The Doomsday Series Box Set | Books 1-5

by Akart, Bobby

  “Bravo and Charlie?” asked Ryan.

  “I’ll message them to return home, but knowing them, they’re on their way already. Bravo is probably half a case into your beloved Red Bull, and Charlie probably ditched her date without so much as a goodbye.”

  Ryan laughed. “Those two are hard-core. Alpha did well recruiting them from Academi.”

  Academi was a private military contractor that provided security to dignitaries and businessmen on foreign soil. They were also used extensively by the government to handle missions that had to be disavowed by Washington if something went awry.

  Originally established in the late 1990s by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince, his company, Blackwater, had undergone a change in branding over the years as the private contractor was tied to several scandalous operations overseas.

  To recruit Bravo and Charlie, Alpha contacted his network of operatives within the military and put out feelers. He sought covert agents and former military personnel who’d been sheep-dipped. Sheep-dipping was the process of taking someone who’d been in public service in the military or intelligence community and replacing their documented life with one that was created out of thin air in order for them to serve as covert agents of the government.

  It was important to have one or two members of this caliber on the team in order to gain information or undertake operations on behalf of the Haven against the U.S. government. The level of training undertaken by Bravo and Charlie at Academi exceeded his own. Depending on how hard society collapsed, with these two operators by his side, they could take on all threats.

  “What about the off-site residents?” asked Blair before adding, “We committed to notifying them of a potential long-term event.”

  “I can’t imagine that they’re not glued to their TVs,” replied Ryan. “Do your best to reach out to them, but don’t spend a lot of time convincing them. Our job is to make them aware. They have to decide whether the threat is real.”

  “I’m gonna focus on those who have their homes built or renovated first. And I’m gonna tell them not to come empty-handed. Beans, Band-Aids, and bullets. They know what to do.”

  Ryan took a deep breath and exhaled. “That brings us to the land owners who haven’t built yet. We promised to contact them as well.”

  Blair flipped over to the section of the book that identified families who were accepted into the Haven but didn’t have a place to live yet. Ryan had modified the original bakery building as seen in the Hunger Games movie into a dormitory-style residential structure. It was not meant to be a long-term housing option, but was only for those who hadn’t built yet but needed a place to go.

  “Are we still under sixteen?” asked Ryan, who’d only installed sixteen bunks surrounded by small cubicles to provide a sense of privacy. Lockers had been built to help store their belongings. Also, the bakery building had a small kitchen, showers, and a shared bath.

  Blair thumbed through the dossiers generated on each of the residents. She spoke under her breath as she did. “There are some valuable assets here. No kids. We’ve got enough of those already.”

  “Alpha has a plan for the kids,” Ryan interjected.

  “The oven, like in ‘Hansel and Gretel’?” joked the Blair Witch.

  “Nope. You’ll see. Focus, darling. Are there less than sixteen?”

  “We’re right at it. We’d have a full house if they all show up.”

  Ryan nodded and stood. “We’ve gotta contact them all and make the offer. That was our agreement. They’ll have sanctuary here until the dust settles. If this is going to be a long-term situation, we have enough building materials to add three more homes.”

  “We can make that work,” said Blair. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to see X-Ray.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  New Year’s Day

  The Haven

  Ryan bundled up and took the Ranger along the gravel road that was now covered with a slight accumulation of snow. He turned down the path through the woods toward the cabin assigned to X-Ray. He felt like it was important to give X-Ray instructions in person and to provide him a sense of what was expected of him at the Haven.

  As Ryan approached, he noticed all the lights were on in the cabin and X-Ray was carrying pieces of equipment from the trailer into the house. As Ryan arrived, X-Ray paused for a moment, nodded his acknowledgment, and then continued inside.

  Ryan stomped the snow off his feet before entering X-Ray’s cabin. He was amazed at how quickly the man had turned one of their smallest residences with only spartan furnishings into a warm, cozy home—complete with computer stations, ham radio transceivers, a variety of handheld scanners, and a CB base unit.

  “Looks like you’re getting settled in,” announced Ryan as he walked inside.

  “Oh, yeah. I planned on unloading my communications gear tomorrow, but, well, things have changed drastically, haven’t they?”

  Ryan shrugged and continue to survey his equipment. “Yeah, it seems like your timing was perfect. Heck, if I didn’t know better, I might think you knew this was coming.”

  X-Ray unconsciously froze for a moment, just long enough for Ryan to notice, and then continued shuffling the equipment around on top of the picnic table that served as a dinette set.

  The young man turned but didn’t make eye contact. “Uh-huh. I’ll be right back.” He brushed past Ryan and hustled outside to his trailer to bring in another load.

  Ryan’s curiosity was piqued even more so. He didn’t want to say anything to Blair, and certainly not to Alpha, both of whom had a tendency to be overly skeptical of people’s intentions. But Ryan’s antennae received a number of warning signals concerning their new arrival.

  He was very eager to enter the Haven. That was fine. He paid in silver and gold. That had never happened before. Most importantly, he came with everything he needed to bug out permanently. He couldn’t possibly know that he’d be accepted into the Haven. It just struck Ryan as odd that the young man had sold or given away all of his earthly belongings before coming there, and then hours later, the nation was under attack.

