Guns And Dogs

by T. A. Uner

  “Of course Doctor,” Argos said, “who am I to stand in the way of progress. If it means that a whole fleet of TIVs will be constructed. As long as it helps AL’s cause.”

  “Right,” Murdoc said, while scanning Argos’ face, “and for a moment I thought you’d be apprehensive about volunteering the use of your personal vehicle.”

  Rusty padded up to Murdoc and the alien patted the dog on the head. “These canine creatures you humans love so much are quite loyal; they remind me of Rockgrots, a large mammalian-type animal indigenous to my home world. Quite similar to your rhinoceros.”

  A few minutes later, while Argos and Dr. Murdoc were looking over the refit specifications for the Camaro, Director Mitchell and Scott Veto arrived to check on their status. “How soon can TIV-1 be operational Doctor?” he asked Murdoc.

  Murdoc’s eyes lit up like lamps. “I would say within a week, Director Mitchell. I’d like to get it done before I’m transferred to the new Life Station Division.”

  Scott looked over the Camaro and smiled at Argos before running his hand lovingly across the Camaro’s hood. “I’m looking forward to cruising across spacetime with you in this beauty, old buddy. But calling it TIV-1 seems a bit prosaic. You think of a catchy nickname?”

  Argos scratched his cheek. “I was thinking of naming it after my wife Gina. She always brought me good luck.”

  Scott looked at the Camaro and grinned. “Gina it is then.” Murdoc had the technicians move Gina into repair bay 1 to accelerate the massive upgrading process.

  “I just hope that when they’re done transforming her into a TIV, she’ll still resemble the car I’ve come to know and love. You know how much time I spent restoring her?”

  “You’ve only told me about a thousand times,” Scott replied good-naturedly. “I think Murdoc’s people will take that into account when they upgrade her.”

  They decided to focus on studying their next mission briefing in the recreational lounge while the TIV refit continued. In the meantime, Argos realized they’d still have to use the Time-Displacer one more time before Gina could be cleared for use. He could almost feel the massive headache he’d have to endure one last time, not to mention the loss of appetite, both side-effects of Time-Displacer use. No wonder AL is aggressively pursuing the TIV project, he thought.

  As Argos was reading his briefing, the klaxon went off. Rusty leapt to his feet and followed him and Scott out of the lounge. In the corridors, Argos noticed fire personnel scrambling towards the main hangar. “What’s going on?” Scott asked one of the firemen.

  “An explosion in the hangar bay,” the man said as he hurriedly slipped on his firefighter jacket.

  The situation in the hangar bay was a cacophony of issued orders and the sound of fire extinguishing mechanisms working overtime to contain a large fire near repair bay 3. Argos’ chest constricted when he thought of his Gina being destroyed. Yet he felt more concern for the safety of those working on her. Despite Scott’s overtures to stay out of the firemen’s way he and Rusty took off like a pair of missiles towards the scene of the fire.

  To his relief Gina has been salvaged from the fire, however repair bay 1 had been cordoned off, while a half dozen medics were tending to the injured technicians. Two LifeBots were assisting them. Argos noticed that Dr. Murdoc wasn’t amongst them. Scott arrived and noticed his absence as well. “Where’s Murdoc?” he asked a medic. The man shrugged his shoulders, his face covered with sweat and black smudge from the smoke. “A FireBot went in there two minutes ago to find him,” the medic said dejectedly, “it hasn’t returned.”

  “Shit,” Argos said. He took two steps before Scott grabbed his arm.

  “Where you think you’re goin’?”

  Argos pointed to a large medical kit near one of the medics. “To grab a respirator and find Murdoc.”

  Scott eyed Argos as if he was insane. “How long you think you’ll last in there without protective gear?” Scott said, pointing at the billowing black smoke.

  But before Argos could attempt a rescue, Rusty jetted towards the flames and disappeared into the black smoke. “Rusty,” Argos called out. “Come back here!”

