The Fall of America | Book 10 | No Winners

by Benton, W. R.

  "I will send my medic to present you with a list, sir. All I need will be coordinated through your office. I also want us dropped by parachute if we can. We will do a HALO jump and then move to our target."

  "Anything else, Sergeant?"

  "Just one. I would like to have my promotion before I leave, so I can return knowing how much I have to look forward to."

  "I can promote you now." He opened the top center drawer of his desk, pulled out the rank of a Full Colonel and tossed them to Filippovna. He then continued, "Your promotion orders will be given to you tomorrow. Anything else, Colonel?"

  "I think not, today anyway. If I need your assistance, sir, I will return. I will get my man or I will not return alive. That, sir, you have my word on."

  "Good day then, and you may go."

  The two men saluted and the prior Senior Sergeant moved to the tailors, to have his new rank sewn on his uniform. Then he'd report to his Captain that he'd been placed on a special mission by the Commander and would not be available for any Spetsnaz duties. Besides, Colonels didn't go into a field of battle. He would kill his man and then retire. Life was looking very good to him.

  The next day, two men appeared at almost the same time at his door. He welcomed them in and one man, a tall lanky fellow said, "I am your new medic, Colonel, and my name is Sergeant Edik Valeryevich and his name is Sergeant Vova Timofeyevich. He is also your spotter. We know nothing of the mission, so can your share a little with us?"

  "I will share absolutely nothing with you, unless you have the need to know. Right now, neither of you has the need to know anything. Our mission is classified Top Secret, and to even bring it up will get you a jail cell. We are to kill a man, an American man, so let me change into a field uniform and we will go shoot some."

  Valeryevich was tall and lanky, maybe six feet and five inches, with brown hair and huge mustache of the same color. His pale blue eyes seemed bottomless, and he looked as if ready to break anytime into a deep laugh. Filippovna guessed his weight at maybe 177.2 funt or 160 pounds.

  The other man, Timofeyevich, the spotter, was average size, maybe five feet and eight inches, 180 pounds, black hair, and his eyes were brown. His teeth glistened like snow and his smile was warm. He had huge hands, which made the Sergeant guess the man was a weight lifter. His upper torso was big, as were his bicep muscles, and his shirt sleeves fit him tightly.

  After changing his clothes, Colonel Filippovna said, "Let us head to the range and see how well our spotter can do his job.”

  In a matter of minutes at the range, the new Colonel was in a prone position and turning to Timofeyevich, he said, "Join me and spot for a few rounds. I am going to start fairly close, say 200 meters and work out."

  He fired three shots from his rifle and the spotter said, "High and to the left. Drop an inch and to the right two inches."

  Adjusting his scope, Filippovna fired two shots and the Sergeant spotting for him said, "Excellent shooting. You have two bull's-eyes in the target. Let us try further out."

  "How about a half a mile, and the targets are behind and near a tank. See them?"

  "I . . . I have them visual."

  "Watch as I take them out, from the left, one at a time." He began knocking down targets. When he stopped shooting, Timofeyevich just shook his head.

  "Very good. What is the farthest target they have here?"

  "One mile. Look straight ahead and you will see three man sized targets in the open."

  "I imagine few people shoot at that distance, and none of the regular Army snipers do. However, with all that said, Spetsnaz shoots at that distance and we kill frequently at that distance. That far, all it takes is a hard wind or small twig and you will miss your target." The Colonel then fired three times, with each shot hitting a target.

  All were maybe an inch outside the bull's-eye, low, but still killing shots. “Center mass, each shot!"

  The medic said, "I would hate to be in your sights. You are deadly, sir."

  The Colonel grinned, proud of his shooting, and then said, "Any member of Spetsnaz can shoot like I did. Some are better shooters and others not so good. Nonetheless, all can kill the target, but some will miss the bull's-eye."

  "Well, if our mission involves shooting someone, that someone is going to die during our visit." The Medic said.

  "Yes," Colonel Filippovna said, "Someone will die."