  “Sorry, Ryan,” said X-Ray as he dropped the gear and hustled back outside, shouting over his shoulder as he went, “I’m not much for small talk right now.”

  Ryan followed him outside and offered to help. “What can I do?”

  X-Ray was shuffling around inside his trailer, which swayed back and forth from the man’s movements. “Nothing, actually. I need to get out the Faraday cages and get them set up first thing.”

  A Faraday cage is a container of any shape or size that’s designed to block electromagnetic fields. The conducting materials are usually made of wire mesh or metal plates that protect the contents from external electric fields. In the event of a large electromagnetic pulse event, whether naturally occurring, like a geomagnetic storm from the sun, or man-made in the form of a nuclear detonation of any size, the Faraday cage prevents the highly charged particles from destroying the electronic components of the contents.

  He emerged from the back of the trailer with two sets of panels under each arm. Ryan stepped to the side as the young man walked with purpose into the cabin.

  “You have portable Faraday cages?” asked Ryan.

  “Yessir. Simple construction, actually.”

  X-Ray began to assemble the panels, which had been constructed by creating a frame out of wood and wrapping it with fine steel mesh. He quickly assembled the pieces into a box and then inserted one of the receivers along with a battery backup system.

  Within the available space, he stored several handheld ham radio units, portable two-way radios, and other small electronics like GPS devices, a cell phone, and an iPad.

  He quickly set the top of the Faraday cage in place and screwed it down. Lastly, he wrapped all the seams with two-inch-wide aluminum foil tape. Satisfied, he scurried outside once again, leaving Ryan in awe of the man’s planning.

  “Just one more, okay?”

  �
��Uh, sure,” said Ryan, who was fascinated by the young man’s organizational skills in creating his post-collapse communications system. Just as he and Blair had done over the last two years in preparing the Haven for this moment, it appeared X-Ray had undertaken the same meticulous planning and practiced for this moment.

  Ten minutes later, the trailer was emptied, the communications equipment was secured and fully functional, and X-Ray flopped on the sofa in front of the fire, exhausted.

  Ryan spoke first, still intent on learning more about their newest resident. “I notice you don’t have a television set up. We have a DirecTV antenna on the roof.”

  “Yessir, I know. But, um, no, thanks. I get all the news I need from the internet.”

  “Me too. So, X-Ray, what do you think about all of this?”

  “I absolutely love it here, Ryan. Naturally, I spent the day getting oriented. I met a few of my neighbors from down the river. Nice people. Echo came and checked on me a little while ago and brought me a radio. It’s all good, you know.”

  Ryan smiled. He hadn’t spent a lot of time around the twentysomethings. They had a different energy about them, almost manic. X-Ray appeared nervous, far more so than the relatively calm demeanor he’d exhibited earlier in the day.

  Initially, Ryan had come to the cabin to ask the young man to make a run for supplies at 6:00 a.m. when Walmart reopened in nearby Hickory. After speaking with him further and seeing his reaction to Ryan’s subtle comment about X-Ray’s knowledge of the events that were occurring, he elected to keep him closer to home.

  He also determined that X-Ray should be kept under the watchful eye of Echo. The older man was very astute and had a heckuva BS meter. Echo would make sure he kept on top of X-Ray’s activities without tipping his hand. Alpha had his hands full with security matters, and if he sensed X-Ray was a problem, the young man would end up floating facedown in the Henry River.

  “Well, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were coming along,” said Ryan. “For the time being, you’ll be reporting to Echo. I imagine that’ll be okay with you.”

  “Um, sure. I also plan on monitoring the news, ham transmissions, and military frequencies.”

  “Military?”

  “Absolutely. Between military movements and FEMA activity, we can keep abreast of the areas of the country that are considered hot spots by the government.”

  “What made you think of doing that?” asked Ryan.

  “Well, sir. I believe that knowledge is power. My communications apparatus is designed to tap into all available sources of information so we can be a step ahead of everyone else.”

  “Good to know, X-Ray.”

  “Sir, I want you to rest assured that I am a team player, one hundred percent. A storm is coming, and we need to be ready.”

  A storm is coming. A phrase Ryan had used earlier in the day, but somehow, to their newest addition to the Haven, it seemed to take on a more profound meaning.

  Chapter Fifteen

  New Year’s Day

  Haven House

  “How are things?” asked Blair as Ryan entered the dining room. He’d shed his winter gear and kicked off his signature L.L.Bean duck boots. He walked behind her and began to rub her shoulders as she continued to thumb through the three-ring binder.

  “Darling, you must be exhausted,” he began to reply. “At least I caught a few winks before the drama hit the news. You haven’t slept at all. Let me take over for you.”

  “Nah. I’ve already made my phone contacts, and now I’m working on emails. The phone calls are a pain because everybody wants to talk about what’s going on. After rehashing what we know, which is only slightly more than what the news is reporting now, a call was taking fifteen minutes. Now, that’s exhausting.”

  “Are they coming?”

