Laura and the Shadow King: Laura and the Shadow King, #2

By Bruno Martins Soares

Humanity is dying. Much of the population is living in the wild like psychotic animals ravaged by a seemingly incurable disease. J.J. Berger and his Shadow Team are the defenders of the last remnants of Democracy, threatened by the sick and by the totalitarian forces in the East, wondering if theirs is a lost cause. On the Iberian southern plains, a flicker of hope sparks up, as a little girl and her mother flee their brutal captors towards the dim beacon of civilization still burning in the West.

As Laura and the King take refuge in the medieval castle of Monsaraz, a major battle will ensue, as the eastern forces chase one little girl and her powers. Outnumbered and outgunned, the siege will demand everything the Shadow Team can muster to meet the challenge.

With this new series, Bruno Martins Soares ventures into a post-apocalyptic world, where his action-filled breathtaking militaristic style rises to a different level, on the southern plains of Spain and Portugal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brodom Publishing
• Release date: May 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224127207

Book preview

GLOSSARY

40-mike-mike – 40mm Grenade Launcher

AA – Anti-aircraft gun

ACOG – Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight; rifle tactical sights.

AG – Anti-ground ordinance

AGS – Grenade launcher system

AIS – Aggressive Infected Subjects; a.k.a. subs

AO – Area of Operations

AOR – Area Of Responsability

AR – Automatic Rifleman; carries machine-gun

AWT – Air Weapons Team; team in the air, aircraft.

BOG  - Boots On the Ground. Number of soldiers available.

BTR – Bronetransportyor; Russian Armored Personnel Carrier

BPM – Russian Armored Personnel Carrier

Camelback - Water bladder usually carried on the back, holds up to 3 liters.

Charlie Foxtrot - A more polite way of saying Cluster Fuck; messed up situation.

Charlie Mike – Continue Mission

CLS – Combat Life Saver; medic

CO – Commanding Officer

COP – Combat Out Post

Demo – Demolition Charges; explosives.

EW – Early Warning

EZ – Extraction Zone

FOB – Forward Operating Base

Frag – Fragmentation Grenade

Airport, Madeira Island; currently FNC.

HAZMAT – Hazardous Materials et al.; also: suits and procedures used in hazardous materials situations

IDF – Indirect Fire; fire without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target

ISR – Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance

LPC – Leather Personnel Carrier, i.e. on foot.

LT – Lieutenant

LZ – Landing Zone

Kevlar – Helmet.

Mass-Cas – Mass Casualties; many casualties.

MBT – Main Battle Tank

MIA – Missing In Action

Mikes – Minutes

MLRS – Multiple Launch Rocket System

MSR – Main Supply Road

NOD – Night Observation Device; night vision goggles.

N6 – Air Base Number Six, in Lisbon

PS – Porto Santo Island

SAR – Search And Rescue

SAW – Squad Automatic Weapon; machine-gun

SG – Smoke Grenade

Sit-Rep – Situation Report

SOCOM – Special Operations Command

SSR – Secondary Supply Road

Oscar Mike – On My way; On Mission; On the Move

OTV - (Outer Tactical Vest)/ Vest- body armor. Usually consists of a Kevlar vest and ceramic plates. Combined, rated to a threat level IV, meaning it can stop a 7.62mm round.

Tango - Target

Technical – Car or Truck with an improvised mounted heavy machine-gun

TOC – Tactical Operations Center

UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; drone.

Wilco – Will Comply

Wiley-X – Shooting/Ballistic glasses

ZSU – 23mm Russian Anti-aircraft automatic twin-guns

Volume 2

Peach

0

––––––––

‘Only a beast or a god can live alone, boy.’ My old grandmother used to say. ‘A real man finds people he can trust.’

There was this episode about two months before the whole mess. In the Spring. We were working with Davis and his SEAL team, codenamed Snake, in an op in northwestern Lisbon, a city suburb called Amadora. They wanted to speak to someone in the Black Cat’s gang, with which Shadow had a standing relationship. So a couple of Blackhawks took us all into that part of town.

At this time, my second in Shadow 1-1 was Danny Morris, a Canadian from Ontario, formerly JTF2–Canadian Special Forces. He was tall and thin, had big ears, was a down-to-earth kind of guy and had this thing for Sudoku puzzles I could never understand. He’d been with us for a few years now.

