Karmanyaka
24-03-2005, 18:07
Katla, capital city of the Dominion of Karmanyaka
The clothes racket in the hallway was already full of jackets when Sofia arrived with Bianca and Paloma. The three women stepped into the echoing livingroom of the apartment they used as tactical command center and office. Jonathan and Karl and several others were gathered around a computer. They looked up as the newcomers approached.
"Sofia, great to see you!" Karl exclaimed. "We were worried you wouldn't make it here tonight."
"Don't worry, Karl. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world." she said smiling.
The others nervously returned her smiles. Sofia looked around the apartment and couldn't help noticing the stunning view over Karmanyaka's capital city, Katla. The Arbours was a clean, safe suburb in the hills south-east to the city. The apartment they rented was on the top floor of a newly built high-rise and the floor-to-ceiling windows gave a fantastic view over most of Katla. The city squatted like a rash on the slopes of Mount Katla, the dormant volcano that had gven its name to the city. It was already starting to get dark outside and Sofia wished they had bought some curtains to cover the windows. This way they could be seen from far off by anyone situated high enough.
"Mario, Gustav, get some of those plastic sheets over there and cover the windows." she said. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, let's see what we've got."
The two men known as Mario and Gustav, both in their mid-twenties, tall and atheltic, were busy putting up the plastic sheets across the windows with duct tape. The others gathered in front of the white wall that now served as a screen for the computer projector.
"Allright, listen up now!" Jonathan's voice was unnecessarily loud in the quiet room. "This is the plan..."
The plan was really quite simple: Mario would follow the target convoy from a safe distance out of Katla, along National Road 2 into the forest lands north-east of Katla, known as Segland. The NR2 wasn't a busy road, but there were enough cars for Mario's to blend in. In the meantime Bianca, Gustav and Jonathan would be waiting at a bend in the road. The entire group would be heavily armed and spread on two sides of the road. They had collected the weapons during two and a half year and finally they would come to use. Everyone would carry an assault rifle and Jonathan and Gustav would have automatic pistols. Gustav carried four hand grenades and Bianca and Jonathan had one rocket launcher each. They would blow up the first car in the convy using one of the two rocket launchers. The other would blow up the target's car. Finally they would kill off the survivors and leave in Mario's van. They counted on heavy gunfire from the armed escort, but some grenades would solve that.
However, as everyone knows, the simplest plans are often the most difficult to execute. No-one thought it was going to be easy and they were planning two drills to be sure to get it right. This was what the movement had been waiting for the whole time. They'd perform a real coup.
"What if one of us gets hurt or killed?" asked Paul, one of the older members in the group.
The room became silent except for the humming of the projector. Karl broke the silence
"We can't simply expect to get away without a single wound. And should anyone indeed become wounded, we're lucky enough to have a doctor waiting here for us." He glanced at Sofia who smiled a solemn, reassuring smile. "Should we be unfortunate enough to loose a member of the group, he or she will have died for a great cause, for freedom and a better life for our children. Now, that is a way to die." Several nodding heads confirmed that they all were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good cause.
"Tomorrow we will go to Segland and perform a small drill to get a feeling of things." said Sofia. "We must get this right or years of preparation has been in vain."
*****
Mario almost lost sight of the convoy at Waldgate, but managed to catch up. He spoke into the headset phone on his cheek. "We're turning out onto NR2 now, heading east." This turned out to be far more difficult than the two drills they'd had.
The sound of his report echoed from the reciever in the command center apartment. From the bedroom came a voice. "I have them on visual now!" There was a large telescope mounted on a tripod near the bedroom window. Through it one had a close up view of almost everything between the Karma river and Mount Katla, including the NR2 as it wound like a black snake through the Segland forests. Paloma sighed: "You could just say you can see them, Walter!" she turned to Sofia who stood there with her hands clutched to her chest and listened intently to the traffic sound from coming from Marios phone. "Why does he have to sound so military?"
"That's hardly important, Paloma, this is a military operation after all." said Karl, sitting at the computer and trying to track the teams on GPS. "They're nearing the spot now! Everyone stand by. Walter, how's it going?" he called through the rooms.
"They're really close now!" came the answer.
"Stand by, team." said Karl in the mic on his cheek.
