Free The Conscripts: Fight or Die (Blood War Book 3) by Rod Carstens

of the guards looked puzzled. “We don’t need the other two.”
    “Orders. Only we can escort a prisoner to the gate. I’ll turn him over to you when we get out of the company area.”
    Ardan, Dieter, and Minga reported to Mati. In unison they yelled, “Reporting as ordered, ma’am!”
    Mati looked at Ardan and said, “Looks like they have orders to return you to Chava for a new trial. You two will escort him out of the company area.”
    One of the big guards leaned over and whispered something to Ardan. He did not flinch and stared straight ahead. His face seemed to harden with each word.
    “All right, enough of that shit,” Mati growled at the guard.
    Mati turned and led them out of the barracks into the cold black night. There were few lights illuminating the sidewalk as they marched along, just pools of light in the darkness. It was an almost theatrical setting for what was about to happen, Dieter thought. When they reached the mess hall, Mati turned to her right down another sidewalk that led behind the mess hall. The three recruits followed her. The two guards stopped and looked at one another in puzzlement.
    “Where are we going? This isn’t the way we came,” the tallest of the two said.
    “Shortcut,” Mati replied.
    The two guards fell in behind the three recruits and Mati. The sidewalk led down the side of the mess hall then turned left behind it. Once they were in back of the mess hall, Sergeants Ura and Chucha stepped out of the darkness into the glare of the single flood light behind the mess hall.
    “What is the meaning of this, Sergeant Mati?” Ura snapped.
    Mati had instructed them after chow that this was the signal. The two guards’ attention was turned toward Ura and Chucha when Ardan, Dieter, and Minga struck. Mati had told them to go for crippling blows immediately. They were too muscled up for a normal fight. She said, “Remember how I took the other two down.”
    Ardan landed the first blow. He used the momentum of his turn to face the guards to jump and land a perfect roundhouse kick to the jaw of the tallest guard. Dieter could hear his jaw break with a loud crack. He dropped to the ground.
    Minga simply leaned forward and went for the knee of the other guard with a straight back kick. He screamed and bent over to grab his knee. When he did, Dieter’s roundhouse only grazed his head, but it knocked him to the ground.
    Dieter and Minga stepped back to let Ardan have his revenge. Ardan walked over to the guard who was groaning and clutching his knee. The three drill instructors stood watching the scene with their hands on their hips, their faces hard and expressionless. Ardan kicked the groaning guard in the head and knocked him out. Then he stepped between the guard’s legs and very carefully stomped the heel of his boot down. Once, twice, and he had raised it for a third time when he realized he had accomplished what he wanted to. He walked to the other guard and did the same. When he was finished between his legs, he moved to his head and raised his foot for a killing blow.
    “Stop,” Sergeant Ura ordered.
    Ardan froze in mid-movement.
    “Enough.”
    Ardan was breathing hard when he stepped back from the prone figure. Dieter glanced over at Sergeant Mati. She had a small, satisfied smile on her face.
    “Sergeant Mati, take them back to the barracks. We will take care of these two.”
    As Sergeant Mati marched them back to the barracks, she told them how it would go. “You will tell the other members of the platoon that it was a mistake and we straightened it out.”
    “But what about—” Ardan blurted out.
    “Halt,” Mati snapped.
    The three stopped and stood at attention. Sergeant Mati came around and stood in front of them.
    “What you don’t know can’t hurt you. So don’t ask any more questions about our visitors unless you want to go to the brig for a long time. You three will keep your mouths shut about what just happened. You three are in a very tough spot.