by Utley, Todd
All the guards outside of the oven were dead along with some unlucky innocents that didn’t make it into the oven. These people were permanently deceased because they were all in servitude to Slade and had been deceased to the outside world. Once listed as deceased when abducted by Cyrus, their lifefiles were permanently terminated and Cyrus certainly didn’t issue lifecorders. It was unfortunate but the team did their very best to save everyone, of course, like in any war effort, there were casualties.
The two seals came down out of the rafters and went outside where they informed everyone in the oven that it was over by yelling into an air vent. They told them to stay in there until they were sure the signal was knocked out. Within five minutes John had identified the signal and located the helicopter as the source and ordered the transmitter to be shut off. It used the skyphone network as the start up method but the final signal came from the helicopter’s radio. John verified that the signal had ceased transmission and sent word to Toby through the air vent that it was safe to come out.
Toby and the two Seals cut the tape around the doors with their knives. Toby opened the oven from the inside with the wrench, and everyone walked out. All the teams and all the newly freed people poured out onto the floor of the foundry quietly. They were just looking at one another and shaking hands, some of them hugging and even a few tears from several of the women. Operation Black Ice was a huge success, nearly everyone that wanted out survived and there were only seven men that still preferred to side with Cyrus even though they were forced into the oven and placed into restraints, this handful of hardcore criminals had fallen for Cyrus’s theories about society hook line and sinker, they were totally committed and now they would pay the price with hard prison time, maybe even the death penalty. Now that restoration existed, the death penalty only meant that you couldn’t be restored when you died in prison, it was really no different from getting life.
JC, Alan, and DC arrived down on the foundry floor and were joining the group. They got JC a chair and a Gatorade, he still looked really bad but at least he could walk now and he was talking better. John summoned the authorities and the media after getting the all clear signal from each team Captain. The police, fire department, EMT’s, and the National Guard, were all in route, it would also be a media blitz in a mere matter of minutes. There was no doubt DHS would be there soon and some of the less desired groups like the FBI and CIA. Nearly all the people at the command center were now arriving in two vans and would join the teams and everyone on the foundry floor. John climbed up on a mezzanine to address the motley crew.
“Attention everyone, I need your attention please, we only have a few minutes until the media and a whole lot of emergency personnel and police show up and Lord knows who else, so I’ll make this as quick and to the point as possible.”
“I’m John Calhoun, my best friend and partner in this masterpiece of liberation is down right in front here, raise your hand Dodge, there he is folks, Dodge Kerrington. You may have heard of him, he’s considered the father of Restoration by those in the inner circle. He led an elite team of experts for several years at ESS and was the key player in bringing us what is shaping up to be immortality.” The whole place broke out into applause, some cheering, and several loud whistles.
“By the way, for those of you that don’t already know, you all made history here today as part of what we call “Operation Black Ice.” More applause and cheering ensued until John held up his hands for them to quiet down.
“You see this was a 100% citizen manned and funded operation, the powers that be won’t like that and we’ll have a lot of explaining to do before they release any of us. We couldn’t involve any government agencies in this because Cyrus had friends in high places, so it was too risky.”
“Okay, now listen everyone, here is what we believe is going to happen.”
One man in front yelled out. “Is Cyrus dead?”
“Yes, he is. He’s extremely dead and his body has been secured upstairs by two of our best. But listen, we only have a few moments so let’s reserve all of the questions for later, I’m sure you will all be briefed and you will all be questioned thoroughly by the authorities, so please everyone, brace yourselves for a very long night. This isn’t over yet. The dangerous part is over but now we all have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Most of you that are standing here right now were forced into doing this, others were young and naive and were coerced into it without realizing what you were getting in to. Some of you have criminal records and may be detained for some prior crimes by the authorities but we’ll do everything we can to help each of you by requesting reduced sentences, early release, and whatever else we can negotiate on your behalf. We’ll point out to the authorities that you all volunteered to help and joined with us in the fight against Cyrus in this final hour.”
“Glitch, Cyrus’s mastermind hacker is also deceased at the hands of Team Talon our most dedicated trio. They are the fearless three that took down Cyrus and Glitch personally and you may see a resemblance as two of the members of Team Talon are my clone and Dodge’s clone and the third member is Dodge’s father Alan Kerrington, raise your hands guys so everyone can . . . , yes there they are, let’s give them a round . . .”
The applause and cheering broke out again.
“FYI everyone, they go by JC and DC, John’s clone and Dodge’s clone, we have to do that otherwise conversations get very confused.” Everybody laughed, then one of the prisoners in restraints yelled, “Cyrus isn’t dead! Don’t believe it!” One of the bigger guards punched him in the back of the head really hard, knocking him out before he could say anything more. Then he looked around at the other six captives.
“The rest of you stay quiet. Go ahead Sir,” he said, “that won’t happen again.”
