be certain he hadn’t missed anything, and at the slight nod of the other man’s head, he wrapped it up.

“So talk it over. Make your decision with your head, as well as your heart. I’ll see you in a moment.”

Cade stepped down from the altar steps, heading for the door leading to the hallway with Riley at his side when someone called his name.

He turned to find the entire contingent of men on their feet. Sergeant Davis from First Squad came out of the pews to stand in front of them.

“I think I speak for all of us, sir, when I tell you that there is no need for further discussion,” said Davis. “We’ll follow you wherever you ask us to go. In this world or the next.”

He snapped to attention and behind him each and every one of the other soldiers did the same.

Cade looked over at Riley, who grinned back and said, “Looks like you’ve got yourself a strike team, Commander. Let’s go get our man.”