[b]Port Said, Suez Canal[/b]

Short bursts of assault rifle fire struck the ground, scattering dust and kicking out shards of pavement. The Suez had been a desperate gambit, pitched against not only the Spanish Navy, who's slow approach felt like a the march of a lumbering giant that, when it arrived, would crush everything around them, but also against the Egyptian warlord who had claimed the Suez. It had been claimed by the same self-proclaimed dictator that ruled Damietta to the east. The area he controlled was small, but he had held onto it firmly. Their only fear now was that he would join forces with the Spanish in order to hunt down the Ethiopian forces that haunted both of them.

Leyla pointed her pistol in the rough direction of a nearby parking garage and fired two rounds. The shots echoed like a bell in her head as she dove for cover behind a concrete barrier. "I thought they were supposed to be cleared." she yelled above the cacophony of violence to Elias as he dove in next to her. Something in front of them exploded - a grenade, a rocket, she couldn't tell - and it sent a plume of rock-shards and dust into the air, covering everything in a thin film of dirt and smoke. 

"Who the fuck knows." Elias said. He stretched backward, straining to see over the barrier without taking a bullet to the skull. Leyla watched nervously, anticipating the worst. It seemed like forever, though it was only a couple of seconds. He snapped back, falling into the protection of their cover. "Three of them, I think." he said, "And they have the high ground."

A truck plodded down the road, its driver ducking beneath the dashboard and several cautious Ethiopian soldiers doing the same in the back. They drew enemy fire, and the Walinzi agents in their cement hiding place sensed it. They jumped up, their aim rough and quick as they sprayed a couple of shots before falling the corner of the barrier.

From the back of the truck, three Ethiopian riflemen rose up and gave fire. The sound of their volley was abrupt, only a few quick clapping shots being released. One of the riflemen, a young soldier who hadn't yet shed his boyish looks, fell back violently as his jaw exploded in a bloody hail of torn flesh and gushing blood. Under the constant sound of war, in between nearby rifle reports, his muffled cries haunted the field.

Elias looked at Leyla and nodded toward the truck. She took a deep breath, put another clip in her weapon, and followed him when he went sprinting away from cover. Her heart was in her throat, and it jumped every time an enemy bullet struck the ground behind her. Her vision blurred, leaving only a clear target in front of her. They slid behind the truck, both of them catching their breath as the Ethiopians in the truck-bed exchanged another round with the Egyptians in the parking garage.

Her lungs burned and her head reeled. She stared at the bloody splatter that coagulated in the dust in front of her feet. The smell of smoke and blood mixed with the dust that hung over the plaza like a fog. 

"We need to get around them." she heard Elias shout up at the driver. 

"No. No." the driver yelled back, straining to be louder than the gunfire. "This is a distraction. This is a dis..."

Before he could finish, something hissed above their head. It was sharp and angry, like a cobra falling from the sky. She saw the trail it left, the sparks dancing in a cloud of beige. And then she remembered. They were better armed than the Egyptians.

She heard the explosion, and the celebrating soldiers whooping from the back of their truck. A second hiss flew above her head. Bending around the truck, she watched as the rocket smashed into the parking garage and left a bloom of fire and crumbling cement where the enemy had stood before. She heard the patter of debris smacking against the plaza, and then silence. Only distant gunfire echoed through the grey urban warzone that was Port Said.

Quietly, the two Walinzi and the men from the truck approached the garage. Leyla's eyes were fixed on the smoking scar in the side of the building. Anything, any hint of movement, would be enough to spook her. It was too silent and too still, she did not trust it. Somewhere, someone was going jump up and catch them while they were in the open. She could sense that the others felt the same way, and she could feel their tension.

They made it into the garage without incident, but she was hardly put at ease. In there, it was open and dark. Shadows filled the crevices, creating the habitat for ambushes. They fanned out, inspecting each corner carefully as the moved up floor by floor.

The structure groaned above them. Leyla listened closely, afraid that the moans of damaged cement and steel could be hiding the auditory clues of a living enemy. 

When they reached the snipers nest, they find their quarry. The rocket had scattered the shooters as much as it had scattered the cement. Pieces of Egyptian sat at the end of bloody trails. A red splatter dripped from the ash-blackened ceiling above. 

Beyond their gory perch, Leyla and Elias could see the ENS Aksum getting into position. It was where the two canals at the mouth met and became one. The Aksum had turned itself around, broadside facing the sea. A stout tower hid half of it from view. "Do we watch from here?" she asked, grinning at her partner.

"I wish we could." Elias replied. He pointed out to sea. The Spanish fleet was approaching. Across the horizon, from east to west, she could see them. They were spread out, giving themselves room to maneuver, but they did not need the spread to exaggerate their number. It was obvious that there was enough to take control of the African coast with no contest.

"We should get back down and get into position." Elias warned, "If they decide to fire on the city, this is not the place to be."