“Thank you! So in summary we’ll be providing free legal services to each of you. Your results may vary but I think most of you will get out of this with the minimum, if any, time to serve and it certainly beats the alternative that Cyrus had planned for you. I also want to mention Toby, Todd, and Cheyenne, our inside help, we couldn’t have made this work without them.” Another round of applause ensued.
“Special thanks also to those three for masterminding the oven Idea which ultimately saved all of your lives from the death signal, which by the way did get transmitted killing many of the deceased you see lying around here. I should also mention the very brave Alice Cummings, don’t let her petite frame and her sweet disposition fool you, this gal has guts! She was very instrumental along with her man Toby in performing several acts of sabotage from within that saved our lives on the outside.” Everyone cheered and applauded, which embarrassed Alice, and that made Toby laugh.
As for the small explosive devices that Cyrus so generously placed in your brains, we’ll also be picking up the tab for the medical procedures to get those removed, and we hope all of you will take advantage of that opportunity. We’ll be opening up these two large overhead doors in a moment. Anyone that wishes to leave may do just that, and no, I am not talking about you six over there in the restraints, you fired upon us so you’re going to prison, but we’re not here now to restrain those of you that came along peacefully or even tried to help, if you want to leave you’re free to go. Having said that, I strongly encourage you all to stay and take advantage of the medical procedure to get that pesky bomb out of your head, and the free legal services we’re offering. Just because we took out Cyrus and Glitch here today does not mean that you’re completely out of danger. One of their partners out there somewhere might transmit that signal again once they get word of the situation. If you go out that door, we can’t guarantee that you won’t drop dead later. So it’s your choice, weigh your options and choose wisely.
Congratulations everyone today is the first day of the rest of your lives, potentially very long and fruitful lives. Anyone that still has any type of weapons or any illegal substances or anything you think might not fare well with the authorities, please p
lace those items in the 55 gallon drums up here to your left by the overhead doors and then do your best to relax. When the police arrive they’ll likely put restraints on each of us, maybe even me and this entire team of patriots that rescued you today. Don’t panic though, just cooperate, do whatever they tell you to do and things will go much better for all of us that way. Thank you, and good luck to each of you.”
In the distance they could hear Sirens now and they were getting closer. It would only be a minute or two now.
“Go ahead and raise those doors now DC” Dodge’s clone walked along the front wall and pressed the door buttons for the two large overhead doors. The Sirens were growing louder as the police got closer. People were mingling and visiting now while they waited for the circus to arrive. John climbed down off the mezzanine and went out close to the doors with the rest of the team to wait for the arrival of the so called Calvary.
Chapter 35 DC had put the doors up as requested and now four of the people there with them that had been trapped in the compound walked right out and down the street in different directions. It was not a big surprise really to anyone, some of the people in Cyrus’s service were bad characters to begin with and were facing some quite serious charges and prison terms. That was how Cyrus bribed them into his service in the first place, he offered them money and freedom from the authorities in exchange for their services. No doubt the seven men in restraints were facing the toughest penalties and now there would be a few more. Rounding the corner now was the largest entourage of emergency vehicles and police cars any of them had ever seen. The first wave was a group of six police cars followed by two fire trucks and four ambulances. Within a minute there were twenty more police cars, more ambulances, more fire trucks and a baker’s dozen of dark colored cars and vans. Dodge looked at John,
“Jeeze John what did you tell them?”
He smiled.
“I told them that a team of nearly one hundred heavily armed vigilantes had just overthrown a powerful crime ring with ties to terrorism and national security threats and that there had been a massive shootout resulting in numerous deaths, gunshot wounds, and casualties of all kinds. Oh yeah, and that the place was on fire.”
“Oh my god! Well I guess that would do it!”
Within minutes the CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Center for Disease Control, National Guard, and a few others that refused to even Identify themselves, had all showed up and were lining up to inspect, question, interrogate, photograph, sample, test, and document everybody and just about everything they could get their grubby little paws on. Dodge had answered several questions right away that prompted a black eighteen wheeler truck to show up within the hour. It was obviously the FBI and they insisted that Dodge, John, JC, DC, and Alan all get on board.
They were escorted to an area inside the trailer appointed with all the amenities of a regular conference room in any high tech business center. They were sat down around a large table and were questioned in detail about how and why they had cloned themselves and who gave them the permission to do so and under what authority they carried out the actions of earlier that day. It went on for several hours after which they were all arrested, taken into custody and transferred to a holding area at an unknown facility in the downtown Indianapolis area.
The next morning they were allowed to see their families for about an hour. They brought them in on a black bus with no windows and pulled inside the building where they rode an elevator up several floors to the holding area. After being allowed to visit for a while the FBI and some other agents that offered no Identification asked if they could question the family members together with the team members. It was strictly voluntary but they did say that it would go a long way toward the spirit of cooperation. None of them had anything to hide and so they all agreed.