*****
The first rocket hit the front of the car, blasting the hood open and sent the car spinning away, landing in the middle of the road. The cars behind it halted and tried to back away when the second rocket hit the limousine's rear passenger door, thus blowing it and its occupants to pieces. At the same time, four soldiers dressed in the purple berets of the Knights' Guard scrambled from another escort vehicle and started firing towards Jonathan and Bianca. Hiding behind the armoured car they unfortunately exposed themselves to Gustav where he lay hidden on the other side of the road. The soldiers didn't even have time to return Gustav's fire before he gunned them down. Two bodyguards in black suits took cover between the cars as bullets passed centimeters from their heads. A hand grenade bounced of the roof of one car and detonated in the hiding place. Another grenade landed below a van, lifting it up into the air. All the while bullets sliced through air, glass and metal everywhere. Cars screeched to a halt and petrified commuters tried to get away from ricocheting bullets and splinters. Suddenly it went quiet and all you could hear was the crackling of flames and tires screaming as people fled in their cars to get away from the mayhem in the middle of the road. Of the convoy, all that remained was a few burning wrecks and a dozen dead bodies.
"Uh... Jonathan? I think I'm hurt..." Bianca said, while pressing a hand to the side of her chest. Blood oozed from between her fingers and her eyes were glazed.
"Bianca! Let me take a look at that." He lifted her camo jacket and inspected the wound. It didn't look deep, but there was a lot of blood and the lung might be punctured. "It'll be okay, Bianca. We just have to get you home quickly." Jonathan tried to sound calm but heard the alarm in his voice. Below them on the road Mario threw open the doors to the van and shouted at them to get in. A few seconds later they were on their way. Ahead of them was a long line of cars and at the front they saw flashing blue lights. People were running out of their cars towards the police officers, the road block was in complete chaos. Officers tried to keep track of people who were shocked, wounded and angry. Jonathan and Gustav picked up the weapons and jumped out of the car unnoticed and into the thick forest surrounding the road. After a few minutes of minutes of slow progress, Mario arrived at the front of the road block.
"Please, officer, you have to let us pass quickly! A bullet hit my wife and I think she's bleeding to death! Those maniacs shot all around themselves! I have to get her to a hospital fast!" Mario's voice was edged with genuine panic and the sight of Bianca's sticky red sweater was enough for the bewildered young police officer to wave them past. His task was to catch the terrorists and this young lady was obviously an innocent victim of this horrible attack.
*****
A copule of minutes later a police patrol car pulled up behind the van, as they neared the exit to Katla. Through the telescope in the apartment Sofia, Karl and the others could observe several police cars approaching the team's van at high speed. The police cars forced the van off the road. A short exchange of fire between the police and the team followed.
*****
This is an extra news broadcast from STV1.
'Almost half an hour ago armed criminals attacked several cars on National Road 2 just outside Katla. According to the police the perpetrators escaped in a white van.'
'Military sources say to the STV... excuse me a moment... We now have reports that the perpetrators have been caught. Apparently they apprehension was preceded by heavy shooting. Two of the gunmen were shot dead and the two others are wounded. We here have live footage from the apprehension. The police informs us that one of these shooters is the infamous terrorist and separatist Jonathan Grayes also known as Jonathan Lionheart.'
'Also...'
'... Oh my God... er... I've just been informed that, this is horrible news, ladies and gentlemen, that one of the victims of the attack on NR2 half an hour ago was Lord Tengil Richard Loke. This is absolutely horrible...'
'I repeat this: The Lord Tengil Richard Loke has apparently been killed in a terrorist attack while on his way from Katla to Rondal. Two terrorists have been killed and another two apprehended. We will return as soon as we get more information. Meanwhile, John is at the scene at NR2 in Segland where the attack occurred. Can you tell us something about the site, John, what is it we see?'
'Yes Brutus, the scene here is awful. Only one survivor has been rescued from the wreckage of a car, one of the bodyguards. There are emergency personnel everywhere and it's frankly outrageous how much damage the terrorrists have caused. As you can see, vicitms are being carried away for identification and a special van is on its way to pick up the remains of our beloved leader, lord Tengil Richard Loke. I... I'm sorry... I'm being told that the bodyguard who is now being taken in helicopter to Piter Memorial Hospital, is in a very bad condition. We all extend our prayers for him.'
'And indeed to his family. Thank you John, our reporter on site in Segland, where half an hour ago the Lord Tengil was brutally murdered' ...
