Hurst - Robin Crumby (bookreader TXT) 📗
- Author: Robin Crumby
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Book online «Hurst - Robin Crumby (bookreader TXT) 📗». Author Robin Crumby
A rifle crack splintered the stone close to his head, and his right ear seemed to explode with a searing pain. His hand came away slick with blood. He crouched down, manoeuvring himself back behind the doorway to the guardhouse. The bell was still in his right hand and he started ringing it again as loudly as possible. He clasped a pocket handkerchief to his ear, trying to staunch the steady flow of blood. Who the hell was firing at him?
****
Back on the Gun Tower, Tommy was still cowering behind the parapet, watching the flare drift on the wind. He steeled himself, trying to get a grip on the surging panic threatening to get the better of him. His heart was pounding so fast he thought he might be having an asthma attack.
He poked his head over the ledge, trying to get a look at what was going on beneath him. A short burst of automatic fire made him duck down again. Bullets seemed to ricochet off the lip of the wall, showering him in stone fragments and dust. He moved to his right and tried again. This time he got a clear view of three men, edging slowly across the roof towards the courtyard and front gate. One man took up position behind a chimney, getting ready to provide covering fire. A silhouetted figure took the strain on a rope, while another abseiled the short distance to ground level.
Out in the western wing of the complex, he could see a small crowd of people pointing at the men on top of the wall. Tommy shouted at them, realising the danger. For a moment, the intruder was clearly visible by the fading light of the flare. He turned and brought his weapon to bear, aiming squarely at the group.
A heavy-set man emerged from a doorway, gesticulating at the man on the roof. A short deafening burst split the air. The first salvo downed the man before the gunman moved on to his next target. He fired indiscriminately now. Standing in the open, they were like fish in a barrel. Tommy’s warnings were lost as a second gunman began firing.
Something suddenly snapped inside Tommy, an anger he had not felt since his father died. This time was different. There was a channel, an outlet for his rage. Whoever these men were, they would pay for what they had done. He shook his head and tried to blink away the last traces of alcohol still coursing through his veins. Perhaps it would give him the Dutch courage he needed.
****
Tommy hurried down the stairs to join Nathan and Liz who were assembling a motley group of volunteers. One man wore no shoes, another looked half-dressed. Despite their training, they all looked terrified. Everyone looked at Tommy as if the rifle lent him some authority. With Jack and Terra away, and Zed and Riley still not back, it was up to them to rally the defence of the castle. Tommy cleared his throat and stepped forward, his voice breathless and full of emotion. Inside, he was fighting to control the fear which gripped his chest like a vice.
“Listen up.” His voice sounded weird in his head, like it was coming from someone else. His father’s voice. “We don’t have much time. I saw four men, but there could be others. We have no idea how many are already inside the castle walls and how many of them could be waiting outside.”
Nathan took over from Tommy, his voice trembling. “Jamie and the rest of you with rifles, get back up on the roof and give us covering fire. We’ve got to stop them reaching the main gate.”
Nathan handed out the few remaining guns to the volunteers, together with the knives, swords and a medieval crossbow with a single bolt.
Greta stood ready by the locked door to the courtyard. She drew back the bolt as quietly as she dared. Nathan’s party of five sized each other up with gritted teeth, trying to hide their terror. None of them were fighters but they had no choice. This was tantamount to suicide. They didn’t stand a chance. Tommy noticed a wet patch appear on the crotch of the man next to him. His hand was shaking uncontrollably, as a large puddle pooled next to his left boot. He patted the man on the shoulder before racing up the stairs to join Jamie on the roof.
Once Tommy was in position, he shouted to the party below. On the count of three, Greta unlocked the gate and the five of them jostled through the doorway, with two shotguns at their head. Greta slammed the door behind them and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer. Nathan’s team made a dash for the guardhouse where Scottie was waving them forward. He had taken up position with a rifle, taking pot shots at the two men on the roof as they advanced along the rooftop towards him.
As Nathan’s group surged forward, a hail of bullets felled two of the Hurst men in quick succession. One man took a shot to the leg, passing clean through his calf and the other went down clutching his abdomen. The rest of the group promptly lost their nerve and turned tail, retreating to the safety of the Tudor archway. With their fists, they banged impotently for Greta to let them back inside. For a few moments, they were trapped.
Tommy and the other Hurst riflemen on the roof couldn’t get an angle of fire. Without exposing themselves to a volley of return fire, no one had a clean shot. Hidden out of sight with a field of fire covering the courtyard and entrance, Copper’s men had Scottie pinned down.