The Blackhawks left us on a couple of buildings about a mile from the meeting point with the Black Cats—a large, abandoned construction site in the middle of an urban setting. Once on the ground, we progressed through parallel streets, Shadow on the right flank and Snake on the left.

The unit moved through the street with guns up and in combat formation. This was not a quiet part of town, and the Black Cats were aggressive and not very stable.

As we got to the end of the block and I saw the construction site a few hundred meters ahead, I clicked on the radio:

‘Eyes on the target building.’

‘Copy that.’ said Davis.

I looked back and saw the entire unit firm and calm. We stopped, and I signaled the teams to move to position. The plan was for Shadow 1-2, 1-3 and Zero to secure the far side of the building, to the North, while Snake secured the front and Shadow 1-1 made the first contact with the gang, then signaling Snake 1 to go inside if it was clear. Bat, Mike, Vader, and their team-members moved ahead, circling towards the back of the building.

‘Shadow is moving into position.’ I said on comms. ‘Shadow 1-1 is set, over.’

‘Copy that, Shadow. Stand by.’ After a few seconds, Davis came back to my ear: ‘Snake is in position. Negative movement on target.’

‘Roger that.’ I acknowledged. ‘Stand by.’

I looked back and asked Morris, who was scanning the construction site with his ACOG:

‘See anything?’

‘Nada.’ He replied. ‘Think they’re late?’

I shook my head.

‘No. They’re there. Just keeping out of sight. We’ll see them soon enough.’

Then I heard Bat on comms.

‘1, this is 2. In position.’

‘Copy that, 2. 3, what’s your status?’

Mike’s voice came through.

‘Wait one.’ I waited a few seconds and then I heard him again. ‘Three is in position.’

‘Copy. Zero, what’s your status?’

Vader’s voice replied.

‘This is Zero. We’ll be in position in 20, over.’

‘Copy that.’

And Bat’s voice came in again.

‘1, this is 2.’

‘Send it, 2.’

‘Eyes on three armed contacts on the second floor, over.’

‘Any of them is Asumane?’

‘Negative, 1. No eyes on Asumane.’

‘Roger that.’

And then Vader’s voice:

‘Zero is in position. Eyes on contacts, over.’

‘Copy. Do you see Asumane?’

‘That’s a negative, 1.’

I sighed and looked at Morris.

‘No Asumane. Let’s hope the son of a bitch is here.’

‘I bet he’s somewhere kicking his pit-bulls around, the fucker.’

Morris hated people who mistreated animals. Asumane, the Black Cat’s leader, made a point of hitting his dogs constantly, to make them aggressive and prepare them for fighting in the arena. I wasn’t happy about that either, but it was not our place to judge. I switched the frequency and talked to Davis.

‘Snake, this is Shadow, over.’

‘Send it, Shadow.’

‘Shadow is in position. We have three armed contacts on the second floor, north side. Negative on leader, over.’

‘Very well, Shadow. It’s your game. Feel free to move.’

I nodded to Morris and stood up, raising my M4 and advancing as he followed me.

‘Roger that, Snake. Shadow 1-1 is Oscar Mike. Make sure you cover our asses, over.’

‘Your lovely asses shall be covered, over.’

‘Fox-Tango-November, Snake. Out.’

‘Fox-Tango-Alpha, Shadow. Out.’

Fuck the Navy and fuck the Army. That was the usual way Davis and I communicated. We understood each other.

*

As we approached the construction site, I looked left and saw Paige Drexler leaning against a metal container, her rifle in hand, her black cap turned backwards with her comms over it. She winked at me. Did she wink at me? That woman... I didn’t know her very well at that point. I knew she was with Davis, I knew she was funny, we had exchanged a couple of words here and there and I’d seen her on the field. So I just pretended I didn’t see that wink. I’d find out later that this was her idea of a joke. And, let’s face it, she was funny.

I slowed down as I got to the gate. I made sure my pistol was loose in the holster, ready to draw. Lowering my rifle, I straightened up and started walking in a calm, relaxed manner. I knew Morris would be doing the same behind me. We were coming for a meeting, not a firefight.

As we went inside, an African kid, no more than 17 years old, confronted us with an old Beretta SMG in his hands.

‘Stop right there, man!’ He said, in Portuguese.