The clothes racket in the hallway was already full of jackets when Sofia arrived with Bianca and Paloma. The three women stepped into the echoing livingroom of the apartment they used as tactical command center and office. Jonathan and Karl and several others were gathered around a computer. They looked up as the newcomers approached.
"Sofia, great to see you!" Karl exclaimed. "We were worried you wouldn't make it here tonight."
"Don't worry, Karl. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world." she said smiling.
The others nervously returned her smiles. Sofia looked around the apartment and couldn't help noticing the stunning view over Karmanyaka's capital city, Katla. The Arbours was a clean, safe suburb in the hills south-east to the city. The apartment they rented was on the top floor of a newly built high-rise and the floor-to-ceiling windows gave a fantastic view over most of Katla. The city squatted like a rash on the slopes of Mount Katla, the dormant volcano that had gven its name to the city. It was already starting to get dark outside and Sofia wished they had bought some curtains to cover the windows. This way they could be seen from far off by anyone situated high enough.
"Mario, Gustav, get some of those plastic sheets over there and cover the windows." she said. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, let's see what we've got."
The two men known as Mario and Gustav, both in their mid-twenties, tall and atheltic, were busy putting up the plastic sheets across the windows with duct tape. The others gathered in front of the white wall that now served as a screen for the computer projector.
"Allright, listen up now!" Jonathan's voice was unnecessarily loud in the quiet room. "This is the plan..."
The plan was really quite simple: Mario would follow the target convoy from a safe distance out of Katla, along National Road 2 into the forest lands north-east of Katla, known as Segland. The NR2 wasn't a busy road, but there were enough cars for Mario's to blend in. In the meantime Bianca, Gustav and Jonathan would be waiting at a bend in the road. The entire group would be heavily armed and spread on two sides of the road. They had collected the weapons during two and a half year and finally they would come to use. Everyone would carry an assault rifle and Jonathan and Gustav would have automatic pistols. Gustav carried four hand grenades and Bianca and Jonathan had one rocket launcher each. They would blow up the first car in the convy using one of the two rocket launchers. The other would blow up the target's car. Finally they would kill off the survivors and leave in Mario's van. They counted on heavy gunfire from the armed escort, but some grenades would solve that.
However, as everyone knows, the simplest plans are often the most difficult to execute. No-one thought it was going to be easy and they were planning two drills to be sure to get it right. This was what the movement had been waiting for the whole time. They'd perform a real coup.
"What if one of us gets hurt or killed?" asked Paul, one of the older members in the group.
The room became silent except for the humming of the projector. Karl broke the silence
"We can't simply expect to get away without a single wound. And should anyone indeed become wounded, we're lucky enough to have a doctor waiting here for us." He glanced at Sofia who smiled a solemn, reassuring smile. "Should we be unfortunate enough to loose a member of the group, he or she will have died for a great cause, for freedom and a better life for our children. Now, that is a way to die." Several nodding heads confirmed that they all were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good cause.
"Tomorrow we will go to Segland and perform a small drill to get a feeling of things." said Sofia. "We must get this right or years of preparation has been in vain."
*****
Mario almost lost sight of the convoy at Waldgate, but managed to catch up. He spoke into the headset phone on his cheek. "We're turning out onto NR2 now, heading east." This turned out to be far more difficult than the two drills they'd had.
The sound of his report echoed from the reciever in the command center apartment. From the bedroom came a voice. "I have them on visual now!" There was a large telescope mounted on a tripod near the bedroom window. Through it one had a close up view of almost everything between the Karma river and Mount Katla, including the NR2 as it wound like a black snake through the Segland forests. Paloma sighed: "You could just say you can see them, Walter!" she turned to Sofia who stood there with her hands clutched to her chest and listened intently to the traffic sound from coming from Marios phone. "Why does he have to sound so military?"
"That's hardly important, Paloma, this is a military operation after all." said Karl, sitting at the computer and trying to track the teams on GPS. "They're nearing the spot now! Everyone stand by. Walter, how's it going?" he called through the rooms.
"They're really close now!" came the answer.
"Stand by, team." said Karl in the mic on his cheek.