  Argos watched as Rusty emerged, pulling Dr. Murdoc out of the flames, his fur was stained with blotches of black smoke and he’s suffered horrendous burns across his legs and half his face, where one of his eyes lay in a gelatinous ruin.

  Soon the paramedics loaded Murdoc onto a stretcher for treatment. While two others tended to Rusty. A look of horror was engraved on both Argos and Scott’s faces as they eyed the burned dog.

  Argos’ eyes welled up with tears as he moved in closer to the medics who were treating his canine friend. “Ohh Rusty,” Argos said, trying to keep his voice from breaking up, “why’d you have to be so damn brave?”

  Chapter 22

  Lycarian Invasion Fleet, approaching Earth

  Fleet Marshal Crewt was anxious to conquer Earth.

  It would make a fine addition to Lycaria’s empire; its water supply alone was more than all the planets combined in his home planet’s star system. Then there were the humans, they would make good subjects. Their physique made them efficient laborers for Lycaria, and their infrastructure, while crude, could be upgraded to Lycarian technological standards.

  On the viewscreen of his battleship, he saw the large ringed planet in Earth’s system, called Saturn. He smiled. Grendis had done well despite his less than auspicious lineage, and would likely warrant a prestigious military decoration for his actions. Despite the minor setbacks of his Time Agents, he had persevered. Now Lycaria would be on its way to reestablishing its dominance as an interstellar power.

  Crewt magnified Earth on the viewscreen and gazed upon the lush green landmasses scattered across its surface, surrounded by the dark blue oceans dotted with thick swirls of white clouds.

  He smiled again. Maybe he’d go for a victory swim in one of those oceans.

  (2)

  TimeBoss Chamber, AL Headquarters

  May 24th

  12:23 PM, PST

  Patrice kept her cool as the Lycarian space fleet neared Earth. She resisted the urge to activate Earth’s defense batteries, which were mounted atop a dozen AL satellites orbiting Earth, as the order hadn’t been issued from the President to Director Mitchell. Still, anything was better than sitting idly and waiting for the Lycarians to attack.

  Patrice pushed away her doubt and focused on Johnny, Argos and the two Dobermans. They still had one last card to play, and that was preventing the lynchpin shooting before it could set off a cataclysmic chain of events, which would ultimately doom Earth.

  There was something she could do, to alleviate her feelings of idleness: the new drones. There were three of them in AL’s budding fleet—delivered just last week—with seven more on order. They were the most advanced drones ever built—Rhino Class. Even the CIA didn’t have this model available in their inventory. They could offer Johnny and Argos some support while proving their worth. After getting clearance from Director Mitchell, she ordered the reconnaissance division to launch one drone. Within minutes, it took off from Mount Baldy. She watched its trajectory on her display, a red blip streaking towards Arizona.

  “Good luck,” she told the drone. “Keep an eye on Johnny and Argos.”

  Chapter 23

  Approaching Zero Hour

  12:53 PM, MST

  The day of glory had arrived for Bloodboy and Diablo.

  Their time as outcasts was ending. They loaded their weapons into the black Mercedes SUV and checked the small arms in their holsters. Diablo had an F-2000 assault rifle in his lap, the weapon being lightweight and easy to wield in case they were stopped before they reached the school. They didn’t want to shoot Manny, and decided that if they saw him they’d use the taser gun to stun him instead. He’d always looked out for them, unlike the other school security officers. But Manny aside, everybody else was fair game.

  Why Grendis wanted that freshman kid Eddie Castle dead was anyone’s
guess, not that it really mattered why. They’d learned which class Castle would be in when they were to take him out. Grendis didn’t want them to go on a rampage until after Castle was dead. That was fine with Bloodboy and Diablo; they had many scores to settle today. With their arsenal, that wouldn’t be too big an issue.

  Omega Day was set to commence at 1pm MST. Grendis had given them a transmitter to activate once the shooting commenced so that he could signal the other shooters across North America. Some shootings had already begun in parts of the world where May 24th had already arrived. Surprisingly, there hadn’t been a single report broadcast on any news channel.

