by C. G. Cooper
Andy pointed back at the chamber. “There’s an…emergency release…lever under the…left side of…the trailer that…unfolds the sides.”
Cal and Daniel didn’t hesitate as they ran back to the trailer to save the other Marines. Holding their breath once again, the two men pulled with all their might on the release lever. They felt a hard click and the trailer flaps started folding down slowly. By the time the flaps lowered, Andy had rejoined his friends.
“We need to get out there and help the President!” Cal yelled over the din. Andy had no idea what Stokes was talking about. He had no way to know about the Marines’ imposters. Cal and Daniel bent down and extracted similar objects from their boot heals. Andy couldn’t make out what they had in their hands. He followed closely behind Cal and Daniel as they sprinted to the arena.
+++
MSgt Trent watched the show silently. Although he’d been impressed by the Silent Drill Team’s appearance, the rest of the show seemed a little lacking. He’d have to give Capt. Andrews a hard time about that.
+++
The replica Silent Drill Team moved toward the President’s position in four precise columns. They’d marched in step until they were twenty yards from the President. On silent cue, the platoon halted and four squad leaders from the rear marched out and to the front of the formation. Instead of doing the standard weapons inspection routine with two pairs, the planners had elected to go with four pairs. The squad leaders commenced the silent inspection, hurling weapons back and forth; making a show of inspecting the barrel and chamber of each gun.
Then, at the same moment, the four squad leaders grabbed the rifles. After doing a precise about-face they kneeled and aimed their weapons at the President. The Secret Service agents barely had time to react as the rounds came downrange.
+++
As the four squad leaders knelt on the ground, Trent sprang out of his chair. He vaulted whole rows as he extracted his pistol from his holster.
He was so intent on the unfolding carnage that he didn’t even notice the two politicians following from behind.
+++
Brandon caught it a split second after Trent. Without thinking, he followed the Marine, albeit less gracefully. Zimmer was surprised to see his father following, too.
+++
Out of the corner of his eye, Nakamura saw Trent jump out of his seat. “Let’s go, Son,” he ordered.
“What? Out there?”
“Yes! Now get up!”
Kazuo Nakamura pulled the Nambu pistol out of his coat pocket and walked toward the arena. There were very few people who could ever claim the killing of an American President. Nakamura wanted to be one of them.
+++
Cal, Daniel, and Andy sprinted toward the opposite end of the arena. They could just make out the President and his security team falling to the ground. Shit, shit, shit, Cal thought as he ran for all he was worth. He had no idea what they’d do once they got there, especially without weapons, but they’d die trying. The anthem music continued to pound overhead as the three Marines closed the gap. There were twenty-four fake Marines between them and their goal.
+++
Trent fired as he leaped the eight feet down to the arena floor. It wasn’t a particularly well-aimed volley, but he centered his front sight post on the mass of men in dress blues. Remarkably, his rounds hit two of the squad leaders and the rest of the bullets flew into the platoon. With twelve shots, he’d incapacitated six men. There were still eighteen men for Trent and his friends to take care of. Trent hit the ground floor and ducked for cover. He quickly reloaded and focused his attention back on the platoon.
Where the hell were the rest of the Secret Service agents?
+++
As they neared the platoon, several of the imposters fell to the ground, clutching wounds. What the hell? Cal thought. He ignored his own question and said a silent thanks that the platoon hadn’t turned around yet. They were all still oriented toward the President.
He gripped two small composite blades he and Daniel had extracted from their boots. It was a little gift from Neil before they’d left. Patel knew the Marines wouldn’t want to go in naked. The small weapons wouldn’t do much against ranged weapons, but hand-to-hand they would come in handy.
The three Marines closed the final few feet with only four blades, a pistol with eight rounds, and a pissed off attitude. Three against twenty-four, Cal thought, What else is new?
He screamed as he pulled the first man back by the head and slit his throat.
+++
After a silent prayer, Daniel followed Cal into the fray. Where Cal was ferocious, Daniel was more methodical as he quickly cut a swath through the crowd. By the time they’d gotten to the middle of the group, the Japanese imposters were refocusing on the pair of maniacal Marines in their midst.
+++
Possibly because of the after effects of the gas or the constricting uniform, Andy couldn’t keep up with Cal and Daniel. An experienced triathlete and marathoner, Andy gritted his teeth and tried to move faster. By the time he’d reached the bloody scene, his two companions had already dispatched a good portion of the phonies. The men on the outside of the formation turned inward and leveled their M-1’s at the marauding Marines.
Andy screamed in anger and started firing.
+++
Trent cocked his head in confusion as the platoon fell apart and focused their attention inward. Huh?
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Trent left his covered position and closed the remaining twenty yards, firing as he ran.
+++
Nakamura’s eyes widened as he watched his elite guard get slaughtered. It couldn’t be. They’d made sure to dispatch the security agents first. Who were these other men?
