The Peacekeepers. Books 1 - 3.

by Ricky Sides

  The presence of the peacekeepers delighted the community of Athens as a whole. Twice, small bands of raiders had attempted to sweep through the city terrorizing the people and twice there was a call to the peacekeepers for assistance. They had of course responded putting down the raiders like mad dogs. After those incidents, the word spread through the lawless element that Athens, Alabama, and the surrounding area was a bad place to go if you wanted to have a little fun. Because of such assistance from the peacekeepers, the community had welcomed the newcomers to share the electrical and water grids.

  The employees of the power plant that serviced the area weren’t getting paid but most showed up for work daily despite that because their own families needed electricity as much as the rest of the people. In exchange, the community did what it could to repay these employees by trading them food, clothing, and other necessities. The peacekeepers added the homes of the electrical plant and water treatment facility to their patrol routes and helped make the community as a whole a safer place for everyone.

  By Christmas, the work of building the command bunker was completed as the last of the dirt, which covered the massive building, was pushed into place. The peacekeepers celebrated by declaring a few days of rest from their labors. Next came the work of locating sufficient beds to accommodate their population in the bunker, should the need arise. Also needed were office furnishings for several offices so various staff members could occupy them. So once more, the peacekeepers sent out convoys seeking items needed for their bunker.

  As they traveled, they often met people and assisted those in need. When they did this they informed the people to get CB radios and linear amplifiers so that they could contact the peacekeepers should the need arise and sometimes it did. When called on, the peacekeepers invariably sent assistance. This assistance wasn’t always in the form that the person calling them wanted, but they did send assistance. When prank calls began, Patricia worked out a means to locate the source. The pranksters soon learned that messing with the peacekeeper channel would get the living hell beat out of you by burly peacekeepers in no laughing mood when they found you. Like the criminal element, the pranksters sent the word out that it was best not to pull crap on the peacekeepers. They had absolutely no sense of humor when it came to prank calls for assistance.

  By the spring, the command bunker was finally finished. The offices had a modern network of computers loaded with sophisticated software, most of which was Patricia’s creation. They began to gather information then from various sources. They kept files on known lawless elements that were beginning to pop up in the continued absence of the government.

  The rumor that California had formed a new government turned out to be true. That government collapsed when word spread and millions of people tried to enter California in mass from all across America. Like the storm shelter business owner, they went seeking a return to civilization. Unable to cope with the influx of so many people, one by one, the California systems failed. First the power grid and then the water system failed. When rioting broke out due to the loss of the critical services, the government of California collapsed in seventy-two hours.

  ***

  During the months that the peacekeeper base complex was under construction, the crew of the Peacekeeper trained extensively. First on the agenda was the completion of the cross training needed to ensure that all members of the control room crew could competently work at any of the duty stations. While the control room crew was perfecting their cross training, the strike force also trained. Under the command of Sergeant Wilcox, the strike force team trained incessantly with the battle bikes. Live fire exercises of the mini rockets were limited by necessity since they possessed a very limited number of the rockets, but they were able to test the machineguns thoroughly, since that ammunition was not in short supply.

  Pete, Bill, Sergeant Wilcox, and another member of the Peacekeepers who had worked for a few years in a motorcycle custom shop, worked for days custom fitting forty-millimeter grenade launchers to the bikes. The difficult part of that operation was contriving a reliable firing mechanism, but after the third failure, they enjoyed success with the fourth modification to the firing mechanism configuration. Like the mini rockets, the ammunition for the grenade launchers was in short supply. Therefore live fire practice was severely limited.

  When the entire strike force team had been adequately trained in riding and using their weapons, Pete had them begin to drill on the last phase of their training, which was comprised of making jumps. To be of maximum benefit in battle, the bikes would need to have the capability of emerging from the rear of the Peacekeeper. Tim would manually override the computer and bring the ship to within a few feet of the ground at a speed of about thirty miles per hour. The bikes would then emerge one after another from the lowered rear door and land on the ground as if they’d made a jump. The impact with the surface would be a bone jarring impact.

  Pete didn’t permit the strike force to use the battle bikes for this stage of the training, as they were irreplaceable. Instead, they acquired four other motorcycles with the same engine, model, and weight configurations. Great care was given to mimic the balance characteristics on the practice bikes. They even detached the weapons systems and weighed them meticulously and then contrived weights near the same size and attached them in the same manner that the armaments were attached to the battle bikes. Then Pete had the team begin by making small jumps with the bikes working up over a period of a week to a jump of five feet that most of the men agreed should mimic closely the trajectory and angles involved in the real run.

  Now the men were ready for the first Peacekeeper trials. They loaded the test bikes into the cargo bay and locked them in their restraints. The drill was as realistic as possible, with the team unaware just when they’d get the order to prepare to launch the bikes. When the word came to begin the drill, Sergeant Wilcox would lead the team and be the first man to exit.

