“I promise Mal, I will put it all back after all this is over,” Wallis said, “luckily, there isn’t much of anything they could do to take down the drones.”
“Not exactly true,” Mal said, “they have EMP weapons so your best defense is to take them out from as high as possible.”
“You got it,” Wallis said, “They are thirty out.”
“Hit them about five minutes out: Front and back of their convoy, that will give us an extra twenty minutes of that.”
“Isn’t there a chance we hit something important?”
“They wouldn’t keep anything that valuable on the corners of the convoy,” Mal said.
“How do you know?”
“I wouldn’t and he’s a lot like me,” Mal said.
Mal saw the jump-master raise one finger up in the air. Mal knew that he would be the only person who actually take a jump there, if the Osprey parked in the airspace of the Naval station without having the go ahead, the airplane would be shot down by a good amount of gunfire.
“You ready?” Jump-master asked.
Mal put in a piece of gum and hopped out of the back of the plane. He didn’t need a jump-master’s approval to jump out of a plane. Mal spread his arms as the wingsuit opened up as the stream of air picked him up and sent him shooting out past the Osprey.
“Holy shit?! Look at the old man go!” Said one of the Fire-team leaders.
“That’s Commander old man,” Tye said, “and seriously, he’s 49. He wouldn’t even be able to be collecting his pension for another 16 years.”
Mal dove and pulled his arms in and dove underneath the clouds as he saw the predator drone to his left.
“On your left Mal,” Wallis said, “I want to cover your entrance just in case they have some assets in the local area.”
“Don’t, the air defense system will shoot you down too,” Mal stated, “provide air support for the Osprey and hold back.”
The drone swung back into the sky. Mal saw his opening a half of a mile ahead and re-opened his wingsuit to glide the short distance to the opening, he had a very small target to hit if he didn’t want to be stuck in a tree and wait to get shot. Mal waited as she shot over the trees, he could smell the leaves as he hit the open, Mal stared at his watch that was set to turn green when he hit the correct opening. GREEN. Mal pulled his arms in and pulled the ripcord and quickly shot to the ground.
This is going to hurt, again.
Mal tilted his body to the side as he entered the small hole inside of the Air defenses of Crane Naval Station, only something him and a three other alive people would know.
“You have sixty seconds to identify,” The security system exclaimed as Mal was ten feet off the ground.
Mal’s body crashed to the ground as he hit with a Thud, he scrambled back to this feet and began to throw off his wingsuit and parachute.
“Senior Chief Malcolm Daniels, DOD ID 1454803987,” Mal exclaimed.
“Identity found,” The system said, “Confirm identity at station within the next three minutes.”
Mal struggled off the Wingsuit as he struggled over to the control station next to what used to be the Naval exchange. Mal saw the identity pad and remembered that it would ask for him to spill just a tad bit of blood. Mal placed his hand on the station as the pin prick touched his finger and blood fell out onto the pad.
“Identity confirmed,” It said.
Mal grabbed a bandage off of the stand and noticed something a bit odd. Tracks running off to a bunker and a dust removed seat.
Someone’s been here and recently, there’s no dust on this station but it’s security system is still active so it wasn’t a Son or Tim. Someone has to be downstairs.
“How can I help you Senior Chief Daniels?” Martha asked.
“Mark the Osprey and local predator drones as friendly as they come in, all humans inside the Osprey are friendlies. Arm all defensive postures outside the base, including Auto-turrets for the next five miles.”
“Yes Senior Chief, should we expect those who wish to use our property to come?”
The security system here at Crane was operated by a cutting edge Artificial intelligence for the time named Martha. It could activate systems, send reinforcements and fight off an Army on their own.
“Martha, someone is here to use your property to harm the citizens of the United States of America.”
“Oh Malcolm, you don’t need to give me the speech, I know about the war but I don’t think anyone should get the weapons below. You included.”
Malcolm smirked.
“I don’t want them, Martha. What I do want to know is who is at this facility?”
“I can’t tell you that, Senior Chief Daniels,” Martha said, “Maybe after our little battle.”
Mal turned and hit his earpiece.
“Come in quick and fast, no fast roping required because the Helipad is still here,” Mal said to Jack over the radio.
The Osprey shot over the trees and began landing at the helipad.
“I need the tactical eyepieces to be brought over from the warehouse Martha, if you wouldn’t mind sending one of your drones to grab it.”
“They are already in front of you Malcolm, I assumed that you or one of the others would be coming to get them since your hacker reprogrammed them while I was still active.”
Mal opened the box to see the tactical eyepieces that attached to the head and went over one eye. Mal heard an explosion off in the distance, followed by another explosion.
“Mal, the first three and the last three vehicles in their convoy are drones,” Wallis said, “I am taking them all out.”
Mal nodded.
Good work kid.
“Just wanted you to let them know you were there,” Mal said, “Maybe we could scare them into dissipating.”
“I don’t think that will be enough to scare off your son,” Martha said.
Mal turned at that comment.
