The New World Order

by Robert Boren

  “Likewise,” John said.

  “Listen to yourselves,” Pat said. “Didn’t you hear that?”

  “Yeah, we heard it,” John said. “I will cooperate with reasonable requests. Giving up our weapons is not a reasonable request.”

  “We’re nowhere near 40,000 people in this town,” Linda said. “This is moot for us. Settle down.”

  “Are you sure?” Pat asked.

  “Linda’s right,” Craig said. “You know how big Harrisburg is, right?”

  “Yes, that’s a city, not a town,” Pat said. “What’s the population?”

  “Last I checked, just under 50,000.”

  “Oh,” Pat said. “You’re right, we aren’t in that league, but I still wouldn’t be flashing weapons around.”

  “When have I ever done that?” Craig asked.

  “I should get back to work,” John said, getting up. “Leave the radio on.”

  “My laptop was on the charger when the power went off,” Linda said. “We can swap batteries if you need to.”

  “Ah, an advantage of buying the same kind for both of us,” John said, smiling. “That might help, thanks. We’ll see if I can get back into it.” He went to his laptop, getting back into the zone quickly.

  ***

  Albena was working at her PC when Penko came in with Vasil.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, seeing their expressions.

  “Mayor Fine just put out a message,” Penko said.

  Vasil nodded. “I’ve got newfound respect for that man.”

  “What’d he say?”

  “The truth,” Penko said. “He told the people about the UN attempt to take over the city, and he also said some rather interesting things about Governor Romano. He basically said Romano is complicit with the enemy, and that he’d threatened to kill the Mayor if he didn’t make the NYPD stand down against the UN Peacekeepers.”

  “Wow, that’ll probably get him killed.”

  Eve walked in with Taylor and Laleh.

  “Good morning,” Eve said. “Anything we can help with?”

  “Soon,” Albena said. “I’ve broken into the MVS, and gained access to the facial recognition system. I’m working on a way to cover our tracks now. When I’m done with that, I’ll need help.”

  “Facial recognition?” Eve asked. “How will that help?”

  Albena looked up from her screen. “We can find video of our blue-helmeted friends, then search for where they’ve shown up. Same with NYPD, with their uniforms, and National Guard with theirs.”

  “Let’s get out of here so she can work,” Laleh said. “Maybe Cary and Jace can get us trained with the machine guns. He said there’s a range down here.”

  “That would be good,” Albena said, watching as they left, then getting back to work.

  “Let’s leave her alone too,” Vasil said.

  “Penko, stick around,” she said. “There’s something you can help me with.”

  Penko nodded, Vasil turning to leave. “Maybe I’ll go brush up with the weapons.”

  “What can I do?” Penko asked.

  “I just put a list of the current users of the MVS system on the shared drive, under MVS_Users. The records have names plus work and home addresses. Look for at least five names who work and live on the boundary of no-man’s land. Then hack into their social media accounts and send me info I can use to hack their passwords.”

  “On it,” he said, getting on the PC next to hers. They worked silently for more than an hour, Penko finding a perfect candidate and sending Albena the data.

  “Good, this is promising,” Albena said, looking at the data. “Great social media presence.” She ran a program she created, looking for names and places, trying them as passwords for the accounts.

  “Here’s another good one,” Penko said, sending her the data, Albena running the program against it as well. They worked silently for another hour.

  “You need some coffee?” Penko asked.

  “Yeah, that would be good. You know how I like it.”

  Penko nodded, getting up and leaving the intel room. A moment later Albena hit pay dirt. Valid password for the second name Penko had given her. She was logging on when Penko came back with two cups of coffee.

  “Not as good as we sell, but not bad,” Penko said, stopping when he saw her expression. “You’re in.”

  “I am, with the second guy you gave me. I’m searching on some blue helmet images right now.”

  Penko smiled, handing her the coffee, Albena taking a sip. “I think it’s good. What are the others doing?”

  “Most of them are practicing in the range,” Penko said. “We’ll need to do that as well.”