Ishi answered for him, “It’s Stokes!” he yelled, pointing into the chaos.
Kazuo Nakamura growled in rage and ran to the stairs leading down to the arena.
+++
Just as he pulled his blade out of another man’s brains, Cal felt an excruciating burn along the left side of his torso. He turned just in time to see a Japanese man in dress blues, M-1 Garand aimed straight at him. The man smiled and then the side of his head blew off, instantly killed by the hollow-point round from Andy’s weapon.
“Keep moving!” Andy yelled over the booming music.
Cal nodded and looked around. There were only four men left. He finally realized how they’d done it when he saw MSgt Trent pull up. The Marines had no idea why they’d been so lucky.
What they couldn’t know was that the squad leaders had been the only ones to be given special ceremonial rounds engraved with Japanese lettering for the WWII era weapons. It was a small vanity that the prideful Nakamura had insisted on, thinking that the one clip per squad leader would be sufficient considering the complete lack of security. He’d underestimated the Marines.
None of the four remaining Japanese had ammunition. If it bothered them, it didn’t show. They were standing in a tight formation, bayonets pointed at their enemies.
“Put the rifles down!” yelled Cal at the four men.
Instead of complying, the enemy on the far left yelled something in his native tongue. His warriors charged.
+++
Kazuo Nakamura peeked around the corner. He watched and smiled grimly as his four remaining loyalists charged. It would be an honorable death.
As quickly as possible, he made his way to the American President, pistol at the ready.
+++
They were out of rounds. Just like their ancestors at Belleau Wood, the trenches of Okinawa, and the jungles of Vietnam, the four Marines moved to meet their enemy.
+++
Congressman Zimmer climbed down to the ground floor. His father had opted to take the stairs. He ran toward the prostrate President, not realizing the Nakamuras were stalking in right behind him.
+++
The eight men met in a clash of steel and flesh. Both sides were highly trained and deadly.
The hulking Trent was the first to dispatch his opponent by dodging the man’s bayonet stab and then the butt of his empty pistol onto the top of his opponent’s head. The powerful blow crushed the man’s skull and he collapsed to the ground. Trent turned for a new target.
+++
Andy wasn’t so lucky on the far right. Still woozy from the trailer episode, he just missed a parry and got a nasty cut deep into his forearm. The assailant kept stabbing, trying to gut the Marine Captain. All Andy could do at the moment was dodge the stabs until there was an opening or the challenger overcommitted.
+++
In the middle of the group, Cal picked up a bloody Garand rifle from the ground and charged his foe. The two adversaries thrusted and parried. Taking a step back, Cal flipped the rifle over in his hands and gripped the weapon like a baseball bat. With tired arms screaming in protest, he swung the butt end of the rifle at his rival’s head. The man scrambled to bring his own rifle up vertically to block the swing. He never had a chance. The swing was too powerful. The Marine was too mad. The stock of the M-1 blew through the parry and smashed into the man’s head. Game over.
+++
Next to Cal, Daniel surprised his foe by throwing one of his knives straight at the man’s face. It was a pretty harmless throw, and Briggs would’ve been lucky if the thing had done any damage. But that’s not what he wanted. The Japanese raised his rifle to block the projectile. He heard the satisfying clang as the weapon bounced off harmlessly. However, this action gave Daniel the distraction he needed. Going to the ground, he did a quick roll and thrust his remaining blade into his target’s abdomen. The man dropped his weapon and grabbed his stomach. Daniel extracted the dagger and drove it up through the man’s throat. He gurgled as the sniper twisted the blade through the man’s neck. The imposter fell to the ground, dead.
+++
Andy was struggling to keep up with his enemy’s thrusts. He’d gotten two more deep cuts on his arms trying to deflect the longer bayoneted rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trent step behind the remaining Japanese soldier.
The lone warrior noticed Andy’s glance and turned to face his new threat. Too late. Like an anaconda, Trent’s enormous arm wrapped around the man’s throat and squeezed. The man dropped his rifle and scrambled to tear the giant’s grip off his windpipe.
Before he could do so, MSgt Trent twisted the man’s head violently and severed his spine. He discarded the imposter on the ground.
In unison, the four Marines turned toward the President. They saw Brandon Zimmer bending down to check on the American leader. They also noticed the two Japanese men approaching the Congressman from behind.
Chapter 40
Las Vegas, Nevada
7:01am, September 19th
Brandon Zimmer bent down to check on the President. The leader of the free world moaned and rolled over, gripping his left arm. He was alive! Wounded, but alive.
“Hold on, Mr. President, I’ll help you get your arm wrapped.”
“What…where are my…?” the President tried to ask.
“Let’s just get you out of here first, Mr. President,” Zimmer yelled over the music that still reverberated loudly overhead.
The President grimaced as he tried to sit up. Brandon couldn’t believe he’d survived the firing squad. He got the President to his feet.
“Walk away from the President!” yelled a voice behind him.
