Tunnels 05 - Spiral

automatic weapon the likes of which Colonel Bismarck had never seen before.
    Catching the policeman by surprise, the Colonel wrapped an arm around his neck and rendered him unconscious. While the man’s radio buzzed, the Colonel quickly removed his uniform and dressed himself in it. As he slipped on the gas mask, he realized that even more blood had seeped from his head injury, but he couldn’t worry about that now.
    He familiarized himself with the assault rifle, which he found was pretty straightforward. Then he emerged from the office and took a couple of steps into the black smoke, only to come face-to-face with another policeman dressed in identical siege gear. As their gaze met through the lenses of their masks, the other man gave a hand signal, but the Colonel didn’t know how he was meant to respond. A question formed in the other man’s eyes. Thinking that his disguise had been blown, the Colonel began to raise the HK assault rifle in his hands.
    He was saved by another explosion that ripped through the hallway and swiped him off his feet. In a daze, the Colonel picked himself up and staggered through the main entrance, where the doors hung crookedly on broken hinges. Almost losing his balance as he missed the step, he found himself reeling on the pavement outside the building.
    He stopped dead.
    He was confronted by a cordon of armed men — too many for him to take on. They were all behind discarded vehicles or riot shields, their laser sights clustered on him.
    He wasn’t prepared for what happened next. With his head still spinning and his senses dulled, he didn’t react when his rifle was snatched from his grip. At the same time, he was hoisted off his feet by two policemen and carried away in double-quick time.
    “It’s all right, old mate, don’t you worry. We’ll get you some help,” the man on his left told him sympathetically. The second policeman said something, but the Colonel didn’t take it in.
    His escorts removed his helmet and gas mask. “You’re not one of our guys,” the policeman said when he saw the Colonel’s bloodied face.
    “Must be from E Team — a country boy,” the other said. But the Colonel wasn’t listening. Not twenty feet away, a body was stretched out in the gutter. Around it a circle of policemen laughed and joked as one of them nudged it with his toe cap. The Colonel recognized the dead man instantly. It was a New Germanian from his own regiment. He knew the soldier and his wife well — they’d recently had a daughter born to them. The Colonel tried to pull against the two policemen supporting him, but it was taken as a show of anger.
    “Yeah — the rest of them’ll be bagged and tagged within the hour,” the largest of the two policemen promised in a growl. “Whoever these bastards are, we’ve already slotted four of ’em.”
    As the Colonel continued to try to free himself, the other policeman spoke, his words staccato as if he were about to explode with fury. “Take it easy, officer. Leave it to us to finish the job.”
    The Colonel grunted a “Yes,” realizing he had to play along if he didn’t want to be identified as one of the protagonists. He allowed the two policemen to help him to the end of Threadneedle Street and then into a side road where ambulances were waiting.
    “See to him, will you? He got caught up in the last explosion,” one of the policemen ordered a medic. They left him there and sped back to the Bank of England.
    In the ambulance, the medic began to examine the Colonel. “That’s a very fine mustache,” he told him. From the way his hands were shaking, the young medic had clearly never seen action like this before. He cleaned the wound on the Colonel’s head and was putting the finishing touches to a field dressing when shouts came from the top of the street. Several new casualties were being carried in on stretchers. The medic went to their aid, giving the Colonel the opportunity he’d been looking for. Although he was still a little groggy, he eased himself down from the back of the ambulance and stole away.
    With so many uniformed personnel flooding the area — both police and increasing numbers of military — no one took any notice of the Colonel. Sticking to the back streets, he stopped only when an entrance at the rear of one of the large office buildings caught his eye. Beyond a pair of open doors, he could see a ramp leading down to an underground parking garage. The Colonel descended into it and was