  “Later,” Albena said. “Oh, I just got in with the first name you gave me.”

  “Clever girl. I’ve got two more coming.” He sat on his chair, rolling it close to his PC and getting back to work.

  Albena started a search on the new user ID, this time looking for NYPD uniforms.

  “Bingo, got a third,” Penko said, sending Albena the data. Then alarms went off on Albena’s PC. “What the hell?”

  Albena ignored him, eyes staring at her screen. “Call Jace down here. Something’s brewing at Penn Station.”

  “Oh shit, that’s the most important hub in that part of Manhattan,” Penko said, pulling out the thin phone Jared had provided, texting Jace, who acknowledged right away.

  “He’s on his way,” Penko said.

  “Get the video feeds from Penn Station on those monitors up there,” Albena said, not looking up from her PC.

  Penko did that as Jace came in with Vasil and one of his commandos.

  “What you got?” Jace asked, sitting at the table.

  “UN Peacekeepers have converged on Penn Station,” Albena said. “A group of NYPD officers are down there, but they don’t have the numbers. There’s a battle brewing, and we don’t want the enemy to control that hub.”

  “Got the real time cameras up,” Penko said, nodding towards the bank of monitors on the wall. “We’re gonna lose a bunch of officers if we don’t do something.”

  “Hey man,” the commando said, a burly man with the look of a pro wrestler.

  “What, Slash?” Jace asked.

  “They’re laying a trap. Look where they’re positioned down there.”

  Jace stared at the screens, eyes going from one to another, his brow furrowed. “Dammit, you’re right. Look where they are. They’ll nail anybody who comes in from the street entrances.”

  Albena looked up from her PC screen. “The NYPD is already sending people to the area. Obviously they have access to the MVS as well, at least real time. They might not have the history access. They might not know how many UN Peacekeepers are down there.”

  “Jared has access to the Mayor,” Jace said. “I’ll call my boss and see if he can get him on the line with us.”

  “Yeah, do that,” Albena said, “but hurry.”

  “We need to use the moles,” Slash said.

  “Moles?” Penko asked.

  “Hold that thought,” Jace said, walking away with the phone to his ear, having a hushed conversation.

  “Whoa,” Albena said. “They’re gonna try to cut Manhattan off from the other Boroughs.”

  “What?” Slash asked, coming towards Albena. “What are you seeing?”

  “Roosevelt Island,” she said. “Mostly by the Queensboro Bridge. Where are all these Peacekeepers coming from? I’m seeing several thousand. They’ve been around for a while, because I’m not seeing them come in via the history.”

  “How much history do you have access to, sister?” Slash asked.

  She smiled at him. “Sister?”

  “Sorry, I use pet names a lot.”

  “I like it,” Albena said. “Legally they’re only allowed to hold history in the MVS system for two months, unless there’s a crime involved.”

  “Can you access video held due to a crime?” Penko asked.

  “Haven’t tried yet,” Albe
na said. “That’ll take a different angle of attack. We might have to get into the court systems. They have better security than the MVS system, more than likely.”

  “Mr. Carlson is calling in,” Jace said. “He’ll use the room speakers. The microphones in the ceiling will pick up our comments.”

  “Hello, do you hear me?” asked Jared.

  “Loud and clear, Mr. Carlson,” Jace said.

  “You can all call me Jared. Who’s in the room?”

  “One of my commandos, plus Albena and Penko.”

  “Good. What are you seeing?”

  “We’re seeing a trap brewing at Penn Station,” Jace said. “It’ll kill a group of NYPD officers holding that station, plus any officers who come to the rescue via the street entrances to the station.”

  “This is Albena, Jared. I’m seeing twelve NYPD officers, and More than forty UN Peacekeepers. There’s something else, though.”

  “Go on,” Jared said.

  “There are almost five thousand UN Peacekeepers on Roosevelt Island, most of them near the Queensboro Bridge.”

  “They’re trying to isolate Manhattan,” Slash said.