*****
The first rocket hit the front of the car, blasting the hood open and sent the car spinning away, landing in the middle of the road. The cars behind it halted and tried to back away when the second rocket hit the limousine's rear passenger door, thus blowing it and its occupants to pieces. At the same time, four soldiers dressed in the purple berets of the Knights' Guard scrambled from another escort vehicle and started firing towards Jonathan and Bianca. Hiding behind the armoured car they unfortunately exposed themselves to Gustav where he lay hidden on the other side of the road. The soldiers didn't even have time to return Gustav's fire before he gunned them down. Two bodyguards in black suits took cover between the cars as bullets passed centimeters from their heads. A hand grenade bounced of the roof of one car and detonated in the hiding place. Another grenade landed below a van, lifting it up into the air. All the while bullets sliced through air, glass and metal everywhere. Cars screeched to a halt and petrified commuters tried to get away from ricocheting bullets and splinters. Suddenly it went quiet and all you could hear was the crackling of flames and tires screaming as people fled in their cars to get away from the mayhem in the middle of the road. Of the convoy, all that remained was a few burning wrecks and a dozen dead bodies.
"Uh... Jonathan? I think I'm hurt..." Bianca said, while pressing a hand to the side of her chest. Blood oozed from between her fingers and her eyes were glazed.
"Bianca! Let me take a look at that." He lifted her camo jacket and inspected the wound. It didn't look deep, but there was a lot of blood and the lung might be punctured. "It'll be okay, Bianca. We just have to get you home quickly." Jonathan tried to sound calm but heard the alarm in his voice. Below them on the road Mario threw open the doors to the van and shouted at them to get in. A few seconds later they were on their way. Ahead of them was a long line of cars and at the front they saw flashing blue lights. People were running out of their cars towards the police officers, the road block was in complete chaos. Officers tried to keep track of people who were shocked, wounded and angry. Jonathan and Gustav picked up the weapons and jumped out of the car unnoticed and into the thick forest surrounding the road. After a few minutes of minutes of slow progress, Mario arrived at the front of the road block.
"Please, officer, you have to let us pass quickly! A bullet hit my wife and I think she's bleeding to death! Those maniacs shot all around themselves! I have to get her to a hospital fast!" Mario's voice was edged with genuine panic and the sight of Bianca's sticky red sweater was enough for the bewildered young police officer to wave them past. His task was to catch the terrorists and this young lady was obviously an innocent victim of this horrible attack.
*****
A copule of minutes later a police patrol car pulled up behind the van, as they neared the exit to Katla. Through the telescope in the apartment Sofia, Karl and the others could observe several police cars approaching the team's van at high speed. The police cars forced the van off the road. A short exchange of fire between the police and the team followed.
*****
This is an extra news broadcast from STV1.
'Almost half an hour ago armed criminals attacked several cars on National Road 2 just outside Katla. According to the police the perpetrators escaped in a white van.'
'Military sources say to the STV... excuse me a moment... We now have reports that the perpetrators have been caught. Apparently they apprehension was preceded by heavy shooting. Two of the gunmen were shot dead and the two others are wounded. We here have live footage from the apprehension. The police informs us that one of these shooters is the infamous terrorist and separatist Jonathan Grayes also known as Jonathan Lionheart.'
'Also...'
'... Oh my God... er... I've just been informed that, this is horrible news, ladies and gentlemen, that one of the victims of the attack on NR2 half an hour ago was Lord Tengil Richard Loke. This is absolutely horrible...'
'I repeat this: The Lord Tengil Richard Loke has apparently been killed in a terrorist attack while on his way from Katla to Rondal. Two terrorists have been killed and another two apprehended. We will return as soon as we get more information. Meanwhile, John is at the scene at NR2 in Segland where the attack occurred. Can you tell us something about the site, John, what is it we see?'
'Yes Brutus, the scene here is awful. Only one survivor has been rescued from the wreckage of a car, one of the bodyguards. There are emergency personnel everywhere and it's frankly outrageous how much damage the terrorrists have caused. As you can see, vicitms are being carried away for identification and a special van is on its way to pick up the remains of our beloved leader, lord Tengil Richard Loke. I... I'm sorry... I'm being told that the bodyguard who is now being taken in helicopter to Piter Memorial Hospital, is in a very bad condition. We all extend our prayers for him.'
'And indeed to his family. Thank you John, our reporter on site in Segland, where half an hour ago the Lord Tengil was brutally murdered' ...