  But now wasn’t the time to worry about their counterparts, they had their own mission to carry out. They pulled up to the school parking lot and drove around to survey the area. There were no signs of security guards. This wasn’t unusual. Bloodboy thought, they could be hiding. He did see a vintage red Chevy Camaro with a white racing stripe painted on its hood. The windows were tinted so they couldn’t see inside. Maybe Manny finally bought that Camaro he was always talking about.

  They stopped at the edge of the west parking lot and got out of their vehicle. Each boy took a backpack loaded with grenades and pipe bombs. Grendis had also given them a low-yield electromagnetic bomb to fry the wiring so the school couldn’t get a message out to the authorities.

  Bloodboy armed the electromagnetic bomb and the two boys took cover before Diablo set it off. After it detonated, Bloodboy checked his AR-15 and they made their way towards the school’s main entrance. He felt his pulse race in his neck and prepared himself to start shooting.

  Then out of nowhere, two Security guards appeared, and called out to them to identify themselves. Bloodboy and Diablo turned towards them, and opened fired.

  ***

  Fortunately, the Rhino Drone wasn’t in the vicinity when the low-yield electromagnetic pulse was detonated. So it continued undisturbed on its journey towards Johnny’s high school.

  (2)

  When Gina’s onboard computer detected the electromagnetic pulse, Argos knew the attack was underway. His heart felt like a boulder inside his chest, but he’d been through similar situations in the past.

  “Let’s go,” he told Johnny and they crouched while running, the Dobermans trailing them.

  ***

  The Rhino Drone had reached the high school and its surveillance cameras were already transmitting the shooting that had started below back to AL headquarters. It also detected Johnny, Argos and the two Dobermans, and began transmitting an automated message towards them on a secured AL frequency.

  ***

  One of the security guards were down. Bloodboy didn’t know if he was dead or not, nor did he care. The remaining guard kept firing, despite being outgunned. The ordnance fire coming from their weapons had torn holes in the parked cars where the security officers had taken cover. They had to get inside the building before it was evacuated. They fired off another round and made their way into the school.

  When Argos heard the drone fly overhead his heart felt lighter. “That drone is one of ours,” he told Johnny, “and is an expert at magic tricks.”

  “I don’t think right now is a good time for fun and games, Argos,” Johnny replied irritably. “There’s no doubt a bunch of scared students inside, and don’t forget Edward Castle. What we really need is more firepower.”

  “I haven’t forgotten Castle,” Argos replied. When Johnny argued with his appraisal Argos tapped his wristlink. Johnny watched as two antennae extended from the dogs’ tactical packs before two beams erupted from them, encircling the immediate area and creating two dozen holographic images of Jessie and Studs. “We don’t need guns, we have dogs. The drone has a powerful holographic emitter that can create an uplink with their tactical packs.”

  “Great but how is a small army of holographic Red Dobermans going to help us?”

  “Patience, Johnny. You’re about to find out.”

  Chapter 24

  1:09 PM, MST

  When Grendis called Diablo’s cell phone he didn’t sound pleased. “What do you mean Edward Castle isn’t dead yet?” he yelled into Diablo’s ear. “Aren’t you idiots inside the school yet?”

  “Hey you can’t talk to us like that!” Diablo said. “We’re doing your dirty work for you.”

  “Without me you’d be nothing,” Grendis said. “Now find Edward Castle and put him down.” The call ended and Diablo passed on the information to Bloodboy who shook his head before encountering a teacher in the hallway and opened fire, the man caught a round in his leg, but managed to limp off, a line of blood trailing him.

  “Where are all the students?” Diablo asked.

  Johnny watched as Jessie and Studs led the holographic army of dogs into the school. They drew their weapons and followed. The SWAT team had appeared and were swarming around them like hornets. They all entered the school at once.