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, at the airport as they waited for the flight to start boarding, Joy said, "It'll be nice to get home and relax a bit, knowing we don't have a mission to go on."

  "I'm sure some missions are being done as we make sure the Russians are keeping their side of the deal. Mainly security type missions, because neither side trusts the other. Some of those could turn into combat missions easily enough."

  "I never considered the distrust on both sides."

  A distorted voice came on the airport intercom said something and while Joy couldn't make it out, John did.

  "That's our flight, and remember we have first class seats."

  They walked passed the ticket counter, because they already had seats assigned to both of them, and they were side-by-side. Once on the aircraft, a stewardess showed them to their seats. As they were strapping into their seat belts, a strange man walked by and looked the two of them over closely.

  Once he passed, Joy asked, "Did you see that man checking us out?"

  "I saw him. We'll keep an eye on him this trip. Just because we're going home doesn't mean we're safe from the hit men. Use caution if you have to use the bathroom, too. All he'd have to do is slip in behind us and then kill. Pay attention to everything on this flight. I suddenly have a bad feeling about him.”

  When the man caught John and Joy looking at him, he simply smiled at them and then opened his paperback novel. This trip, hopefully, would make him a millionaire, and very possibly a double millionaire, if he worked it right. He had three vials of a 'fierce snake' venom in his pocket, and it is the most toxic venom in the world. It was found only in inland Taipan snakes. It kills quickly. A single bite paralyzes muscles and causes hemorrhaging in blood veins, causing muscle damage. It's found primarily in the Australian region of the world. Where it came from didn't matter to Hans, as long as it worked fast and was deadly.

  The Fierce Snake worked within 15 minutes. It started with local pain and variable effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, and collapse or convulsions leading to major organ failure in time.

  As soon as the aircraft took off and the wheels made a thud into their wheel wells, Hans stood and made his way to the bathroom, where he prepared two syringes to use with the snake venom. Once done he placed protective covers on both needles and returned to his seat.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, and our flight today to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport will take us 3 hours and 16 minutes. We'll be flying at an altitude of 27,000 feet and we're expecting some turbulence when about halfway there. I have turned off the no smoking and seat belts signs, but want to remind you smoking is illegal on all commercial flights and I suggest you keep your seat belt on at all times. I'd like to thank all of you for flying Omega Airlines and hope you will keep us in mind for your future flights."

  "That man went to the bathroom, but he wasn't in there very long." John said.

  "Maybe he had to pee."

  "Maybe."

  A Stewardess neared and asked, "I have drinks. As first class passengers, your drinks are free."

  "I'll take a double bourbon." John said.

  "A beer for me."

  "The only beer I have is Klinskoye Svetloe and it's a pale lager, with a crisp and hoppy taste, without a bitter aftertaste, like most American beers have. It is a very smooth beer."

  "I will try one then."

  "Here are your drinks." She handed them two glasses and smiles as she moved for the next seats.

  Joy took a sip and said, "This beer is good. Take a sip."


  John took the offered glass, sipped a bit and said, "It is pretty good. When we'd ambush Russian trucks the beer they had tasted like warm pee. I couldn't drink it."

  "Since we're in First Class, we only get the best in everything. I don't think the Russians would have their best brews going to the army. I know our army back in the day never provided good quality beers to our troops."

  Joy had two of the beers and then said, "I need to use the bathroom."

  "Want me to go with you?" John said, teasing. He'd been expecting the drinks to make her need to pee.

  "No, I'm armed, or did you forget?"

  John laughed and said, "No, I didn't forget. It's just I love you and I don't trust that man back there not to try and hurt one of us."

  "I'll be fine."

  Joy stood, felt a bit dizzy from the two drinks and then walked to the bathroom. Just as she passed Hans, he stood and moved in behind her. When she entered the lavatory, he stuck his ticket between the door frame and lock, keeping the door closed, but able for him to still enter. Using his hands he pulled one of the syringes from his pocket and made it ready for use.

