The Rise of the Speaker

by Pete Driscoll

  Kincaid nodded with a sigh; he knew Burrows was right. “Ok, but I don’t like this. Take some advice, Steve. Keep records of everything! We may end up testifying about this in congress one day.”

  It took 90 minutes of furious phone calls, radio messages and coffee for the forward staging area to be ordered into position at the mouth of the dirt road. A few dozen agents were sent into the forest with sniffer dogs to scout for possible escape routes and to estimate the size of the compound as well as the number of possible X-rays. The ERT teams were sent forward along with another 50 agents, the remaining 20 or so – including Burrows and Kincaid – remained back at the command post and would monitor the situation from there.

  Radio messages from the scout team started coming in an hour or so later.

  “Command, this is three. No additional exfil routes found, negative on the dogs.”

  “Command, this is eight. Compound sighted, single storied residential structure, two barns and an outhouse. No visible walls or fences. Zero movement.”

  “ten to command, X-ray spotted on Northwest corner… standby… disregard that, negative on thermals. It looks like a decoy.”

  “Damned big decoy, ten, that thing has to be seven feet tall.”

  “six! Keep chat to a minimum!”

  “Sorry command, but there is nothing out here! There is nothing on thermals from anywhere in the compound – if you can call it that – no movement and even if there was, there is only room for maybe five guys up here!”

  “command, this is one. Six might be out of line but I have to agree with him on this one. This looks like bad intel.”

  “Scout leader, this is command. All units to hold position, maintain visual and await instructions, we’ll check things our end. Maybe send in ERT to do a sweep and then we can all go home.”

  “Received command. Awaiting further instructions.”

  “A single house?” Kincaid was pouring over the intelligence assessment, the piece of information that had been used to order the op. “Some compound! We are going to be traipsing around some asshole’s back yard. This is fubar; we have almost a hundred agents out here, not to mention ERT, and I am supposed to believe that a bunch of terrorists have taken their advanced weaponry and holed up in a god-damned cabin!?! I am calling bullshit!”

  “and two barns” Burrows smirked.

  Kincaid arched an eyebrow at him. “I swear to god, if those drones were taken out by a hillbilly with a laser pointer, Im gonna be pissed.”

  “What do you want to do, Parker?”

  “alright, lets wait until dark. Send the ERT in with night vision, detain any suspects and have a look around. I’m still calling bullshit on the terrorism thing but until that’s confirmed we go by the book.”

  The sun set around 7:30, the ERT teams had already been in position for a few hours by then but the order was given to wait until ten before moving in for the assault. The cabin had no means of communication, no power – now that the only feed had been cut – but there didn’t seem to be any lights on or power usage anyway, no movement of any kind; even Burrows was starting to question the intel behind this op.

  “Maybe they’re reasonably local...” Kincaid offered as they both watched the video feed of the cabin from the scout team on one of the screens in the command tent. “…fired their weapons at the drones to draw our attention here and then hauled ass back to their actual base. At least, that’s the only explanation I can come up with for this level of fuck-up-ary.”

  “Maybe…” Burrows agreed, it had taken over an hour to get units up here, more than enough time for the perps to escape after shooting down the drone, they might even have been able to mask their trail from the dogs, it certainly seemed more plausible than a terrorist cell hiding in this tiny cabin without a shred of security. “…but they will be a bitch to find if you’re right. I doubt the military will let us use any more of their drones either.” he smirked at Kincaid who openly laughed back.

  “alright then, let’s get this show on the road.” Kincaid announced as he reached down to the switch on the microphone stand. “ok then boys and girls. None of us are feeling particularly confident about the intel on this one but the orders stand. Stay vigilant, stay alert, but make sure you ID your targets before engaging, I don’t want to be on the 9 o’clock news for shooting someone’s grandparents! I want nice loud and clear warnings, do not fire unless fired upon or you feel you are in immediate danger. Trust your training and we can be home in time for breakfast… Alright, ERT teams, move in to assault positions, back up teams, be prepared to follow them to the compound once they make entry. Make sure all evidence and suspects are secured. Begin assault on my go.” He released the button as a torrent of affirmatives came from the speaker.

