Carnage City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 6) (27 page)

Zach felt certain Black Wolf and Redd Foxx had contributed to the success of the counteroffensive. Their desperate defense of the tower had sucked in hundreds of enemy troops, keeping them occupied and unable to influence the fighting in several of the other critical sectors.

But they weren't out of the woods yet. Ragnarok was still pressing the attack, and Black Wolf's reserves were dwindling. Hydra might win the battle, but his company would come out horribly mauled.

“Danny, what's your status?”

“Bad,” came the reply. “We're fighting as hard as we can, but they're not giving up.”

“Just keep fighting.”

There was nothing else to do at this point. Zach couldn't influence the battle standing up her in the command center. He didn't have enough troops to coordinate anything. All they could do was stand and fight until they were killed.

No use waiting at this point. Zach grabbed his carbine and headed toward the stairs, toward the fighting.

Toward the carnage.

T
he battle report was glowing
, glorious, but he could only skim through it. Zach barely felt any sense of accomplishment, even though his company had made massive contributions to the victory.

It had taken hours of hard fighting, but the Hydra Alliance had finally gained control of the Cudahy District, their first capture in Milwaukee. One step on the long road toward total victory in the city, but a significant one nonetheless. An enthusiastic energy filled the air as the alliance members celebrated their accomplishments. After months of hard fighting they had finally triumphed over the toughest foe.

But inside the tower there was only a sense of foreboding gloom. Black Wolf had suffered horrendously during the battle, losing over three quarters of their troops in the fighting. Their fortifications were in ruins, their power supplies and infrastructure completely destroyed. When Ragnarok had finally decided they couldn't take the tower they blew up everything they could get their hands on. The lift was little more than twisted metal, the generators scrap, the phone lines torn up coils of wire.

“Well, that sucked,” Danny finally said.

Selene nodded. “Yeah, I'd say so.”

Alpha Wolf had come out better, though they had suffered losses as well. Selene had managed to hold out until Thorn Company troops had reached their positions, yielding a damaged yet still useful jamming device. Hephaestus Company engineers would be here to look it over soon enough.

It was another victory in the middle of a string of them, so why did it feel so empty? Zach mused over that as he tapped his fingers on the edge of the now defunct map table.

“Sitting here and taking the enemy's blows definitely isn't our strong suit,” Nora said. “I'm hoping that it doesn't become a habit.”

Danny nodded. “Just like Green Bay. Bailed out again at the last minute by the rest of the alliance.”

Zach scowled and slapped the edge of the map table. “You know what, I'm getting sick of sitting around and letting Ragnarok have their way.”

The other three looked at him.

“Does that mean what I think it does?” Selene asked.

Zach nodded. “Yes. Next time we fight, we're punching them in the mouth.”