Government Z (Book 1): The Beginning

by Reid, Bryan D.

  Chapter 20

  Upon hearing the news that Bruce was a daddy again Rus, Don, and I headed down to the kitchen. We put a blockade across the door in the kitchen and raided the wine that was in the kitchen and took several bottles up to the suite and celebrated a new uninfected child born into the world. I awoke the next morning with a terrible hangover to my FBI phone ringing. Hello Director Skinner I said. Vaiddein my office twenty minutes Director Skinner barked. I woke Rus and Don up, put my face back on then loaded into the SUV headed for the J Edgar building. We arrived at the front entrance I told Rus and Don to go to the wax factory to make new faces for themselves and I would go to my office after I met with Director Skinner. I entered the building and made my way to Director Skinners office and when I entered Director Skinner was on the phone and I heard him say “He just got here” then he hung up the phone. Sit down Vaiddein, Director Skinner said pointing at the chair in front of his desk. Vaiddein I have a very important mission for your team and I need you to accompany them on this mission. Whatever you need Director, what will our mission be? I asked. We have gotten Intel from Wyoming where our agents stationed there have discovered a child was born and was not infected by this disease plaguing our country; your mission is to bring that child to Washington D.C. Director Skinner said. A child sir? I said. Yes Vaiddein, a child being born uninfected could give the communities out their hope and this may put a huge blunder in the V.P.’s vision of a superior country Director Skinner said. Have your eight man team and two bodyguards at the Joint Base Andrews facility where you will take two helicopters to Cheyenne, Wyoming where you will be met by the ten man team and taken to the base they have established near the compound in Cody. The compound is somewhere within Yellowstone National Park Director Skinner said. Go and bring that child here to Washington D.C. I will contact you once your team is in Cody and you will have full authority of the agents on site Director Skinner ordered. I left the director’s office and headed for the lobby. I called Rus and Don over the ear piece to pick me up. Rus drove the SUV to pick me up. Where is Don at? I asked. He is finishing off a new face for you and awaiting the three we made for each other Rus said. Once we arrived at the wax museum I informed Rus and Don at what we were asked to do and we needed to pack right away. We headed to the hotel packed our clothes, weapons, and hide our melee weapons in a suit bag. We informed Bruce, Mike, and Jon about what we were headed to do and asked that they inform the outpost to be on high alert so no one attacked and tried to take the baby away. Bruce got on the CB as we were packing and notified Abby who was put on CB duty in the command center since Christi made it into a small nursery for her. We loaded the SUV told the guys to stay alert and made our way to the military base as we were assigned to do. When we arrived there were two helicopters awaiting us. Before we exited the SUV I told Don to sit next to the pilot and learn how to fly the helicopter, who knows it may come in handy I said. Rus, Don, and I loaded into the Black Hawk helicopter which would take the lead for the flight. The other seven agents loaded into a CH-53 transport helicopter and once they were secured we took off for the ten hour flight by helicopter it would take to arrive at our destination.

  We flew across the United States observing the beauty and devastation that had been plaguing the country for the past eight months. We would pass beautiful open country sides with small towns that looked peaceful and pleasant. Then we would pass larger cities that were in complete chaos with buildings destroyed, windows smashed, cars crashed, and occasional groups of zombies roaming the streets. Rus, Don, and I couldn’t discuss anything we witnessed since we had a pilot with us so the ten hour flight was in complete silence other then the occasional pilot to pilot talk. We arrived in Cheyenne at dusk and were met by a large van and SUV. The agents that picked us up helped load the gear into the van and all the agents piled in after we were loaded. I instructed the agent that was driving the SUV that he would ride in the van now and my bodyguards would be driving and following the van in the SUV. So Don, Rus, and I got in the SUV and followed the van since it was over a six hours to Cody where the base was stationed just out on the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park. It was a long seventeen hours between the helicopter and car trips to arrive at our destination. We arrived in the middle of the night so we didn’t know or see much of the surrounding area. We went into a large building the FBI had made their command center the agents with us were directed to a sleeping quarter that was established in what looked like a locker room, my bodyguards and I were taken to a private sleeping quarter that was set up for me since I was taking command of these agents. We crashed as soon as we hit the beds with the time change, flight, and drive it was a very long day. After sleeping from the travel time and jet lag I was brought thru the command center which I now realized was a club house of a golf course. My cell phone started ringing. It was Director Skinner, Vaiddein gather all the agents and call me back when you have them ready Director Skinner instructed. I gathered all seventeen agents and my two body guards in a conference room and called Director Skinner back placing the phone in the center of the table on speaker phone. “Agents the man placing his phone on the table is special agent Barry D. Vaiddein. He will be in charge of this mission I will bestow upon you. A child was born somewhere within the Yellowstone National Park to a small militia. We need this militia destroyed and that child brought to Washington because testing has been asked to be done as ordered by the Vice President. If the testing proves to be true this will be a major issue in the Vice President’s future for a superior United States. If we continue to allow the militia’s to conspire against us they may find the one weakness to stop our superior race of men and women. Other things we are currently working on are a breeding program but have had negative results so far. When you return Vaiddein you need to meet the Vice President and then we will have a video conference with Mr. DuKoppus in the beginning of March. So you have twelve weeks to find this baby and return to Washington. I look forward to your return agent Vaiddein. Do not fail me.” Director Skinner’s last word before the phone showed we were disconnected.