  Both agents turned to the bank of monitors which had been screwed to an elaborate metal frame which stood to one side of the command tent. There were five screens in all, four of which were showing feeds from the helmet mounted cameras of the ERT team leaders. The last one was showing the view of the house which had been set up by the scout team, all five screens were filled with the eerie green glow of the night vision cameras, the eyes of the men in the pictures glowing white against the grey of their skin.

  “Ok… all teams… Go go go!”

  Burrows always hated the anti-climax sensation that came when that order was given. Countless movies had depicted the frantic burst of action that came after an ERT team was ordered into action; explosive entry, door hinges being blown off by shotgun blasts, whole teams fanning into rooms – weapons raised – to gun down the bad guys who, invariably, hid behind desks or sofas and fired randomly at the federal agents. Yes, ok, that did happen, but it was such a rarity that it was hardly worth a mention in the real world.

  What usually happened was exactly what was playing out on the screens now; the teams would slowly and quietly move into place, then surprise the X-rays, overpowering and subduing them before they had a chance to react. A burly man in full body armour and military grade weaponry yelling at you to get on the ground was usually enough to neutralise all but the most fanatical criminals. It was so effective that Burrows had only witnessed two full-scale firefights in more than a decade of service, and both of them had only lasted a few seconds.

  Still, when ‘go go go’ had been shouted into the mic with such authority, even he had half expected the stun grenades to explode and the sound of automatic weapon fire to start reverberating from the hill and around the valley. But of course, that is exactly what didn’t happen.

  Instead, he and Kincaid watched patiently as the four helmet cam feeds from the four ERT team leaders showed slow, steady and silent movement as the four teams made their way towards the residential structure. Even though all four mics were wired for sound, there was very little noise coming from the teams, the odd snapping twig and some slightly heavier breathing. The teams were communicating in hushed whispers and hand signals, some of which Burrows was able to recognise.

  Maintain your spacing

  Watch the flanks

  Stay in formation

  His eyes lingered on the feed from team 1, being the closest screen to him. The black and green of the trees through the night vision cameras were interspersed with the blackness of the distant night and the whites of the team member’s eyes as the team leader scanned from left to right, not just to look for hostiles but also to maintain visual contact with the rest of his men. Burrows had never served in a tactical unit but the professionalism and courage of these men never ceased to amaze him.

  After a few minutes of silent movement through the forest, a small hip-high wall came into view. Nothing more than a few stacked stones, the covering of moss glowed an earie silver against the dark grey of rocks. A huge human shaped silhouette stood motionless on the far side of the wall, easily taller than any real human could be – one of the decoys spotted by the scout team, no doubt – but, just to be sure, the team leader threw up a clenched fist for the rest of his men to hold whil
e he held up his rifle and looked through the night scope at this potential target.

  “command, this is one.” The leaders voice came through the radio and through the screen simultaneously, “visual on one of the decoys, western perimeter. There is far too much detail on it to be a simple cardboard cut-out. Recommend caution when approaching and one of the backup units to investigate properly after mission completion.”

  “Roger that, one,” Kincaid said back into the mic, his eyes also squinting at the screen trying to make out the detail that the team leader had identified. “All teams, continue at your discretion.” At least two of the other teams had also encountered a decoy, one team was looking at three of them. Unwilling to open fire – either, in case they were not really decoys and not wanting unnecessary casualties, or not wanting to give away the impending assault with gunfire or shouted commands – all four of the teams stood still and monitored the monstrosities before them

  A short pause on team 1’s screen was followed by the agents clenched fist opening it a flat palm and nodding it forwards with two distinct sweeps – move forward. The forward momentum continued as the team approach the wall. Two of the other teams had also resumed their approach, the fourth team – the one facing three of the decoys – was being more cautious and continued to hold position.