  In the control room, Jim looked his friend Pete square in the eyes and asked, “Ready to try this?”

  “The question is, are they ready? I believe they are. They’ve had more training than many combat units ever get with specialty gear, so I say we go,” Pete said with no concern evident in his eyes.

  That was what Jim wanted to clarify so he turned immediately to Patricia and said, “Begin the drill, Lieutenant.”

  In the cargo bay, the strike team heard the communications specialist announce that the strike team was a go for the planned mission. That was the signal for them to prepare to launch. A red warning light above the bay door began to blink off and on. They knew that the moment the navigator began his run leading up to the exit, the red light would stop flashing, and a green light situated directly above the red would begin to flash. That light was a signal that the door would open in moments. When that light stopped blinking, the door would begin to open and the red light would remain lit until they closed the door.

  The strike team members scheduled to ride the four bikes mounted the motorcycles. The team members not involved in the exit drill used the quick releases to free the motorcycles. The riders struggled to maintain the stability of the heavy machines and started their engines. Carefully the team aligned the bikes with the bay door in two ranks of two. A moment later, the green light stopped blinking. A few seconds after that, the door began to drop and the red light remained illuminated.

  “Go, Go, GO!” the order came over the intercom, and Sergeant Wilcox executed the exiting maneuver. No sooner had he exited the ship than the next rider shot toward the exit. Soon all four bikes had exited the Peacekeeper, and at a signal from the sergeant, they turned their bikes and raced back toward the Peacekeeper splitting their formation with two bikes going to the left and two to the right of the big ship.

  Inside the control room, Jim grunted in surprise as the four-man team shot into sight and roared away down the highway merging into a solid line of four bikes. “Well, that was impressive,” he said with a smile.

&nbs
p; “May I, Captain?” Tim asked eager to race the bikes.

  “If you go to maximum altitude I don’t see any harm,” Jim said with a grin. “But close the cargo bay door first.”

  “Aye, Captain,” responded Tim. A moment later the Peacekeeper surged forward as it shot up into the air. Within seconds, the Peacekeeper closed the gap and shot over the bikes, hurtling past them.

  “Pick a spot to land so we can get the bikes aboard,” Jim ordered. Turning to Patricia he said, “Tell them to board with the bikes, and we’ll do another run so the others can try as well. And tell them I said congratulations on a job well done.”

  Jim could see that Pete was eager to go to the cargo bay. He knew his mentor would want to speak to the men in the wake of the test. “Pete, shouldn’t someone examine the bikes for damage incurred during the test before we let the others make the attempt?”

  “Why, yes, Jim, that would be a good idea,” Pete responded.

  “Please give me a full damage report,” Jim said, with a grin still on his face.

  Chapter 11

  In the communications room at the command bunker, the man monitoring the primary radio frequency used by the Peacekeepers heard a distress call being sent out by one of their teams, which was currently in Mississippi. A team of six peacekeepers had been dispatched to a small town just across the state line in answer to a plea for assistance. The radio operator acknowledged that the message had been received and asked for a situation report. As the man took the report, he could hear gunfire and asked if they were under fire. The young man he was talking to said that the other team members were attempting to pour suppressive fire at the sniper who was picking off the team one by one. “Can you withdraw?” asked the man in the bunker.

  “We are pinned down here. I am kneeling on the road beside the vehicle at the moment. This guy is good. Too damned good. He shot the Sarge first, and then hit the medic when he tried to help the sergeant.”

  “All right, son, give me your location,” the radioman stated automatically as he checked to ensure that the message was being tapped as per emergency protocol. Signaling a man who was walking by, he said, “Get Pete. Get him here now!”

  The young man talking to him gave him his location, and then said, “I’ve got to go. Another man just went down! I’m locking the microphone so you can hear what’s happening.”

  For moments, nothing happened, and then there were a series of rapid-fire gunshots, followed by the sound of a falling body. Pete rushed into the room, followed quickly by Bill Young. He was about to ask what was wrong when he heard a voice come through the speaker saying, “Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Peacekeepers! So that’s what you call yourselves now. I should have known you guys were behind that outfit.” There followed a maniacal laughter that Pete would recognize anywhere. A single shot fired and then the microphone was keyed and released several times. Finally, the same voice came over the air again saying, “I know you’re listening out there. Guess what? I just killed your team, and now I’m going to take my trophies.” Again, the maniacal laughter drifted out of the speaker, and then there were no more messages.

  “Go get the crew. Tell them I’m requesting a meeting in my office at once,” Pete said calmly to Bill. Turning to the radioman he asked, “Where were they?”

  The radioman silently slid a hand written note across the table to Pete with the location of the peacekeeper team written in neat script. Pete nodded his thanks as he stared at the note. “I need the tape of the encounter,” Pete said with a hard look in his eyes. The communications man took it from the machine and slid it across the table to Pete who took it and muttered, “I’ll be in my office. Contact the officer who sent out that team, have him sent to me at once.”