  Once the call ended the agents looked at me for the first plans of our mission. We will first start here pointed to a map at the east side of the Rocky Mountains I said. I think if this militia found a cave for sanctuary it would provide them with the most ideal hiding spot. I will break you up into three groups with two six man teams and one five man team. The first group will be known as team Alpha and will be taken to the Montana border and will make your way west. The next will be known as team Bravo, they will be positioned south in the town of Valley and travel west until you are south of Lake Yellowstone, then you will head north. The last group will be known as team Charlie and that will be the five man group and you will be taken to the west side where the Gallatin River crosses into Wyoming from Montana and will follow the river to Gallatin Lake. Any signs you are on the trail of this militia communicate with me I will be here in the command center. You are all ordered to capture this militia and wait for my arrival I want to interrogate these people. Now go pack supplies for the weather, hiking, and rock climbing and report anything you find since in the snow fall you will help track anyone walking around out there. Now go prepare your supplies. You will need tents, walkie talkies, food, weapons, and hiking/climbing gear. We will take each group when they are ready and drop them off at the destination to begin their hike. Everyone will have eight weeks to get to the Old Faithful Inn where we will meet unless word is sent to finding the militia beforehand and follow the routes you have been given. One of the agents asked why we don’t just take the helicopters and fly over the park. I walked over to the agent and gave him a hard backhand across the face. Stupid imbecile, I said in a firm voice. We do not want to give away our position I scolded. When the agent looked back at me and apologized I noticed one of his eyes was brown and the other was now the pale white color, also a small chuck of skin was falling from under his nose and chin. Fix yourself agent I said without trying to seem shocked
. The agent pulled the skin off revealing a scar line going down the center off his face revealing talons hidden under the fake skin he had on. Right away sir the agent said leaving the room. Any more questions I asked. The agents shook their heads and I dismissed them to pack their supplies.

  After about two hours the first two teams arrived ready to go so Don loaded the team and their supplies in the van and traveled north to drop off both team Alpha and Bravo off at their starting points. About forty five minutes later Rus took a second van and went to drop off team Charlie. I informed Rus and Don to radio me when they had finished their drop offs and where on the way back to the country club. About fifty minutes after they departed I received a call from Don informing me that team Alpha was dropped off and started their search and capture mission. Don was then on his way across to drop of team Bravo. Rus called on his way back to the country club after dropping off team Charlie and Don was driving thru the Rocky Mountains in a four hour drive to drop off Bravo team. When Rus arrived back at the camp, we started ripping out the seats in the van and started raiding the country club for all weapons and supplies that would be helpful to our outpost. We found some ammo and a few assault rifles but nothing major that would help us in the long run. We started going thru the information gathered by the FBI. There were maps with certain areas circled as possible locations of the militia location but none of them were the Old Faithful Inn because according to them it was too obvious. Rus and I agreed that would be the best spot to build a militia since the building was already built. Five hours after Rus returned we received a call from Don announcing Bravo team had officially begun their search. I asked Don if he could follow a route passed the Old Faithful Geyser and see if there are any signs of survivors near the geyser. Rus and I continued looking thru the paper work when we found some key documents with the DuKoppus nuclear power plant logo on the front of the manila folders. I sat down opened the folder and started reading documents sent from DuKoppus to Vice President Earl MacDonald. Most of the documents consisted of locations and orders placed for barrels of toxic chemicals. Most of the locations were in the states boarding Canada such as New York, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington receiving the most barrels according to reports. Bryan look at this Rus said showing me a smudged partial address revealing the territory of Nunavut. Well that will come useful since I feel eventually we will have to confront DuKoppus and I think it will be on his turf I said. Don arrived back at the clubhouse late in the evening just before the teams were scheduled to report in before turning in for the night. Each team was told to report to me starting at ten with Alpha, fifteen minutes later I heard from Bravo and Charlie at half past ten. Once they all checked in with zero leads to the Yellowstone militia Don reported after checking out Old Faithful Geyser. Well your suspicion is right as usual Bryan, Don said. When I drove by the geyser I could see footprint and sled tracks leading toward I believe the resort Don said. We informed Don of the reports we found and stashed them in the van we were packing with everything else we found. As night time approached the teams called in and there distance traveled was about where I expected them to be after two days of hiking and climbing. I expected them to arrive at the Old Faithful Inn and report they found survivors around week six and seven. Team Bravo I expected would be the first to arrive near the inn since traveling down the river to the lake would be a quick route and had no mountain climbing until the lake area was reached.