  “Who was that?” Jared asked.

  “Commando. We call him Slash.”

  “It’s an honor, sir,” Slash said.

  Jared chuckled. “Have you showed our toys to the team yet?”

  “No sir,” Jace said, “but I think it’s time. We can enter the subway tunnels from here with the moles and get to Penn station in a hurry.”

  “I wouldn’t suggest going too fast,” Jared said. “You know there will be stopped subway trains to go around. Probably people walking too.”

  “The moles can make it past that,” Slash said.

  “Albena, could you shut down the video cameras in the subway tunnels?” Jared asked.

  “That’s a separate system,” Albena said. “I’ve got access, but I can’t be selective. I’d have to shut them all down.”

  “We’ll have to time this well,” Jace said. “Can you display what’s in the tunnels between here and Penn Station?”

  “That’s easy enough that I can do it,” Penko said. “I’ll get on it now.”

  Slash chuckled. “Where’d you find these folks?”

  “We’ve seen this coming for a while,” Albena said. “Got a head start.”

  “We got the early warning for the bomb thanks to Albena,” Jared said. “I’m very impressed.”

  “Don’t make her head swell too much,” Penko quipped. “There, I’ve got a route mapped out to Penn Station from here, but I’m not sure where you can enter.”

  “Display it,” Jace said.

  Penko nodded, sending the feeds to the monitors below the ones displaying Penn station.

  “Well, no enemy operatives down there,” Slash said, watching the video. “Lot not covered, though.”

  “The tunnels aren’t covered as densely as the streets,” Albena said. “Cameras tend to be at the stations only.”

  “There are some cameras between the stations,” Penko said, “but only on extra-long stretches.”

  “Doesn’t matter here,” Jace said, looking at the video feeds. “They don’t view the tunnels as a threat… yet.”

  “That’s gonna change, so keep that in mind,” Jared said. “You know what to do. I’d train more of the team on driving the moles. There are more coming. We’re gonna need them.”

  “We won’t be able to use them much after the subway system is back up,” Slash said.

  “Yes, things will move quickly, but we have some time. Wear radiation tags. Some of the tunnels in the south were exposed. Make sure everybody who as a reading uses the decontamination system when they get back.”

  “Yes sir,” Jace said. “I think we’d better get going now.”

  “Good luck, and be careful,” Jared said.

  { 3 }

  Moles

  J ace looked at Albena and Penko. “We’ll need you to be our eyes and ears down there. There’s an application on each of the PCs called COMM. Load that. It interfaces with our headsets while we’re in the field. The program tracks each of us, and it will display video from the cameras on each of our people.”

  Penko smiled. “This is mission control.”

  “You got that right, brother,” Slash said. “Think you’re up to it?”

  “Hell yes, when I’m down here,” Penko said. “You’ll want to use me for infiltration, though.”

  “Penko…” Albena said, her brow furrowed.

  “Infiltration?” Jace asked.

  “I went to UN Headquarters and got the list of administrators that allowed Albena to crack into the UN’s email server. I’m good at that. You’ll need me.”

  “Good to know,” Jace said. “Let’s go, Slash.”

  They rushed out of the room.

  “I don’t want you getting killed,” Albena said, not looking away from her monitor.

  “I’ve got to provide the team with my best skills,” Penko said. “You know that.”

  She sighed, leaning back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. “Okay, you’re right. Sorry, I’m still dealing with Stefan.”

  “I know, me too,” Penko said.

  ***

  Taylor was firing an M4, rushing through a small combat range, several commandos watching her.

  “She’s a frigging natural,” said one of the commandos, a tall blonde man. “Hot, too. Wonder if she has a boyfriend?”

  “Geez, Kinsey,” said another commando, a short man with massive shoulders. “You’re too much of a horn dog. I agree she’s a natural, though. Laleh is pretty damn good too. We’ll have to watch Eve, she’s not fast enough. Maybe there are other things she can do.”