  “Yes, sir,” the radioman acknowledged and activated the intercom to summon the officer.

  ***

  The door to Pete’s office closed softly as the officer left to see the next of kin of the squad of peacekeepers who had been killed by the sniper. Pete sat at his desk staring at the list of names of the six men who’d been sent on what should have been a relatively easy mission. A lone man who had beaten several men severely and cut two men with a knife was abusing the decent folks of the town. Pete had reached the opinion that the man had been deliberately trying to goad the townspeople into calling in the peacekeepers. Yet he hadn’t know who the peacekeepers were, so he was probably just trying to make a name for himself by killing some of the peacekeepers who were beginning to grow in popularity and influence in the area.

  As he thought over these issues, his first burst of fury began to subside, and was replaced by a calm and calculated intent to exact justice for the slain peacekeepers. Therefore, when the crew of the Peacekeeper arrived, he was calm as he pushed play on the tape of the encounter and listened with the rest of the crew.

  When the tape stopped, Jim looked at Pete quizzically and asked, “Reggie?”

  “Yes, it’s Reggie,” Pete confirmed and in the background, Sergeant Wilcox cursed.

  “All right, let’s get to the ship and go recover the bodies of the team. Patricia, contact the townspeople as soon as possible and tell them we’re on our way,” Turning to Pete, Jim asked, “Do you think it best to take the battle bikes or should we take the sniper team?”

  “You don’t have to choose,” Tim, pointed out. During the Arley run, we discovered that the Peacekeeper could carry much more weight than we had originally thought. The manual must have been way under the capabilities.”

  “Father was a cautious man, as were the rest of the development team members. Their estimates were always conservative,” Patricia interjected.

  “Then we take both,” Pete said, but then he added, “However, I’m reluctant to use the bikes against Reggie. He’s just too good with a rifle. Still, an opportunity to use the bikes might arise, so we’ll take them with us. But, I really believe that it will be stealth that finally brings Reggie down.”

  “All right, Bill, and, Sergeant Wilcox, you locate the extra personnel. Strike team, see to the battle bikes. The practice bikes are still in the cargo bay. Remove them and replace them with the real thing. I’d like to leave within an hour. Tim, get the location and plot a course. Patricia, send that message to the townsfolk. Warn them that the killer may have placed lethal traps on the bodies and it would be best to wait until we arrive. Dismissed!”

  Lacey approached Jim and said, “This trip, I think Evan should remain here. He can stay with the childcare service,” she said with a concerned expression in her eyes. The childcare service had been developed so that peacekeepers on a mission could leave dependant children with a team of adults who oversaw their safety and provided a safe and stable environment for the children. They were housed in the command bunker. There was a classroom where the children could pursue their educations with qualified teachers assisting in that endeavor. The children bunked in the main dormitory of the complex sleeping under the watchful eyes of adult guardians and security cameras to ensure that no one molested them. Not that any peacekeeper would do so, but people making reports often visited their complex, so the extra precautions were taken to guarantee the safety of the children.

  “Considering the nature of the cargo we’ll be bringing back, I’m afraid I agree dear. Tell him I’ll miss him. I have to get the ship ready and see to the details. If I had the time…”

  “I know, Hun,” she said lovingly. He will understand. He’s seen for himself just how hectic things can be aboard ship,” she said and then kissed him lightly and turned to walk away. Stopping at the door, she turned to address Pete and said, “I’m sorry, Pete. I’m sorry for the loss of the good men. But maybe we’ll get him this time if he stays there till we can arrive.”

  Nodding his head, Pete frowned and said, “He may stay, then again he may run and seek to hit us again in another location. He’d be apt to stay if he thought that a small group of regular peacekeepers was coming to locate him but if he thinks I’m coming, odds are he’l
l leave. I blooded him good once and he fears me, but he likes taking on small groups of our infantry.”

  “Maybe Patricia can work up some of her radio bait magic,” Lacey said sweetly. She nodded her head to Pete and left.

  “You know, that just might work,” Jim said and sat down to write a hasty note. Handing the note to Pete, he said, “Have the radio man send this message three times. Once every thirty minutes. Time the first transmission with our departure.”

  Pete read the note that said:

  Peacekeeper recon team four. Do not answer this message. Peacekeeper recon team four, this is not a drill. I repeat do not respond to this message in the open. A sniper has ambushed recon team three and all six men are dead. You are to forget your current mission and proceed at best speed to Jewel, Mississippi, located east of Tupelo. Once there, you are to recover the bodies of our personnel and then seek out the man who is responsible for their deaths. You are authorized to terminate Reggie on sight. Do not attempt to capture him. Peacekeeper recon team four. Do not answer this message. Peacekeeper recon team four, this is not a drill. I repeat do not respond to this message in the open.