  “Yes, at least the ones I spoke with. I have text messages and emails that I’m about to go through. Listen, I have to tell you something.”

  Ryan sensed the concerned tone in Blair’s voice, so he immediately pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. “What is it?”

  “Ryan, the plane crash in Mobile—Michael Cortland was on that flight.”

  “Good God, no. Is he alive? Was he with his family?”

  “Yes, and alone, as he was returning from Washington,” she replied. “He’s being treated at the intensive care unit in a Mobile hospital. I found out through a news report.”

  Ryan had a puzzled look on his face. “Cort has an important job on the Hill, but he’s certainly not newsworthy. Why would they mention him?”

  “There’s more,” replied Blair. “One of the passengers who didn’t make it was Johnson Pratt.”

  “Oh man. He’s the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. That’s the guy who’ll be leading the impeachment proceedings against the president.”

  “Well, he’s dead now. Anyway, because Pratt was a high-profile congressman, I guess Cort being on board was also newsworthy.”

  Ryan leaned back in his chair and clasped his fingers behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. “Blair, this whole thing stinks.”

  “You mean about Cort?”

  “No, all of it. The attacks. The way they were carried out. The targets. They all seem random, yet …” Ryan’s voice trailed off as he received a text message.

  “Who is it?” asked Blair.

  “Delta just arrived.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Yeah, but he brought his kids.”

  Blair began to thumb through the binder to locate Delta’s profile. She located the highlights and read them aloud. “Will Hightower. Ex-cop. Philly SWAT. Security guard in Atlanta. Everything is current. I don’t see any mention of children living with him.”

  Ryan interrupted. “I know he’s divorced with a wife up in Philadelphia. He’s got two kids, but he told us they wouldn’t be coming to the Haven with him due to a nasty custody arrangement.”

  “Well, they’re here now,” said Blair, who appeared somewhat annoyed by the additional responsibility the two children placed upon the community.

  “How old are they?” asked Ryan.

  Blair looked through Delta’s profile and responded, “Daughter, Skylar, is age eleven. Son, Ethan, is about to turn sixteen.”

  Ryan stood and walked toward the front door. “Not too bad. They’re old enough to take care of themselves to an extent. Remember, Delta is being counted on for an important security role on Alpha’s team. He doesn’t have time to watch over kids.”

  “Are you leaving again?” asked Blair. Ryan had a lot of nervous energy.

  “No,” he muttered as he fired off a text. “I told Alpha to get Delta settled and have him report to HB-1 at 8:00 a.m. for our regular briefing.”

  He stood in front of the bay window that looked out over the front yard, down the tree-covered drive and toward the front gate. The sun was now rising over the treetops and a new year was beginning. As he reflected on the task ahead of them, Ryan received another text. At first, he ignored it, assuming it was just Alpha acknowledging his instructions. Then his phone dinged again, reminding him that the message hadn’t been read yet.

  He pulled the iPhone out of his pocket and hit the green-and-white message icon. He didn’t recognize the number. In fact, it wasn’t a name or a phone number. The sender of the message came across on the display as 322-MM. The message itself was short.

  This is just the beginning.

  Godspeed, Patriot.

  Blair stood and approached Ryan. “Honey, what is it? Who is it from?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I have no idea.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  New Year’s Day

  The Haven

  There comes a day when a person realizes they have the opportunity to turn the page on their life’s story. As they do, the feeling can be exhilarating, or simply a relief as you put the broken pieces of yesterday behind you. It’s a point when one feels there’s so much more to life than the years you’ve left behind. When Will High
tower arrived at the front gate of the Haven and Alpha greeted him with the words welcome home, Delta, a page had turned, and a new day presented itself.

  “How’s it going, Alpha?” asked Delta as he left his old life behind and transitioned into his new one as an integral part of the Haven’s security team.

  “Good to see you, bud,” replied Alpha in his typical, unemotional way. “Listen, I hate to do this to you, but with the situation as it is, I need you and …” Alpha’s voice trailed off as he stuck his head slightly into the window and scrutinized the kids in the backseat.

  Delta picked up on Alpha’s hesitation. “That’s my daughter, Skylar, and this is my son, Ethan. They were staying with me for the New Year’s weekend until, well, you know.”

  “Right. Right. Anyway, I need you guys to exit the vehicle for a moment while we give it the once-over. Nothin’ personal. Just protocol.”

  Delta nodded. “I know.”

  He unlocked the door and slowly exited the vehicle. Alpha was accompanied by two other residents, who were armed with AR-15s, full combat kits, and sidearms secured inside their chest rigs. When Alpha created his security unit, he made sure they were outfitted as close to military police specifications as he legally could.

  One of the residents was holding a German shepherd on a leash; the dog was pacing back and forth with his nose in the air.

  Delta pointed at the dog. “New addition?”

  “Yeah, he’s from Paws and Stripes, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to ex-military personnel. Sometimes they’re assigned to soldiers with PTSD. Other times, through some strings being pulled, they are allowed to retire when their handlers are discharged from service. This is Captain, and his training is in illegal drugs and bomb-making materials.”