  In the main hallway they saw two teens dressed in all black wearing backpacks. The SWAT commander ordered them to stand down but all he got was a can of tear gas thrown at him. Only the SWAT team were carrying gas masks. Johnny caught a gulp of tear gas and felt his lungs burn like wildfire. Shots exploded before everyone split up to avoid stray bullets. The dogs burst ahead like flares, oblivious to the bullets, Johnny hoped that Jessie and Studs would be safe, but considering the specialized training and armor they were wearing his worry abated. Loud barking echoed off the school walls, mixed with shots being fired. Johnny could not tell the difference between real or holographic barks.

  Moments later the shots ceased and he heard the SWAT team Commander ordering everyone to fall back. Argos grabbed his arm, and Johnny felt his friend’s hard fingers dig into his skin.

  “Grenades,” Argos said as Johnny caught sight of one rolling towards them before it exploded, hurling him and Argos backwards.

  Bloodboy tried not to panic. The assault was not going according to plan. The SWAT team had arrived and thrown a wrench into their plan. Now it would be difficult to locate Edward Castle. Nevertheless, they could—and would—try and get as many students as they could. They passed by the cafeteria and saw that it was emptying out. Kids were pushing against one another, trying to get out of the building. The fire door pushed open, and the alarm sounded like a million buzzing wasps. Before they could start firing into the mass exodus of students, half dozen SWAT team members poured into the cafeteria, weapons drawn, from an opposite door, shielding the students. If they tried firing into the dispersing crowd they might take out one or two kids, but they’d be cut down by the SWAT team in seconds. The fumes from the tear gas stung his eyes and created a veil of smoke, so they proceeded down another corridor to escape it.

  “Now what the eff do we do Blood?” Diablo’s pasty skin, combined with his sunken

  eyes, made him look like a zombie. Before Bloodboy could answer, they heard a low growl and four red-furred dogs appeared behind them.

  “Shit!” Diablo said. He fired a volley at the canines but they continued growling before moving in closer. “What the hell?”

  This has to be a hallucination, Bloodboy thought. The tear gas is playing with our minds, causing us to lose it. And we were so close to getting payback. One of the dogs sunk its teeth into his leg and it felt like a dozen daggers had cut through his tendons. He tried shaking it off to no avail. Diablo then slammed his rifle’s stock assembly into the dog’s back, causing it to lose its footing before reluctantly releasing its hold on Bloodboy. “Fall back!” Bloodboy said. “We’ll head to the library and take out whoever crosses our path.” Maybe there were a few students or staff still caught between them and safety. They still had a few grenades left in their packs and they would use them. Diablo helped Bloodboy walk as a trail of blood dripped from his wound.

  Bloodboy looked back and saw the dog he had struck slowly rising to its feet, while the second dog nestled its head against its companion’s jaw in support.

  They started making their way towards the libra
ry. Bloodboy passed one of the classrooms where he’d taken American History and remembered how once he’d been tripped up by one of his classmates, a baseball player called Floyd Metcalf. The teacher, Mr. Rolland, had acted as if he hadn’t seen it, despite knowing damn well what had happened. “Wait,” Bloodboy ordered Diablo, who stopped and looked at his friend, eager to hear what he had to say. “Got one thing to do before we move on.” He pulled a grenade from his backpack, causing a surge of pain to shoot through his bitten leg and handed it to Diablo. “Once I clear this room hurl that thing inside the classroom, I want to see it go up in flames.” Diablo nodded and watched his friend limp off towards a safe distance. Once Bloodboy was clear he hurled the grenade inside the empty classroom and ran down the hallway as his friend watched.

  Moments later, the classroom exploded.

  (2)

  Miraculously there were no fatalities in the opening minutes of the attack. One teacher’s wounds were serious, and two students inside the cafeteria were injured while trying to flee the school. But they’d only suffered a broken arm and fractured ribs.

  The micro camera mounted on Jessie and Studs’ tactical packs had recorded how they’d engaged the gunmen, including Jessie’s attack on one of them. Their actions had bottled up the gunmen for a few minutes, allowing many students to escape.

  However, the job wasn’t finished yet; the two would-be killers were still at large.

  Two more SWAT units had arrived on the scene and were surrounding the school to prevent the armed teens from fleeing the high school. Argos had seen this before, and knew that wouldn’t be their next move.