  Once some of the snake venom spurted from the needle, he slightly pushed the door and felt it give. He pushed it all the way open and when he tried to enter, Joy's eyes were huge but she had been expecting him; she'd seen the end of his ticket inside the door because he'd pushed too much of the paper between the frame and lock. Not wanting to alert the flight crew, she struck him hard on the bridge of his nose and she saw a syringe fall from his right hand. When he doubled over in pain, she kicked him hard in the chest and he landed outside the door. Picking up the needle he was going to use on her, she stuck him in the thigh and quickly emptied it into his leg. Just seconds later he began to scream in pain and fear.

  She smiled, because that was what he'd planned to do to her. As that end of the plane filled with stewards and stewardesses, one asked, "What is wrong with him?"

  "He had this needle with him and it's empty, so he may be on drugs or something. He even tried to get into the bathroom with me." She handed the now empty needle to the older stewardess.

  The stewardess took the syringe and said, "Thank you. I need to call the Captain." She picked up the handset for the intercom and called the flight deck.

  A few short minutes later she hung up and said, "The Captain is going to ask for a doctor to assist us if there is one on the aircraft."

  "Attention. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking again. If there is a Medical Doctor on the aircraft, please reach out to one of our stewardesses to assist us with a medical issue on the aircraft. If you are a doctor, let my crew know, please."

  An old man stood and said in heavily accented English, "I yam the doktor. Mine, uh, my name is Doktor Peter Runkle and I havet the medical office in Ramstein, Yermany. I am das Yerman."

  Hans had stopped screaming and was now praying the doctor could save him so when he neared, he said, "Also, Herr Doktor, ich bin Hans Hanish und eine Schlange hat mich im Männerbad gebissen."

  "Schlange?"

  In English, Hans said, "I opened the door to the toilet and the snake, a Fierce Snake, bit me on the thigh. I fell back and landed against this woman‘s bathroom door. I was surprised. The snake is deadly."

  "Schlange? In einem Flugzeug im Flug? Dein Deutsch ist sehr gut."

  The head steward, the older woman said, "I don't speak much German so can you two speak English?"

  "Ja natürlich, aber ich habe manchmal Probleme mit Englisch."

  Speaking through clenched teeth from the pain, Hans said, "He doesn't speak English well but of course he will try since you don't speak German. Oh, pain has struck me hard."

  "Vot kind of snake bit you?"

  "It was called a Fierce Snake . . .uh, from around Australia. I am a guide there for hunters and the such, and the bite of a Fierce Snake is deadly unless a man can get the antivenom. The pain is getting bad."

  "Can the pilot divert to the nearest hospital for an anti-venom?" the doktor asked.

  The Steward picked up the handset and said, "Sir, the man was bitten by a snake called a Fierce snake and they are from Australia. No sir, I have no idea how it got here, or even where it went after it bit this man. Yes, sir, it looks like we have 239 people on the aircraft and a deadly snake sharing a flight with them. Best I can do is lock the lavatory doors and post a steward here to keep an eye out for the snake."

  "Right, sir. I‘ll pass it on to the doctor. Yes, sir." She then hung up the phone and turning to the doctor and Hans, she said, "We're diverting into Saint Louis, the biggest city between here and Dallas. They may have the anti-venom."

  "If dey do not, dis man is going to an Schlangenbiss sterben, uh, I mean he vill die from a snakebite. How long to Saint Louis?“

  "We are close, and the Captain said we'd be there in about 10 minues, so he's calling ahead to inform the emergency crews what has happened and to make sure the antivenom is available at the closest hospital. Since the snake is on this aircaft, Omega Airlines will pay for all needed medical assistance you receive there."

  "Thank . . . you." Hans replied and with that said, he moaned and Joy walked back to John.

  At the seat, she sat and told John all that was going on.