  Three weeks had passed since I sent the FBI agents out and around Yellowstone National Park. The agents reported every night since they left making progress as scheduled. Rus, Don, and I salvaged everything we could from the command center and got all information from the files available. I had to call Director Skinner after the fourth week when we arrived in Wyoming. I brought the Director up to date on our search for the baby and militia. He was very pleased with the efforts we were making on the militia’s location and I informed him we would take caution once the militia was found since we were unaware of the weapons or size of the militia to ensure we “killed” all of them. Daily the three of us would work on our melee skills Don with his kamas, I with my battle axes, and Rus with his machetes but Rus was working on his new melee weapon we stumbled upon while searching the town of Cody for more supplies. We entered an old antique store searching for more weapons but found mostly small knick-knack’s until I opened an old duffle bag and found two hook swords. The hook swords were thirty two inches in length with a twenty one inch steel razor sharp hook blade which was designed to stop enemy weapons or trip enemies. There was a small spike on the end for additional attacks and the handle was wrapped in leather which was guarded with the traditional half moon blade offering an additional close up attack as well as for defensive blocking across the hands. Rus and I were sparing with our weapons while Don was working on his reach with the new ten foot chain he put on his kamas trying to wrap it around trees on the golf course. Rus was improving his skills working with a different weapon but still keep his machetes with him since he could throw them as good as the small knives attached to his biceps. After a long hard day of training we sat down and enjoyed a well cooked meal of chicken and dumplings. Don asked do you think we will be able to help this community since there are only three of us and seventeen agents out there. Well I have a plan in mind and I’ll tell you about it after the check-in by the agents and my call to Skinner. Check in times came and went still no signs of the militia reported yet but the teams were still progressing as scheduled. Director Skinner was concerned I would not complete my deadline time to return to Washington with the child since I was down to eight weeks remaining and the agents wouldn’t arrive to where I needed them for another three weeks at the earliest. After talking with the agents and Director Skinner I sat down and discussed my plan in details with Rus and Don. It will take the trust of those people which may be hard to get in the moment Rus said. I just need you both to inform each of them as you cut the straps and give them small two shot guns we found that the baby is safe, and to wait for my signal since we need their help I said. I think we need to put the supplies we want to take back to Washington D.C. with us in the SUV and tomorrow we will head back to town and get supplies for the militia and tell them they need to go away until we can find a cure I said. We all went to bed so we rose early and started transporting the supplies we wanted to take with us like some guns, files, and maps. We left the rest of the guns and all the ammo we found. We drove into Cody in search of bottled water, tents, camping equipment, dried and canned goods to help them get away. Now we just had to wait for the teams to get in position in the mean time we continued looking for more information and continued training.

  Another two and a half weeks passed and the time was rapidly approaching for the teams to surround the inn. Alpha team was about thirty miles away at Gibbons Hill about five days out, Bravo team reported in only eighteen miles from the inn and should be there in three days, and Charlie team was about thirty miles out just north of Purple Mountain and they should also arrive in five days giving Bravo team time to scout the camp first. Rus, Don, and I started preparing the handguns we would give the militia to help us take down the FBI. They would be easy to hide in the palm of their hand behind their backs since they would be given Derringer mini-handguns, which most of the agents have strapped to their ankles but left behind for the vigorous journey they were currently on. Rus and Don went and sewed extra pockets into their sports jackets to store all the handguns to hand out to the militia. We had only found five guns so we were going to have to make every shot count, Rus made a sash to strap to his back that held his machetes, Don made a small fanny pack bag that could hold the weight of his chain and put the kamas in his belt behind his back, and I cut the front of my bullet proof vest to cross the axes on my chest and so they were not seen from behind yet still covered by my sports coat and winter gear. Three days had passed and Bravo team called in as expected about a hundred yards from the Inn where smoke was seen coming out of the chimney. Excellent hold y
our position until Alpha team, Charlie team are in position, and I arrive I said. No one is to move until I arrive I added. I looked at Rus and Don telling them to get ready. Can you rework the satellite on the CB to reach Bruce? I asked Don. It will take me about ten minutes but I should be able to get us hooked up Don said. Ok we are all set Don said. We sat down and called out to Bruce, Jon, and Mike and waited for a response. Go ahead this is Bruce we read you loud and clear. Bruce this is Vaiddein how are things in Washington? I asked. Well nothing to out of the ordinary other than seeing Director Skinner at the White House the past two days Bruce said. I also have been going through the computer when I have been off the watch and found some interesting information Bruce added. What did you find Bruce? I asked. All we could hear was static. I called again, come in Bruce. Still static, Don went and looked outside. Don came back in and said the wind had to be blowing at fifty miles per hour and took down the satellite dish. Well I guess we need to return in the next few days so let’s get some sleep and get ready to head to the inn.