‘Hey, relax.’ I replied. ‘We’re here to speak to Asumane. I’m Berger.’

The kid was way too jumpy and probably high. My instincts were telling me everything was wrong. It wasn’t just the kid’s demeanor, but that there were so many of them armed in the building. The whole situation was wrong. Something had happened.

‘Put your weapons on the ground.’ Said the kid, waving his submachine-gun.

I shook my rifle, showing how it was stuck to the strap.

‘Sorry.’ I said. ‘Can’t do that. They’re strapped to our bodies.’

The kid needed a few seconds to understand what I was saying. He became a bit agitated. I heard Farris, Davis’ sniper, in my ear.

‘I have a shot.’

And then Davis.

‘Wait for the signal.’

The kid raised his weapon at me and repeated:

‘Put your guns on the ground!! Now!’

I shook my head.

‘Please don’t point that machine-gun at me again.’ I waved my thumb over my shoulder. ‘I have a guy back there that will shoot you if you do.’

The kid was surprised and taken-aback. They had never told him I could refuse his order. It should have been simple. He’d ask us to lose our weapons and we would lose them. But I wasn’t going to do that. Not in the present conditions. Something was wrong. So I wasn’t going up there unarmed, and the kid didn’t know what to do.

‘Just take us to Asumane.’ I said.

He looked at me and I saw in his eyes Asumane was probably dead. Someone else was in charge. The kid didn’t know what to do. He was over his head.

‘Just take us upstairs.’ I said.

And while he decided, I heard Vader on comms.

‘Ok, I have more contacts. Five, no, six contacts. Armed on the second floor.’

The kid finally decided.

‘No. Without putting your weapons down, you’re not going upstairs, man!’

I was having enough of this idiot. I slowly raised my left hand to my pocket and took out a small can.

‘You know what this is? This is tuna. Remember tuna? Remember its taste? Good, no?’

His eyes opened wide with greed, and he actually salivated. I continued.

‘So this can happen in one of two ways. Either we go upstairs, fully armed, and I give this can of tuna to your leader, and maybe even be able to get one for you, or... my sniper in that building back there will put a bullet in your left eye and I will go up there anyway, but a lot less happy and a lot less calm and a lot less generous than I am right now.’

The kid visibly gulped.

‘So decide.’ I concluded. ‘How are you’re going to spend your next hour? Savoring a delicious piece of tuna swamped in olive oil... or laying on the ground bleeding from your eye socket?’

There was hesitation for a couple of seconds, but finally the kid lowered his gun and waved us on to follow him.

‘Well done, boss.’ Whispered Morris.

‘Just keep your eyes open.’

*

The African kid led us towards the stairs. The steps were raw, just uneven, grey concrete steps going up. I followed him, my rifle firm in my hands, and Morris followed me. I heard Davis on comms.

‘Shadow 1-1 is now out of sight.’

And then Vader.

‘Eyes on 1-1.’

We came out on the second floor, and the kid took us to the back. Another African kid was calmly sitting on a plastic chair waiting for us. He had a pit-bull at his feet and was surrounded by armed goons.

‘Why do they have their weapons!?’ He said at once.

The first kid didn’t know what to say. I felt Morris moving further to my left, and I advanced a couple of steps.

‘Where’s Asumane?’ I asked.

‘Stay where you are!’ said one of the goons, raising his shotgun. The situation was very tense and I knew I had to do something to level it down. But...

The dog started barking at the air. And then the building moved. It started shaking more and more. We all looked at each other, surprised. And the dog just ran away. And one of the goons was scared shitless and raised a pistol pointing it at us and I shot him with the M4. Morris started shooting his rifle and the guy with the shotgun fired at him and I started running to my right and firing and there were bullets everywhere. But the building was still trembling, vibrating madly, and the next thing I knew, the floor gave up under me and I fell into the abyss.

*

Everything was black. I couldn’t see a thing. I tried to move, but the whole left side of my body was under something very heavy. I could move my right hand, my right arm and my right leg, but not a lot. I was under concrete, I knew it. Somewhere under a ton of debris.

It had been an earthquake, of course. A large one. Lisbon was set on an infamous seismic fault. Back in the 18th century, a huge earthquake dethroned it as one of the greatest cities in the world.