  "Well, I heard of the snake in College. If I remember right, the venom is toxic enough to kill at least 100 fully grown men. He'd better pray they have the antivenom or he's a dead man. You know if you'd not been paying attention, you would be the one dying and we'd never know what happened, until the autopsy. I'm glad you came out on top. While I'm glad you are safe, the man has a rough death coming if they can't care for him at the hospital."

  "You don't sound like they have the medicines to treat him?"

  "How many snakes from that part of the world bite people in the states every year? None, so yes, it's a good chance they don't have what he needs."

  "I hope the bastard dies, because that's exactly what he wanted me to do, die."

  "Oh, he deserves what he gets, but I'm just talking. " He turned her head with his hands and kissed her on her nose.

  "John, do you think our country will ever be what it once was?"

  "To be honest, no. I hope we make it bigger and better than before, but there will be a civil war, because all the different groups will want to be in charge. I know most veterans and Conservatives don't want Communism, so that's who I think the war will be with. I figure in about a year or less, the two biggest political parties will start butting heads. The two biggest parties are who?"

  "The Communist party and Republicans."

  "Right, so don't hang your rifle up yet. Keep in mind, most of the Veterans and Conservatives will be on one side, while the younger socialist folks will join the local Communists in their quest for America. While you may not know it, there are millions of commies in the states. I'm sure most of the left have no combat experience, while those on the right, the veterans, will bring the total horrors of pure hell down on the young communists. They will probably discover no quarter given or expected from the veterans."

  "Sounds rough."

  "It will be about like the first year of the war with Russia."

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain again, we have a serious medical emergency and are diverting to Saint Louis International Airport, Lambert Field, and should touch down in about five minutes. Stewardesses, get ready for our landing. We will also be changing aircraft while there, so be ready to switch out smoothly. Be sure to check the overhead bins before you leave the aircraft because we will not be returning. Those of you who are continuing on to Dallas-Fort Worth will be changing planes and that should include all of you, unless you want to spend some time in Saint Louis. In that case, see a ticket agent inside the terminal." A series of bells were heard in the passenger sections.

  As soon as the Captain stopped speaking the head stewardess said on the intercom, "Please adhere to the fasten seat belts sign, put your tray and seat in the full upright positions, and pre
pare for landing at Lambert Field. Crew, prepare for landing and transfer of passengers to another aircraft."

  The aircraft touched down with a loud skreech on the runway, the flaps were fully extended, and the engines were reversed and the brakes were applied. They began to slow down and finally came to a stop.

  As soon as they stopped, the front door was opened and three men that were EMT's entered, moving toward Hans, who was now unconscious. Looking out the window by his seat, John could see a white ambulance parked near the stairwell with another man waiting behind the wheel. Lights were flashing as the man waited for the patient.

  Once the dying Hans was gone, the crew locked the front door, then taxiied to the parking slot, and the Captain said, "Local time here, folks, is 10 a.m. and once you deplane, remain in the boarding area so we can reboard our new aircraft. I expect our switch will take at least an hour."

  John and Joy moved to the ticket area and then walked to the corner coffee shop and got drinks. They were against the back wall, watching all of the customers.

  A man suddenly turned, raised his right hand holding a pistol and fired off three shots before John or Joy could react. Joy screamed and collapsed to the cold tiled floor. John pulled his pistol and fired twice, both bullets striking the gunman in the center of his chest and he was dead before he struck the ground. A woman near the man fired twice and both bullets struck John's overturned glass table, shattering and sending sharp shrades of glass in all directions. One large piece of glass narrowly missed his face.

  John ran to a nearby trashcan and fired twice, both bullets missing the running woman. The area was clear of people now, so he leaned against the top of the trash container and fired twice more. Off a short distance, maybe 50 feet, the sprinting woman was hit both times in the back.

  He ran to her and kicked the gun from her hand and discovered she was dead. He moved quickly to Joy and found she'd been hit in the left shoulder, high. He bandaged her using his ripped tee shirt and soon she was covered. Airport security was coming now and officers with long rifles approached them.