CHAPTER 14


   It was actually kind of interesting to watch. When Mike Green packed he did not throw more into his bags. In this case he was taking things out and tossing them aside. It was obvious he had been using this little shack as a base of operations for sometime but, for the life of Patty, she could not exactly figure out what his operation was. She suspected he was working for Uncle Sam but, why would they hire a guy like this? Mike would not talk about it in any detail, although, he would rattle on about what he learned if you prodded him enough. Even when he did that, it was still obvious that the guy understood he was talking with someone who got in front of a camera and blabbed it to the entire world.
Patty just wished she had his problem of what to take and what to say goodbye too. It was quite obvious that Mike did not believe anything would still be here if and when he ever returned. Patty had nothing but the clothes on her back and, that was not as disturbing to her as the second part which she vocalized by asking, “you think something will happen to these people?”
“If it don’t,” Mike replied as he secured his bag, “they’ll take all this shit before I ever get back here. I don’t much care no how. I’m done with it.” As he tossed his bag on his shoulder he looked at her and said, “I talked to Aldo for you. He’s gonna try and get you back to Phvengs. The elves there can probably get you back to NIKA, or Cheau-Gan, or wherever it is you was heading, fer you got all kidnapped and shit.”
“Funny you should say that Mike,” Patty crossed her arms and snorted a short laugh, “I was headed in the same direction you plan on going. I was headed back to Uea-Au. Since you’re going in my direction.”
Mike rolled his eyes at the suggestion and, better yet, he gave her a short and to the point, “oh hell no, Patty.”
“This isn’t my first war zone Mike,” Patty pointed out. Why did she have to keep reminding people of that when her life was, quite literally, an open book.
“Yeah, so what?” Mike walked to the door of the shack and said, “your boyfriend is a general. Something happens to you and he can come at me with more than a shotgun.”
“I’m not your responsibility ether,” Patty replied with a very genuine sneer. “Look, I know why you really don’t want me along and…”
“And I ain’t the only one,” Mike cut in. He pointed out the door and said, “them commando’s out there ain't exactly thrilled with the idea.”
“They’re soldiers,” Patty shot back, “as you pointed out, my boyfriend is a general. I think I can persuade them.”
That drew a short laugh from Mike, “them boys ain’t working for nobody your BF can order around. I think they’re more concerned about him than they are a by line on cable.” When that drew a confused look from Patty, Mike laughed again, “some reporter you are. Look Patty, me and you both know why you’re really here. Before you go and think that’s still all important and shit, you should go talk to that scrawny looking fucker, Hoop.”
It should not have surprised Patty that this gruff looking biker of a scientist would know something she was interested in. He was obviously a guy that liked learning the lay of the land but, at the same time, Patty saw something else in the guy. Despite his overt hostility, Mike had a heart that was just dripping. He had probably sniffed around for her, and not Vega, who he was trying to help for no other reason than he thought it right. Patty filed that away for now and then asked, “so what did he say about Angie?”
Mike took a second and then just shrugged, “that girl wasn’t kidnapped Patty. She’s been working with them since almost the day she vanished out the back of that truck.”
That caused Patty to wince and she pointed out the door, “are you saying they’re the ones who snatched her?”
“Hell no,” Mike replied quickly, “I kind of got the impression she’s been annoying the hell out of them. All but that Hoop feller, and he’s been putting the bone to your little sweetheart.” Patty did not know if she wanted to be sick or laugh at the way Mike just casually phrased his last statement. Why would Angie do that? How would she explain all of this to Nate? Patty was not even sure she understood it. The confusion was easily visible to Mike who summed it up for her, “that girl ain’t no sweet and innocent little cheerleader. She’s an operator, just like them boys out yonder. I’m guessing that whole thing you and your buddy witnessed was just a cover to get her in.”