This day’s earthquake had scared the Black Cats, and the firefight had been very stupid. I remembered seeing Morris getting shot. Even if he was alive, he was probably under tons of debris, just like me.

The air was dry and dusty, and it was difficult to breathe. I moved my hand towards the radio to try the comms, but the device was crashed beneath the debris. I listened carefully to my surroundings, not noticing any movement at all. I was alone. I knew I had to stay calm. There was no way I could get out of that situation by myself. I had to wait for the team.

My NODs were under me, as well as my emergency flashlight, so I wouldn’t be able to get out of the darkness soon. I had to accept that fact, as uncomfortable as it was. My whole body was sore, but something was really hurting my left leg. I wiggled my toes. It hurt, but it wasn’t broken. Not the leg and not the foot. Good. I could feel a little moist down there, which probably meant I was bleeding, but where I felt it was, it wouldn’t have opened a vein or an artery, so I should be alright.

The darkness and the impossibility of moving slowly got to me. What if they didn’t find me? What if they were all dead? What if I was going to die like this, alone, suffocating for lack of air or even of thirst after days and days? I always thought I’d die from a bullet or a broken neck. Quickly. This wasn’t quickly, this was agonizing. But what did that matter? Dying is dying. The best thing I could think about death was that everything was over. That nothing came after it. I was comfortable with death because I thought it could be a relief. But what if it wasn’t? There was no certainty about it. Somebody once said that maybe our world is the Hell of some other world. So what if there’s worse? What if this, being stuck here, in pain, waiting to go, is the truly relaxing part?

Stop it, J.J.! Thinking too much can mess you up just as much as thinking too little. I tried to move again, pushing hard. It was making me crazy.

‘CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?? ANYONE??’ I cried loud. I waited a few seconds for the reply. Nothing. Relax. Relax, J.J. Don’t lose your nerve.

I moved my right hand all around, trying to understand the pocket of space I was in. Then I felt something on the ground. It was a pistol. I moved my hand to my mouth and took off my glove with my teeth. Then I reached for the pistol. It was my SIG. My old 226. I’d know it anywhere. I had opened my holster earlier, so the gun must have jumped off as I fell. Oh, good. Oh, good. If it got too hard, I could use it. On myself. Or I could just shoot at the wall now and make some noise for someone to hear. Don’t be crazy, J.J.—it would most likely kill you from the ricochet and certainly make you deaf, leaving you even more helpless than you are now. I reached down and stuck the pistol on my belt, as I couldn’t reach the holster. Maybe I’d use it later. Oh, you’re thinking too much. Just sing.

I started singing Knights of Cydonia. A Muse song. I started shouting the refrain. No one’s going to take me alive. That’s for sure.

I was lost in the song, which I hadn’t heard for so long—I hadn’t sung for ages - when it happened  ‘Hello?’

It was a voice. A voice coming from above. I heard it again. ‘Anybody there?’

I immediately replied:

‘HELLO! I’M HERE! I’M DOWN HERE!’

It was a feminine voice. Paige Drexler. I heard some stones being moved and she spoke again. ‘King? He’s down here! He’s down here! King?’

I felt the earth move above me and finally a single ray of light came in.

‘King?’ I heard again. The hole above was getting larger and her voice was getting closer. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Same shit, different day, Drexler. Mike Papa Hotel.’

‘What does that mean? He’s okay. He says Mike Papa Hotel!’

I heard the guys laughing loud in the background and felt warm inside. Then it all became dark again, and she was close.

‘I’m here.’ She said. I raised my hand to the hole and felt the tips of her fingers. She moved more and I could grab her fingers, and then her hand, her gloved hand, and then I felt the skin of her wrist and grabbed it and she grabbed mine.

‘I’m here, King. You’re fine, peach. You’re still alive.’

‘I’m sure fucking glad you’re here, Paige.’

‘I heard you had canned tuna. I wasn’t just let that tasty thing go to waste.’

I laughed. It was so good to hold her hand like that. And she was so funny.

‘Morris?’ I asked.

‘He’s badly hit, but he’ll make it.’

I sighed in relief.

‘That’s good.’

‘They can’t come through here. They’re going around. They say they think they can reach you from the other side. Just wait one, okay?’

‘Sure.’

For a moment, I thought she was going away, and I felt a sudden loss. Her hand was like a lifeline. She must have sensed that, because she said:

‘I’ll stay here with you, okay?’