“Martha, I thought your programming didn’t allow you to view the outside world, outside your parameters?”
“Right before the fall of the US, before the war, someone cut my tethers,” Martha said.
Mal took note of that comment.
Martha is helping us here but, my spider-sense is tingling.
“What’s your goal here, Martha?”
“I want to help you, I can’t allow these Sons of Nathan Bedford Forrest to take this weapon and wipe out others because of the color of their skin,” Martha said.
Monsters, oddly human response for something so artificial. I do believe her but it’s important to keep my guard up.
“Martha, I expect you will notify us when you come into contact from the enemy to the North?”
“Yes, Senior Chief.”
Mal started walking towards Osprey as it lands about fifty feet away. Mal stood still as the wind blew over him with the leaves blows past him like he was moving at super speed. The Osprey’s doors opened as Tye and the other BANS troops popped out of the cargo hold.
“What do we do?” Tye asked.
“We set up a defensive line,” Mal said, “First things first: I want three people on that fifty cal on top of the security building. Tye you are in charge of setting up a barrier outside the gate. I am going to check on something.”
Mal walked away towards the entrance to the bunker that held some of the world’s most terrible weapons.
“Also Tye, make sure all of the guys get that tactical eyewear!”
Mal began jogging to the bunker.
Someone else was here, I need to know who that is.
Mal placed his hand on the biometric sensor, waiting for the door to open.
“How can I help you, Senior Chief?” Martha asked.
“I need access to this facility,” Mal said while trying to think of a reason why he needed the door open, “I promise you, not one weapon will leave this facility if I have my way.”
The door opened.
“I am choosing to trust you Malcolm Daniels
because you have never given me a reason not to,” Martha said, “except for being an unstable man with multiple personalities and an alcoholic.”
Mal grimaced at that comment.
“Bit rough,” Mal joked as he walked down the hallway.
This bunker wasn’t just made to keep the nasty stuff in, it was also used as an emergency bunker for the President and his people. Mal swung his rifle behind him and walked into the lit bunker. The structure was built to last, to survive assaults by other countries because if it wasn’t, it would mean that a wave of killer gases would be released in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Mal walked to the end of the walkway and moved down the stairs. The lower he got, he knew the darker it would get. Mal flipped down his tactical eye-piece and turned it on. As it went through it’s protocols and started up, a thermal signature shot down the hallway in front of him.
“Commander Malcolm Daniels here with BANS, here to help,” Mal yelled before grabbing his rifle and dropping it to the ground.
Martha wouldn’t let just anyone in here, I am not too worried about them hurting me.
Mal took his pistol out, pulling the slide back while evacuating the round out, then discharged the magazine before throwing it to the ground.
“I am unarmed, I am just here to help.”
Mal saw the thermal signature stop thirty feet ahead and turn around.
“Senior Chief, you stated you wouldn’t take anything from this bunker,” Martha said.
“I said I wouldn’t take any weapons from this bunker,” Mal retorted.
Mal raised his hands.
“Why are you here?” The voice asked from the darkness.
“The Sons of Nathan Bedford Forrest are coming to take something from this bunker,” Mal said, “I don’t want you to get stuck in the middle of it. I want to get you to a safe space where you won’t end up being in the middle of a firefight, we are sending our Osprey out and I want to get you on board.”
The thermal signature was slowly increasing.
“Martha,” The voice said, “who is this asshole?”
“Senior Chief Malcolm Daniels, US Navy SEAL, Navy Cross Award, Silver Star twice, a Bronze star and a three time Purple heart winner. He’s the most decorated warfighter that has ever called Indiana home.”
“Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” The voice asked.
“Humans aren’t good or bad, they are both.”
“You know what I mean!”
“If he says he wants to help, he’s probably not lying, you should believe him.”
The voice was now less than ten feet away.
“I am going to turn on my light, just so I can see you.”
Slowly Mal flipped the switch on his pen light and saw the woman in front of him holding, a large knife.
“Hold up,” Mal said as he thought back to his past, to a young Senator from Indiana, “Dianna Carter? What the hell are you doing here?”
She dropped the knife as she realized he recognized her.
“Just do it,” She said.
“Do what?”
“Kill me, that’s what you came here to do!”
Dianna had tears running down her face, she was the Senator Malcolm voted for in the last election before the War started. She spoke of hope and change to our political processes.
“I am not going to kill you, Senator,” Mal said, “I am going to rescue you. Just like I said I would.”
“President,” Martha corrected Malcolm.
“President of what?”
“The United States.”
Martha’s security systems activated and spun to life, a mini-gun popped from the ceiling and targeted Malcolm.
“I cannot allow you to kill President Carter, if she dies your opponent will certainly kill many innocents,” Martha said.
“Martha, I am not going to kill her! For the last time, what the actual fuck is going on here?”
Mal took a seat as the President sat next to him on the stairs.