If there had been any doubt in Patty’s mind, it was gone now. She had to get back north and these guys were heading to the only person she wanted to find. Patty had been on this trail, only as a side issue that was basically a favor to a friend. Now, it was her primary focus because, as she thought about it she realized, there was a lot more going on here than she had ever dreamed possible. Bob didn’t even know about any of this and could that be possible? It was possible he was just keeping all of it from her but, Patty knew that man. He was not that good of a liar. If he did not know any of this, and Angie had been under his command, then it spelled bad news. Given what was at stake now, Patty realized someone needed to find out.
“Aw hell no,” Mike told her. “I see that look in your eye woman. Trust me, this is out your league.”
“Oh I see,” Patty tossed it back in his face, “but it’s perfectly safe for a college professor?”
“I didn’t say nothing bout safe,” Mike replied, “but it’s what I get paid to do.”
“Oh bullshit Mike,” Patty told him point blank. She gestured to the shack, “the government does not pay anyone to do all this crap. Not for the kind of cash they offer.”
That humbled the anthropologist just a little, “yeah well, maybe I’m doing it cause there’s another angle to keeping up your bank account.”
Patty had to hear this, “and what’s that?”
Without missing a beat, Mike told her, “it goes to zero if somebody blows up the bank.” Patty did laugh this time but Mike remained dead serious, “if we loose this shooting match, we run the risk of loosing everything. I think a lot of people seem to keep forgetting that shit.”
That did not phase Patty. She realized that most people did not get the complexities of international, and now inter-dimensional, geo-strategy but she was not one of them. “Oh come on Mike. Even if we had a worst case scenario, and loose this whole country, there is no way in hell the Orcs could get through the Dell without us blowing the ever living crap out of them. They aren’t a threat to us.”
Mike did not think that was funny either, “so everybody keeps saying.”
Patty crossed her arms, “you don’t sound convinced.”
“Maybe cause I’m not,” Mike told her and sounded almost bitter, “everybody keeps treating them like animals. Hell, if you ain’t an elf in this country, you get treated like an animal no matter whether you lay eggs or not.”
Patty disagreed, “I haven’t seen that Mike. The humans I’ve dealt with, they seem…”
“You mean like that Losmun fellow?” Mike asked and then followed that with, “or Balfour? The elves deal with them like they do cause they aren’t left with any choice. They got money, power, or both. If you’re just some little guy trying to get buy, the Elves don’t give a shit if you got scales, feathers, or hair. If you ain’t got pointed ears you’re just a resource to them.”
Before Mike could explain, he saw something out the window that made explaining moot, anyway. He slid the shotgun off his shoulder and flipped off the safety before telling Patty, “stay here and if shooting breaks out, these walls ain’t gonna stop no bullets. Crawl out that back window, yonder, and head for the swamp.”
Patty could not believe her ears. She watched Mike run out the front door and she wasted not time looking for the source of the trouble. It was a patrol of elves? From the looks of their uniforms they were Noveus-Faeyu and, more importantly, they were also not in good shape. Patty could never remember seeing that particular crew looking so dirty. There was also something else about them that Patty could not quite put her finger on. They looked, empty? She really had no word to describe it.
What Patty did know how to describe was what the elves started doing. They met with the little dragon that owned the car. Even when using hand signals, it was quite obvious the elves were making demands and just expecting them to be followed. Patty heard a ruckus going on across the little compound but could not really see what was happening. She heard a human scream, followed by several shots, and then the dragon sneezed on the elf. Fire came out it’s nose? It scorched the lead elf who scream in pain as he dropped to the ground and began to roll.
The shooting started in earnest at that point. Mike had only been too right about the composition of the walls. Someone raked the entire side of the village with a machinegun. The bullets went high and Patty dove for the floor fast enough to be missed but, it did not save her from the splinters and mayhem. She was sure she picked up some debris in her skin but, decided to worry about it later. Even the sight of some blood was not enough to switch her train of thought which was, once again, Mike’s sound advice. It was time to get the hell out. Patty climbed out the back window and found it was the first time she was thankful they didn’t have any with glass.