The questioning and explaining went on for three full days, it was tedious and repetitive but the accommodations were decent and they were certainly not interrogating them or mistreating them in any way. In the beginning they were somewhat hostile toward the team but now they were being more pleasant toward them and even seemed appreciative of all their work and what they had accomplished at the compound.
On the last day when the questions were all done and they were being allowed to return home, one of the nicer agents, a Mr. Brian Hillgrave, told Linsey and Dodge that he appreciated what their family and Mr. Calhoun had done for their country and their fellow citizens. He shook Dodge’s hand and John’s hand, and said, off the record, you guys are true American Heroes in my book! Those comments made Dodge and John feel really good.
“Thank you agent Hillgrave, that means a lot to us,” he said.
“We appreciate hearing that from you.”
When Dodge and Linsey arrived at the house, Alan was already there with Sarah and Bobby. It was a media blitz, and they had to fight their way to the front door. They finally got in the house and they couldn’t believe what they saw, their kitchen was completely repaired as if there had never been a fire. Matt and his parent’s Bill and Brenda McNeil were over by the kitchen table with a nice spread of drinks and finger foods. Bill and Brenda came to greet Dodge and Linsey, they thanked them for what they had done and for watching out for Matt and protecting them from Cyrus and his men. The McNeil’s had taken care of getting the house fixed for the Kerrington’s and it looked just perfect, they did a wonderful job of it.
One of the police officers outside asked if he could come in for a moment to speak with Dodge. Once inside he explained to the Kerrington’s that all the news crews out on the lawn had agreed to leave if Dodge would come out and give a statement and maybe a question and answer period, like a news conference. The officer said,
“You know if you don’t go out there they’re just going to hang around half the night in anticipation and I’m gonna miss my dinner at home.”
Dodge agreed to just go out there and get it over with. He stepped out on the front porch and was immediately surrounded by bright lights, cameras, and at least twenty reporters wielding microphones. He made a statement about everything that had happened but was careful to leave out details that he promised the authorities he would keep confidential until further notice. The questions went on for almost an hour and now they had turned repetitive, Dodge put up his hand and waved to all of them and said,
“Have a nice evening everyone, I’m exhausted so I’m going in to be with my family, God bless.” He turned and went inside and closed the door while they were still shouting questions at him. It was easy to see they would never let it end so he did it for them.
In the following weeks John and Dodge appeared on the Harry Letterman show, the Tonight Show, Good Morning World, and several other popular talk shows before the interest gradually faded as things returned to a more normal life. JC never fully recovered from the electrical attack that he sustained while struggling with Glitch and so the decision was made to decommission John’s clone permanently. Dodges’ clone was returned to a state of suspension and reserved for future use should he be needed. Linsey and the kids now had clones in suspension in addition to their government issue.
Two weeks after the big take down every member of the team received a package via UPS delivery. The boxes contained black jackets with “Operation Black Ice” on the back, and then the date, September 19th 2056, followed by the complete list of all the team members names, 156 total, listed in alphabetical order and they added a
special “thanks to” at the bottom to list Toby, Cheyenne, Todd, and Alice, who even though they were not official team members, they were extremely crucial to the success of the operation. Their last names were embroidered on the left breast pocket.
John retained both Jason and Caitlin at the farm as their personal lab assistants with ongoing plans for more testing and research in human and animal cloning. The Farm remained top secret, none of the authorities were ever told of it or made discovery of it. John’s girlfriend returned from out of town and things were getting more s
erious between them, it seemed John had finally found the one.
Three months after the completion of Black Ice, Dodge got a call that surprised him, it was agent Hillgrave. Brian invited Dodge and John to come to the pentagon and of course they both agreed.
It was a cold blustery December day when they arrived in DC on a private jet. Agent Hillgrave met them on the tarmac.
“Good to see you fellas again, and I’m glad it’s in a less stressful pretense.”
They all agreed and got in out of the blowing snow and into the warm Crown Vic that was waiting.
At the Pentagon they sat in on a meeting with several heads of Home Land Security, White House Administration officials and few other that seemed to lack any ID. There was some briefing on Operation Black Ice and then several video clips of Cyrus’s body on the floor in the room behind his office and some forensic terms and various points being made about the scene and what happened.
Then they moved on to Glitch’s office and his body hanging there, his head nailed to the door frame with a huge knife. They presented what they believed happened based on their notes and the taped statements taken from Dodge, John, DC, and Alan. Statements made by JC had been stricken due to his condition at the time.
With that complete, they broke for a nice lunch in one of the dining rooms where they were allowed to talk casually and off the record with agents and some of the President’s staff for over an hour. It was very nice and everyone was quite interested to see them and ask a few questions including personal stuff, off the subject, like sports and even their favorite restaurants and bars in Indy.
After lunch they returned to the briefing and watched detailed video and audio of the autopsies for both Cyrus and Glitch. Cyrus’s body was a real mess even before they shot him up. Only about half of his organs worked properly, his plumbing was all messed up and so he had to wear bags to collect his waste, and use power cells to keep his heart and brain functioning.