Tommy looked on helplessly. Two of Nathan’s men writhed in agony just out of reach. Each time one of them reached forward to try to pull the others to safety, the ground between them seemed to explode with bullets. From round the corner, in the archway leading to the main entrance, Tommy could hear Scottie shouting for help. For a few seconds, each side waited for the other to make the next move.
****
From behind a buttress, Scottie took up a kneeling position, firing sporadically towards the men on the roof opposite. He didn’t have a shot and was running low on ammunition. There was still no sign of reinforcements. Behind him came the sound of a rifle butt smashing against the raised drawbridge. He smiled for a split second, knowing it would take a battering ram.
He whipped his head round as a smoke canister landed just in front of his position, swiftly followed by a second. With a loud pop and a hiss, smoke began to fill the courtyard. In a few seconds, his whole field of vision was shrouded in billowing clouds of choking, cloying gas.
Two of Copper’s men shimmied down a rope from above and emerged from cover, advancing towards Scottie wearing gas masks. Without a clear target, they fired controlled bursts at shapes and shadows. Unable to see anything, Scottie peered into the cloud. As the smoke swirled towards his position, he stifled a cough. The smoke completely enveloped the Tudor gate, rendering Tommy and the others blind.
Scottie took his chance. Unseen by the invaders, he dived across the archway. Scrambling through the open doorway to the guardhouse, he slammed and locked the door behind him. He was safe for the time being, but had just cut himself off from the rest of the Hurst group.
Meanwhile, Nathan must have seen or heard the invaders advancing towards him, hammering on the door until Greta let them back through. They collapsed inside, coughing and spluttering. Wisps of the smoke dissipated slowly around them. Tommy raced down the stairs to confer with Nathan. They were outgunned. Their nerves shredded by the speed of their demise and the ferocity of the fire they had faced. Nathan had lost half his group in a matter of seconds.
The battle for the main gate was lost. Tommy knew that now. And yet, he consoled himself with the fact that the bulk of Hurst’s occupants were safe for now. Between them and their attackers were stone walls from another time. Six feet thick and built to withstand the very worst the French and Spanish navies of yesteryear could hurl their way. Tommy was fairly sure that the castle could hold out against a superior force for many days. The unlucky few trapped on the wrong side of the Tudor gate would have to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, that included Scottie.
****
Outside the castle complex, the man in black waited impatiently, pacing around. His plan was working perfectly, but not knowing what was going on inside was killing him. Why was it taking Copper so long?
The main force had arrived unopposed in the small harbour area. They had silently approached the main gate, crossing what would once have been a moat surrounding the original Tudor fort. Today it was little more than a ditch. They had their backs pressed against the stone walls, looking up nervously in case there were any sharpshooters on the ramparts above them. They knew first-hand that it paid to be careful.
The drawbridge was still raised and beyond the formidable stone and wood defences they were listening to the fire fight. The man in black smiled and pressed his cheek against the cold of the stone, trying to interpret the sounds from within. He seemed to be enjoying himself and started to whistle. When he heard the pop and hiss of the smoke grenades, he clicked his fingers and gesticulated at one of the others in the darkness, recognising his plan playing out.
The interrogation of Will had been decisive. The castle was indeed vulnerable and would be taken with minimal casualties. Losing a few of Copper’s men was neither here nor there. It was an acceptable price to pay for this jewel of the Solent. Hurst was to be an important strategic pillar for his new empire.
****
Back on the roof of the tower, the man next to Tommy took a bullet to the shoulder, sending his rifle clattering. Tommy picked it up, checked it was loaded and scanned for targets. The smoke masking the movement of the invaders as they fought their way towards the gate parted suddenly exposing a solitary figure for a second.
Tommy took careful aim, letting his breath out slowly as Zed had taught him, before squeezing the trigger. The recoil from the rifle surprised him and he lost sight of the figure below. When the smoke next cleared, he could make out a body lying prone on the ground, then the smoke obscured his view again. He punched the air in delight to muted congratulations from the man next to him clutching his injured shoulder. How many more were there? Nathan had tasked them with stopping the men from reaching the front gate, but with the counter-attack over, almost before it had begun, the balance of power had swung violently against them.
****
Scottie could only listen to the fire fight, wondering helplessly what had become of his friends. The door handle close to his ear silently began to turn. He heard whispered voices. There were two men outside. Would they try to break down the door? Or would they leave him there, trapped while they tried to open the drawbridge? A second group shouted instructions from outside the gate. He could hear muffled sounds, perhaps struggling with the release mechanism for the drawbridge. Scottie smiled, remembering how stiff and awkward it was unless you knew how. The footsteps hurried away back to the courtyard and he relaxed in the brief silence that followed, beginning to feel safe behind the barricaded
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