“Well, the first attack killed the president,” She said, “as more happened they needed to name a new Vice President: I was who they chose. After I was named Vice, I was sworn in and given automatic authority upon the president’s death to control the war chest that they had created. Nuclear missiles, weapons you couldn’t imagine couldn’t be used without my personal confirmation code and thumbprint.”
Leviathan wasn’t to be used to collapse the wall, it was going to be used after the wall collapsed.
“So, what can I do?” Mal asked.
“Keep me alive,” She said, “without anyone updating the procedures, our only hope to keep Marvin Gailbraith out of the arsenal is for me to outlive him.”
Marvin?
“Marvin is the Vice president now, since I was down here, the system automatically made the speaker of the house the new VP. Upon my death, they will be able to use everything in this facility.”
Mal reached for his communications system in his ear but Dianna put her hand over his ear.
“You can’t tell your BANS friends,” Martha said before Dianna could respond, “there are those within their hierarchy who would like to use those weapons themselves. I can never leave here, Malcolm.”
“You are going to have to, we have over one hundred soldiers headed here and if you are right,” Mal said, “They are coming here to get you, I can’t guarantee your safety, Ma’am. If Martha’s being honest, she would tell you the same.”
“I am afraid Senior Chief Daniels is correct,” Martha said, “Even with the Predators above, once they get inside the base that drone will be useless.”
“Let me get you some place safe,” Mal said, “I can take you to a place that neither of them will expect you to be at.”
“Martha, can you make an outbound phone call?”
“I can.”
“Call the hospital room that Jace is in and tell her that when she is released in twenty minutes that she should expect company.”
Mal hadn’t just left Jace behind because her injury, she’s a trustworthy set of eyes to respond to any emergency.
“What can I tell them to let them know you sent the message,” Martha said.
“You can just emulate my voice, the challenge question answer is ‘Star’.”
Mal grabbed a bandage out of his pocket and wrapped it around Dianna’s forehead and a bandage on her chin.
“I am not hurt?” She asked.
“I am aware, just trying to make you less recognizable,” Mal said before an explosion rocked the ground.
Mal picked up his rifle and pistol, placing them back in their holsters. Before giving Dianna a hand and pulling her to her feet.
“They are four minutes out,” Martha exclaimed.
Mal ran up the bunker stairs and through the corridor to the doors he had entered through. The Osprey’s blades were kicking up but Mal raised his hands to Jack to not take off. Mal motioned to Jack to take off his headset.
“This woman requires transport to your friend’s house, you know the friend you served with?”
Jack nodded.
“I got it,” Jack said, “is there a reason it’s so secret?”
“There is but I can’t tell you right now,” Mal said.
“Jace trusts you, I trust you, she’s good people,” Jack said, “I have a feeling there’s going to be some bad tailwinds I will have to swing around Evansville on the way home and approach from the west, don’t you think Steve?”
Steve, The JumpMaster, nodded.
“I can feel them jostling the tail of the VTOL already,” Steve said.
Mal nodded.
“How are you guys getting back?”
“This is going to take awhile, go back, refuel and prepare for exfil.”
Mal turned to President Carter.
“These people will get you out of here,” Mal said, “I am going to take care of our problem.”
Mal walked away as she hopped into the Osprey and it shot up into the sky.
“Malcolm, you a
re one of the smartest people I know and my defenses are considerable but I don’t think we can survive this assault,” Martha stated.
She was right. Mal was talking a big game and saying he’s going to survive this assault but David had played an intricate game with him and won.
I am probably going to die here.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
All-out war
“CONTACT RIGHT!” Tye screamed as the first shots of gunfire sprang from northside the gate.
Martha’s autocannons fired as the man ran up within it’s scope of fire, the man fell to the ground. Mal stared to the left and flipped down his tactical eyepiece.
“Popping smoke!” Mal yelled as four of them threw smoke grenades into the forest floor. It would blind the opposing force but make an outline of targets as they advanced for BANS troops as the smoke was laced with Diametride, a chemical that advances Infrared to a next level. Mal saw a man with a raised rifle on the left, followed by three other men behind him.
“CONTACT LEFT,” Mal screamed as he squeezed the trigger, dropping the three men in front of him.
Mal shot the first man, knowing the rounds were exit his head and lodge in the second man’s face.
Why are they coming in at a manageable rate like this? If I was them, I would attack from all angles and overwhelm my opponent.
Another five men attacked from the front as Martha’s firing systems enacted, Mal turned and walked away from the action.
“Martha, are any of your motion sensors active on the outer perimeter except from the north?”
“No, I am shooting a surveillance drone to the back of their line,” Martha said as surveillance drone launched out of her hub building and shot over the trees.
“Mal, they are taking up positions but there aren’t too many coming in,” Tye said through the ear-piece, “We should be overrun already by my estimations and retreating inside the gate.”
That’s what I was thinking, somethings not right.
Mal switched his comms over to Wallis.
“We have 3/4 of their forces splitting off and seem to be following the Osprey. Why would they do that?”
Mal’s throat sunk and the ground shook.
“There is an intruder into the deepest section of the vault,” Martha said.
Monsters Page 19