The shooting got thicker as she ran for the swamp. Patty also heard some curious single pops going off at a slightly different level of volume. They almost seemed to ride above the thunderous rumble. Then she heard the unmistakable sound of Mike’s shotgun, followed by his voice. He sounded all right, even angry. It made Patty thankful and it also made her look back towards the village, which now appeared to be on fire. Patty looked at it for too long. She tripped over something but, fortunately, something else broke her fall.
When Patty caught her breath, and pushed herself back up to a kneeling position, she almost screamed when she found herself nose to nose with an elf. Patty was so frightened she  did not even realize that what she was really looking at was the grungy looking face of a young girl that happened to be dressed as a soldier. The elf was obviously as frightened as Patty was and they were both frozen like statues, locked on each others eyes. It took a moment before Patty even realized the girl was not holding a weapon. Patty slowly raised an open palm and tired telling the girl, “it’s ok. I…”
That was enough to snap the girl back into action. She looked around for something in a rush and then grabbed for her belt line. Patty saw the pistol coming out in the girls hand and yelled at her, “no I don’t want…” It was obvious that was not going to work so Patty dove on the girl and grabbed for the weapon. To Patty’s surprise, she actually managed to wrestle it away from the elf and very quickly. The girl backed up and so did Patty who was trying to aim the thing with her hands and arms trembling. The girl began yelling something in her own language and Patty tried yelling back, “shut up! Will you just…”
Another elf appeared out of the bushes. This one did not look frightened and, in fact, he looked quite pissed. He also did not seem to have any reservations about what he was going to do next. He had a very short and heated conversation with the female and did not seem to have expected Patty to be here. Unfortunately, he quickly adjusted his plans and began to raise his assault weapon. His one disadvantage was that Patty already had the pistol raised. It took less than a second to swing it at the male elf and pull the trigger. Patty kept pulling the trigger only the weapon remained silent!
What happened after that came so fast that Patty had no idea how it came to pass. She heard pops, saw the ground, and then found herself fighting for the pistol again. This time the female elf was on top of her and screaming in rage. Patty could barely hang on to the weapon and was sure it was all but lost until the elf punched her in the face. Patty became so enraged by that she snapped and bit the girls hand, digging her teeth in as hard as she could. Patty could taste the blood, she heard the screams of pain, and then she snatched her gun hand away. It only worked a little in her favor because the girls good hand was keeping Patty from aiming it. Then Patty felt hard metal poke her in the ribs. She guessed what that something was as she also realized another thing. She had something that the the elf did not, a free hand.
The metal was a knife that was attached to the girls equipment vest. Patty knew this with certainty because she somehow managed to cut herself when she got it free of the sheath. Then she turned it on it’s owner. It was the strangest sensation. Patty saw the world going by in frames. She felt every sensation as she drove the knife into the young girl. She saw every muscle twitch on the girls face. She saw the eyes of the elf and heard words that were like pleas of sorrow. The elf rolled off of Patty and took the knife with her. That was when Patty saw that it was still buried in the girls chest. She sat up against a tree and never stopped looking at the knife. Patty puked.
When her eyes came back up she saw John Snow standing over the male elf. It was on it’s knees and both were covered in blood. Snow had a funny looking pistol pointed at the back of it’s head and he was yelling at it in it’s own language. The elf responded in English with a very determined sounding, “fuck you.” Patty jerked both times that John pulled the trigger. He then stomped towards her with a grim determination on his face.
Patty could see that his eyes were locked on the frightened and wounded girl. Patty told John as he approached, “I think she’ll live if…”
John stopped right next to Patty, raised his pistol, and shot the girl in the face, twice. He looked down at Patty and sounded angry as he told her, “get up.” He then marched off back towards the raging inferno that had been a peaceful village. He never bothered to look back. Patty took a deep breath and followed.