He turned to find Ishi and his father walking closer. The elder Nakamura was pointing a small pistol right at Brandon.
“Fuck you!” Zimmer yelled as he stepped to shield the President. Kazuo Nakamura changed the angle of his weapon and shot the Congressman in the leg. Brandon fell on top of one of the dead Secret Service agents and screamed, clutching his shattered patella.
+++
Cal and his three friends stopped short when Zimmer was shot. They were four men against two, but Nakamura was the only one with ammunition. He saw Senator Zimmer at the entryway, opposite the Japanese. Cal motioned for the Senator to stay where he was. Richard Zimmer ignored the hand signal and walked purposefully toward the President.
+++
As if on cue, the music overhead ended. The four Marines poised to make a run for the President. Kazuo Nakamura leveled his weapon at the President and addressed his adversaries. “If you want the President to live, you will stay back.”
They didn’t doubt him.
Senator Zimmer approached the President from behind and put his right arm around his boss’ opposite shoulder. “How are you, Mr. President?”
“Zimmer? What…what’s going on?” asked the President in confusion.
In response, Senator Richard Zimmer pulled a pistol out of his left coat pocket. “Well, Mr. President, I hate to tell you that this will be your last day in office.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, let’s just say I’m sick of your pansy-ass. I think it’s time for a new world leader.”
The President looked at the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee in shock.
“Don’t look so surprised, Mr. President. It’s truly unbecoming of an American President to be so afraid of death.”
The President steeled his gaze. “You’ll never get away with this.”
Sen. Zimmer chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong, as usual, Mr. President. You see, by the time the smoke settles, all of you will be dead and I’ll be the last one left. The Party and Americans will flock to me in their grief. Losing an American President is a small price to pay for getting our national pride back.”
Before the President could respond, Kazuo Nakamura cut in. “Enough of this, Senator. Let me kill him so that we can catch our flight home.”
Richard Zimmer looked back at Nakamura with barely disguised contempt. Yes, he had been useful, but maybe it was time to end their relationship. He leveled his gun at the Japanese businessman. “I think maybe I can do this without you now, Nakamura-san.” Without another word, he aimed at Nakamura’s son and fired two rounds. The bullets slammed into Ishi’s chest.
“Father…” he said quietly as he reached for his father, instead falling to the ground.
“You will pay for that…”
“Oh, what are you going to do? Shoot me with that shitty little Nambu? Did your father give you that before he died, Kazuo?” the Senator asked, smirking. He knew all about Nakamura’s familial past.
“How dare you…?” seethed Nakamura.
“Oh shut up, you Nip. Did you really think that I was going to let you build your little empire? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. If I’d known…” Zimmer stopped talking as he noticed Nakamura laughing almost uncontrollably.
Zimmer’s face colored. “What are you laughing at?!”
Nakamura continued to howl crazily. Everyone watching thought the man was cracking up. Finally, he quieted and looked back at his mole in the American government.
“I’m laughing because I read you so well, Senator.”
“What are you talking about, you idiot?”
“I knew you would double-cross me. Yes, you’ve become a very upstanding public figure in the last twenty years. But does anyone remember your early days? The days when the Irish mob bankrolled your election? How many favors did that cost you? And only to have that same mob investigated and put in jail years later. Tsk, tsk. No, Senator. You and I are more alike than you might think,” Nakamura smiled.
“I am nothing like you. You know what, I’m done…”
“No, Senator, I have one more surprise for you.”
Zimmer looked back in confusion. He thought he covered his bases. What does this little Japanese prick have up his sleeve?
“While you were so concerned with weaving your little plot to take over the Presidency, we were quietly making deliveries to your beloved Representatives.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” replied a flustered Zimmer.
“We know about the new Opel smart phones that everyone wants. You A
mericans will soon wait in line for days for this little piece of technology,” Nakamura held up his own Opel smart phone. “You know that we’ve established a large network of blackmailed American government officials over the years. Well, our experts in Japan were able to acquire a single shipment of phones and retrofit them with a little gift.”
Zimmer’s eyes narrowed. “This was your insurance policy?”
“Yes, now you understand! You see, if my son and I don’t arrive for our flight in thirty minutes, my people are ordered to detonate the devices,” Nakamura said smugly.
“Detonate?” Zimmer asked.
“Why, yes. My staff is very crafty when it comes to technology. What you don’t know is that we’ve been secretly developing a higher grade of explosive that is undetectable by scanners or your bomb dogs. Quite impressive, really. This explosive was inserted with remote detonating software onto the Opel smart phones. We’ve already confirmed delivery to over one hundred of your Senators and Congressmen. There are also over two hundred other important business leaders and government workers who received the phone over the last two days. They were very happy to get an early version of the phone. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, even the President has one of our phones in his pocket. Now, I’m not sure, but wouldn’t it be difficult to be President and run a country without half of your elected officials? Not to mention all the businesses that would suddenly be without their leadership.”