  Team 1 were about 10 feet away from the wall when the illusion of secrecy was shattered and the decoys unveiled their true nature.

  “Command, this is scout 6, we have movement! They are not decoys, I repeat, the decoys are moving. Weapons sighted! Jesus, get them out of there!!”

  Kincaid, in a calmness and clarity of command that astounded Burrows, was reaching for the mic and barking orders before Burrows could even process the scout team’s report.

  “All teams, take defensive positions…” He didn’t have time to finish his order as the radio came to life. The whispered reports were now shouted updates.

  “Command, this is scout 2, 4 decoys… err… hostiles moving from cover towards team 2.” The image of the house on the scout team’s feed blurred as the camera was spun to a new orientation. Four shadowy figures could be seen lurking slowly up the hill towards the camera’s left. All four had their weapons drawn, strange lines of light extending down the length of the strange looking rifles. Burrows found himself wondering what colour the lights really were when not distorted by the green of the night vision equipment. More reports snapped his attention back to the screens as another ‘decoy’ stepped from behind a tree on team 1s feed and levelled a rifle towards the agents.

  Burrows froze. He was an office agent – he supervised ops like this, he was never in direct contact with the targets but these feeds always made him feel like he was right in the thick of the action; fortunately, the tactical agents were younger, faster and much better trained than he could ever hope to be and a flurry of movement flashed across most of the screens as the teams scrambled for cover.

  “Four to command, 3 hostiles sighted. We won’t be able to pass without casualties. They have us pinned.”

  “command, this is 3. 6 hostiles spotted, three on us, three moving up from the compound. Where the hell did these things come from?!?”

  “command. Scout 1. Total of 18 hostiles now sighted, they are covering the entire perimeter. Recommend withdrawing.”

  “All teams, identify your targets” Kincaid barked into the mic. “I want to hear those warnings before…” Circumstances were starting to become annoying in their interruption of the FBI agent as all five screens exploded in a blur of motion and blinding light. Odd coloured glowing dashes erupted from the ‘decoys’ and slammed into the trees above the heads of the agents. All of the teams hugged the ground as a blizzard of broken branches and decapitated leaves fell onto the prone tactical teams.

  It only took a few seconds for the agents on the ground – and the agents in the command tent – to realise that these shots were not meant to hit anybody, rather they were designed to force them into cover and to keep them there.

  “FEDERAL AGENTS, FEDERAL AGENTS! HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!” The speaker from team 1s feed yelled out over the high-pitched thuds and whirring of the dashes flying overhead. Incredibly – and against all expectations – the barrage of withering fire stopped.

  “FEDERAL AGENTS…” A booming, synthetic sounding voice echoed through all five monitors. “YOU ARE CONDUCTING AN ILLEGAL OPERATION AGAINST AN AMERICAN CITIZEN AND ARE UNWITTING PARTICIPANTS IN THIS ACTION. STAND DOWN AND WITHDRAW – IMMEDIATLEY! THE NEXT TIME WE OPEN FIRE WILL NOT BE WARNING SHOTS!”

  Burrows and Kincaid glanced at each other nervously.

  Illegal operation?

  “WE DO NOT WANT ANY UNNECESSARY BLOODSHED,” the voice continued, “BUT IF THIS ASSAULT CONTINUES, WE WILL DEFEND OURSELVES!”

  Neither of the two commanding agents moved or spoke as these demands were announced, fortunately, the leader of team 1 was much more alert then either of them. “Ok…” he called back, his voice much calmer than it reasonably should be, “…All federal teams are falling back. We want to end this situation as peacefully as possible and will not pursue any further aggressive actions. But we need to open a dialogue. Would you allow a small team of my men to bring you a short-ranged radio so you can talk to our negotiators?”