  “All right, Zev, I agree,” Kinsey said. “She’d be a good coordinator. She thinks well on her feet. I’ll bet she’s a good litigator.”

  “She’s an attorney?”

  “Patent law,” Kinsey said.

  Jace walked onto the range with Slash, glancing through the soundproof windows as Taylor rushed around, firing her machine gun, rolling and weaving around the course. “Wow, impressive. We can use her.”

  Kinsey smiled. “Yeah, she’s a natural, and her Iranian friend ain’t half bad neither.”

  “Albena is good as well, but we aren’t using her for commando raids,” Jace said. “She’s a genius level hacker.”

  “You said a mouthful there,” Slash added.

  Zev eyed Jace. “Something’s going on.”

  “We’re going out. There’s a fight brewing at Penn Station, and the NYPD is outnumbered. They’re heading for a trap.”

  “We can’t let the enemy take Penn Station,” Kinsey said. “When do we leave, and who’s going?”

  “Call the rest of the team, and let’s take that one and her friend,” Jace said.

  “You’re wanting to take all twenty of our commandos, plus the civilians?”

  “There are forty UN Peacekeepers placed in Penn Station with more on the way,” Slash said. “We’ll have to use four moles, too. This is a big operation.”

  Taylor finished, coming out of the range. “That’s a blast. No pun intended.”

  Jace smiled. “You’re good.”

  Taylor looked at him, her face flushing. “Thank you. Something’s going on.”

  “We’re going on a mission to Penn Station,” Slash said. “There are NYPD officers to save, and an important hub to lock down.”

  “I’m ready,” Taylor said. “How do we get there?”

  “Moles,” Zev said, grinning at her.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’ll see,” Jace said. “Let’s get to the elevator. Taylor, take that M4. Did you get the others, Kinsey?”

  “Yeah, they’re on the way.”

  Everybody left the range, going down a long hallway to the elevators, Laleh and Eve already standing there with Vasil, holding weapons. Twenty commandos appeared from a door to the right, carrying M4s or M240s. One had a box full of headset/camera units.
/>
  “How are we doing on production of those, Tad?” Jace asked as they got into the elevator.

  Tad smiled, holding the box above his head as they squeezed into the elevator. “Frigging 3D printer is kicking out the parts faster than we can assemble them. We’ll be out of electronic components before long. We getting more?”

  “Yeah, should get more in the next few days,” Jace said. “How about the thin phones?”

  “Those are a piece of cake. We’ve got ninety of them made already. Enough blanks and circuits for another three hundred.”

  The elevator went down two floors, opening into an area that looked like a garage. There was a round vault door against one wall, about twenty feet in diameter. Rows of long thin vehicles were lined up, pointing at the door.

  “What the hell are those things?” Eve asked, looking at them.

  “Jared calls them moles,” Jace said. “They can take us through subway tunnels. We’re going to Penn Station.”

  “The enemy is trying to take it over?” Laleh asked.

  “There are forty UN Peacekeepers lying in wait, ready to kill the small group of NYPD officers holding the station,” Jace said. “They’ve also positioned themselves to trap officers coming down from the street.”

  “We’re gonna ruin their whole day,” Slash said. “Everybody put on a headset and pair it to your thin phones.”

  “The ones that interface with our security systems?” Eve asked.

  “Yep, that’s a central device,” Jace said. “You’ll be using them a lot. We’ll have Penko and Albena watching the video system in Penn Station, sending maps and video to our headsets to guide us. Eve, I’ve got a special job for you.”

  She smiled. “I’m not good enough to fight. I know it.”

  “You aren’t a natural, but you’re good at thinking on your feet,” Jace said. “There is a command seat in each of the moles, right behind the driver’s seat. It has a display driven by an array of sensors. You’ll be able to see where we are at all times relative to the enemy, from the feed Albena and Penko have, and from the sensors if they lose connection. You’ll be guarding our rides while we’re fighting. I’ll show you how the mole defensive system works. It’s easy to use.”

  “Good, I’m game,” Eve said. “Let’s go get these cretins.”