I sighed in relief again., and

‘Yes. Thank you.’

I suddenly felt very relaxed. Her hand felt like a million dollars, there in the dark. I could feel the smooth skin of her wrist and it was all I could think about for a second. I forgot the cut in my leg, I forgot the weight on top of me. All I could feel was her hand. All I was hearing was her breathing above me.

‘What does Mike Papa Hotel stand for?’ She asked me.

I smiled in the dark.

‘My Pussy Hurts.’

And she laughed and laughed. I would never forget that laugh.

A few weeks later Snake team would be blown to pieces, and I’d find Paige hammered in the sun by the pool. And it was my turn to rescue her from a hole.

1

––––––––

‘What do you think?’ I asked the team.

‘Looks like the Alamo.’ Said Bat.

‘Yeah. A fucking deathtrap.’ Said Gordo.

‘Lovely. Picturesque. Give me a camera.’ Said Paige.

‘Looks good.’ Said Mike. ‘Historical place. Solid.’

‘It is.’ Said Tony.

‘Lots of over watch.’ Said Vader.

‘For miles.’ Said Luke.

‘A fucking deathtrap.’ Said Gordo.

‘Fucking Alamo.’ Said Bat.

I looked down and saw Laura raising her arms to me. I picked her up and asked her.

‘You like this place?’ She didn’t really understand what I was saying, but she nodded and grabbed my neck. ‘We’ll stay here for tonight.’

The Castle of Monsaraz was a medieval fortress from the 13th century, still featuring square towers on the South side, dominating the plains of Alentejo. It was an impressive building, on top of a hill. There were two gates to the East and the North, after the climb of a steep ramp between strongholds.

The Guadiana River was just a couple of miles to the East. It was late afternoon when Lúcio’s boat left us on the western bank. A couple of trucks were there to pick us up and take us up the hill to the Castle. Jorge Sousa thought of everything.

The hill was elongated North to South and, outside the walls, there was an uphill road along the eastern wall that went through a couple of roundabouts up to the North gate. The village of stone white and blue houses settled on top of that hill, inside the walls, following the narrow avenue at the center all the way through to the southern towers that stood proud over the cemetery, looking over the entire region. The trucks didn’t go through the North gate, stopping at the parking spot just next to it. We climbed down.

I passed Laura to Drexler’s arms and got off the truck and, as Paige was passing her back to me, she asked a question in French. I thought I understood her, but I looked at Paige, who said:

‘She’s asking for her mother.’

I looked into the girl’s sad eyes.

‘They are bringing her in right now. They have a cemetery here. We’ll bury her in the morning.’

Paige translated for the girl and then I asked:

‘Okay?’

And the girl whispered:

‘Yes.’ She was a phenomenon. She was learning English already.

There were armed men at the gate and all around, in fact. Eduardo took us into the Castle. Inside there were multiple small white houses. Eduardo spoke to a few men, and they led us to one house a few hundred meters from the gate. It was a cozy little house with a bedroom and a living room where they’d put some cods. It didn’t have running water, but they put several jugs in a corner for us. There was also a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, some fruit, and a few Portuguese sausages. It was a banquet. As we ate, I was restless, so I started organizing the Team.

‘Okay, listen up. After we eat, Bat, you take Vader and Tony and go check out the place.’

‘Roger, King.’

‘Mike, I want you to settle us in. See if Gordo and Luke are comfortable and need more medical attention...’

‘We’re okay, King.’ Said Gordo, but I ignored him.

‘And make sure this house is secure. And take an eye on the little girl, will you?’

‘Sure, King.’

I turned to Paige.

‘Drexler, you’re with me. We’re going to see who’s in charge.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Okay then.’

I got up, still with bread between my teeth, and picked up my gear. Shadow immediately started moving.

*

There was a guy outside our house. I knew his face, but I didn’t know his name. He should have been in his 20s or something. He had a hunting rifle with him. He was definitely waiting for us.

‘Who are you?’ I asked in Portuguese.

‘Private Mota, sir.’

‘You’re here for us?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘I need to speak to whoever is in charge.’

‘Yes, sir.’

He started walking up the street and I looked at Paige and we both followed him.

There were several dozen men in the castle. All armed, all meaning business. Supplies were coming in, on donkeys, on