  There was a short pause as – assumedly – this request was considered. “We agree to your terms.” The booming voice replied, “Your team may approach the cabin from the dirt road, no other avenues of approach will be tolerated and all will be guarded.”

  “I understand,” 1 leader shouted back, “please be advised that the team will consist of three men and they will be armed”

  “This is acceptable.” The voice called back. This condition was usually one of the first stumbling blocks of most negotiations, so their willingness to accept them without argument immediately raised questions in Burrows’ mind. “Your team can approach in one hour if all other conditions are met.”

  “Understood” 1 leader answered. Then he spoke into his radio, “all teams, this is 1 actual. Command override; all teams withdraw to fall back positions and maintain perimeter. Dialogue has been opened and negotiators will take it from here. I repeat, all teams disengage and fall back.”

  Burrows and Kincaid breathed a collective sigh of relief. Technically, the leader of team 1 had just usurped command of the op and disobeyed the order to assault, but both Burrows and Kincaid knew that this was well within his remit as tactical commander and almost certainly the right call to make under the circumstances.

  Twenty minutes later, the leader of team 1 was standing in the command tent. “Sirs, I apologise for the use of command override…” he started, but Kincaid silenced him with the raise of his hand.

  “No need for apologises, son” The FBI agent said smoothly, “you did the right thing. Team 4 is prepping the radio and will escort it to the cabin. Maybe then we can get to the bottom of this shit show!”

  “Tell us what happened up there.” Burrows said as the tactical officer nodded. “We got a pretty decent view off the feeds, but we all know those feeds aren’t a true representation of realities on the ground. So, in your own words, agent….”

  “Strider, Sir.” 1 leader answered, “Matt Strider. I’m not sure what else I can add sir. Those things were big, they might not have been alive but they had us dead to rites. That opening salvo was defiantly a warning shot, if they had aimed a few feet lower we would have been looking at massive casualties, maybe even a total loss. Even in cover, we wouldn’t have lasted long, sir.”

  “So,” Kincaid spoke up, “You’re saying you believe that line about not wanting unnecessary casualties.”

  “No doubt about it, sir.” Strider replied instantly, “they wouldn’t have had to try very hard if they wanted to inflict losses.”

  “A terrorist cell, with advanced weaponry who don’t want to inflict casualties on federal agents…” Kincaid mused after a long pause, “… does that sound strange to anybody else?”

  Th
e three men looked at each other in silence before Strider spoke. “sir, the intel on this op has been sketchy from the off. I have conducted dozens of raids like this one, I have been called a Fascist, a traitor, I have had the second amendment thrown at me more time than I can count. But I have never been accused of being an ‘unwitting participant in an illegal operation’. The way he said that…”

  “yeah…” burrows added after it became clear that the tactical commander couldn’t finish that sentence. “my ears pricked up at that too.”

  “especially after what we were discussing earlier.” Kincaid agreed.

  “sirs,” Strider said, “The radio will be ready to be deployed soon and my men are still holding the perimeter. I think its best if I return to the forward area and make sure that nothing goes wrong. Maybe the perps have a better understanding of what’s going on. I feel obliged to add though…” he paused for a second, apparently wanting to choose his words carefully, “I have never seen firepower like that before, not when I was in special forces and certainly not in law enforcement, if these guys decide to fight… things are going to get ugly.”

  “understood, commander.” Kincaid nodded, “hopefully it won’t come to that. But make sure your teams are prepared, in case it does.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Kincaid turned to Burrows as the tactical commander left the tent. “I am getting the distinct impression that there is a lot about this situation that we are not being told.”

  Chapter 20

  The gathering storm.

  Alice and I had watched the entire assault from the safety of the cabin. She had predicted the cutting of the power and telephone lines months ago and had built in hidden ones when the artisans had first been built. When the FBI had cut the power, we had simply turned out the lights, Alice had never been at risk of losing her connection.