Raynor's tears were on the verge of falling.
"It's just a minor wound." Augustus felt something lodge in his throat, making it ache slightly.
"We have to do something for Tom," Raynor said. "We have to take him and Benjamin with us."
Before Augustus could make a decision, another Confederacy unit gradually caught up with them from behind. It was about a platoon strong, led by a lieutenant. Judging by its insignia, it seemed to belong to the 2nd Brigade.
"Who's your commanding officer?" The lieutenant walked up to Augustus, and his troops stopped with him. The lieutenant had clearly noticed the Goliath walker lying off to one side.
"I'm Corporal Mengsk. In any case, as you can see, we need medics here, and the sooner the better." Augustus stood and addressed the lieutenant.
"Now you can tell me what happened here. Keep it concise—one or two sentences at most." After pausing for two seconds to say a few words over the comm channel, the lieutenant spoke.
"A Kel-Morian Goliath was hiding in an underground parking garage in the alley and ambushed us," Augustus said. "As you can see, we took it down."
"Were you in command of these men? Nicely done." The lieutenant glanced at the Goliath. "The Kel-Morians' Goliaths have cost us far more than their Rippers. No matter the cost or the casualties, taking one out is worth it."
"Bring your men and follow me. We still have a ways to go before we can take the Kel-Morians' command center. This city is crawling with Kel-Morian bastards, hiding everywhere like rats in the sewers. Too many people have already died trying to reclaim this wasteland, trying to take this godforsaken cesspit," he said.
"We're too far in to turn back now, young sergeant."
"This is fucking war."
As Augustus reported to the lieutenant, four medics emerged from the platoon with a stretcher. Using laser tools, they removed Omo's chest and abdominal armor, then spent several more minutes taking off the other components.
After bandaging his wounds, they lifted the unconscious Omo onto the stretcher and headed back the way they had come. As they left, the medics dropped off several body bags.
"These bags are made with the latest nanoweave technology and can preserve bodies until they're recovered," a soft but utterly emotionless female voice announced over the loudspeaker.
"Recovered? Recover what?" Raynor picked up the body bags.
"Power Armor," one of the medics said.
"What happened to him? Where are you taking him?" Zander asked, following behind the stretcher.
But the medics only shook their heads and said nothing.
After placing Benjamin's body and those of the other fallen marines into the body bags, Augustus led the survivors after the lieutenant's unit. No one spoke during the journey. Everyone was in a terrible mood, especially Raynor, who had been shaking with grief for quite some time.
Grief and guilt tormented Augustus too, but they weren't enough to break him. On the contrary, his pain made his mind sharper and more precise than ever.
Gradually, they drew closer to the exit of A-220 Commercial Street. The exit opened onto a central plaza surrounded by large buildings, including a bookstore, an electronics mall, and a department store. At the plaza's cobblestone center stood a dried-up fountain.
Once they crossed the plaza, Augustus and the others could get back onto the road. Bright light drew nearer, while gunfire and cannon blasts grew more intense in the surrounding streets. Every Confederacy unit entering the commercial district was being ambushed by the Kel-Morians.
The lieutenant from the 2nd Brigade was at the front. He was the first to step out of the commercial street. At the exit, the officer gave a forceful wave back at the others, then turned and continued onward.
"Don't stop!" he shouted.
But suddenly, without warning, the officer staggered a few steps and pitched face-first onto the ground. Almost everyone saw him fall. From where Augustus stood, he could clearly see the bullet hole in the lieutenant's helmet.
"Sniper!" a sergeant from the lieutenant's platoon yelled. His shout set off a chain reaction. With no idea where the sniper was, the marines fired at the nearby shops and high-rises. Only after shattering the few dozen panes of glass still left in the area did the gunfire finally cease.
"Rick, can you take him out?" Augustus asked over the comm channel.
"I can, but we need to pinpoint the enemy sniper's position," Rick replied. "See those high-rises around the plaza? He could be on any floor of any one of them, with his rifle aimed at the entrance to this street. He might've already left, or he might still be waiting quietly for another worthy target to show up."
"That shot just now might've been his last. He only needed to let us know there's a killer watching our heads."
While Augustus spoke with Rick, the squad leaders under the lieutenant were heatedly discussing the situation over their platoon channel. But most of their argument was about who would take command now that the lieutenant was dead.
"We'll just have to make a full-on charge," Harnack said.
"If we don't take out that sniper, he'll kill as many of us as he can before we get out of this street," Raynor said.
"What about going through another street?" Zander said. "Or waiting for the troops on the other streets to go out first."
"But what if that bastard's already got his eye on us? As long as he's still there, who knows if his next shot might hit one of our men out of the hundreds of people here?" Ward said.
"Rick, how do we pinpoint the enemy sniper's position?" Augustus asked.
"I need him to fire again." Rick had already climbed to the top floor of a department store at the exit to the commercial street. He set up his sniper rifle by a top-floor window, aimed at the central plaza, and slowly swept the crosshairs from left to right at a rate of half an inch per second.
Rick's sniper rifle was specially designed for warriors in Power Armor, built for killing. The Master Sergeant's FN-92 had a two-stage trigger. After the first pull, only the slightest touch was needed to release the firing pin in the chamber.
After hearing Rick's response, Augustus fell silent. The most rational part of his mind told him they couldn't stay in this commercial district much longer. Who knew if a Ripper squad or a Goliath might suddenly emerge from nearby?
"Laird." While the squad leaders were still arguing, Augustus abruptly turned to the Resocialized Soldiers he had met earlier. There were only three of them left now. Without a trace of hesitation, Augustus chose what he believed was the most effective way to solve the problem: he would use the Resocialized Soldiers to draw the enemy sniper's fire.
Benjamin's death and Omo's grievous wounds were turning Augustus cold.
Laird immediately went over to Augustus.
"Rick, you have three chances," Augustus said.
"One will be enough," Rick replied. "What are you planning?"
"We can try to lure him into firing, but we can't take too much risk."
"From now on, Rick, stay focused. Find the sniper's position and take him out before he escapes." Augustus finished speaking and cut off the comm channel.
"Private First Class Laird, come here."
Augustus was now very close to Laird. He found a tiny string of ID numbers on the Resocialized Soldier's helmet. After entering the code, Augustus used his helmet's computer to access the following information:
Laird Gain had killed ten adult men and eaten six of them. He had salted the rest.
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