The Tsunami

by Marshall Miller

  “They are all dead. My mommy, my daddy, all dead. I have no home!” She wailed with the pain of knowing her old life was gone, forever. Big Johann gently stroked her hair, murmured encouragement in her ear.

  “There, there. Uncle Johann is here. You can come live with me, my wife. I have children too. I would love to have more.”

  Emily felt obliged to interject a little reality. “Uh, Johann, child protective services…”

  “She stays with me.” His voice was suddenly cold as ice. “All who try to take the little ones without family will suffer such pain as they never imagined. We Norsemen take care of children. Those who harm them are scum.”

  Torbin knew what he said was true. The current Government may try to exert some authority, but they would be riding a whirlwind. Torbin began to see that the Sons of the North may be loyal to God and country, but it had its limits.

  “I think we just met Father Christmas incarnate. That’s who you remind me of, Johann.”

  Johann’s demeanor softened. “Yes, Major. My wife, Freda, tells me so. I have played Father Christmas at school plays when my children were quite young. I guess at heart that is who I am. How about you Jewel? Want to live with Father Christmas?” The young girl wrapped her arms tighter around Johann. Then, she fell asleep.

  “Uffda, I will have to figure out a way to carry my shield and sword, and not wake Jewel.”

  “I will carry it again, Johann-san.” It was Ichiro. He had found an old army blanket and made himself a poncho to replace the dark Ninja top he had given one of the captive girls. It was below freezing, so decent clothing was definitely needed.

  Johann looked at him. “Thank you, little brother. Your help is appreciated.”

  Torbin took this as an opening to ask a question that had been nagging at him a bit. “Ichiro, just how did you and your large Nordic friends get here and find this place?”

  Ichiro, smiling slyly, answered. “Your wife is not the only highly efficient intelligence agent, or spy if you wish to use that term. I have several in my employ. One of them, Sumie Sato, quickly ascertained this location. Knowing you, I readied myself and started my journey here.

  “But not before I had called friend Rolf from the rickshaw race. I knew I would need…backup as you say.”

  “None of your own troops, Ichiro?”

  “This is personal, my brother. I cannot use my position, and the soldiers under my command, to deal with a personal issue, putting them at risk. So I called on Rolf, knowing he would obtain some qualified civilian help.”

  At this he shook his head. “I thought they would bring firearms. Instead, they come as sword carrying warriors, as myself. But, it worked out in the end. Their shields, size, swords worked quite efficiently.

  “Pardon, Torbin. I must now help Johann take his charge to a vehicle they have hidden.”

  Torbin turned and saw the other four young girls queuing up to follow Johann. Government protocol be damned, they knew who they wanted to be with. Johann saw the look of consternation on Torbin’s face.

  “My full name is Johann Munsen. I am in the phone book. Or, go to the Sons of the North Hall, and they will find me. The children will be safe with me and my family. We have a good female doctor in our community, who will check the little ones over. Then you and the Commissioner can question them all you want.”

  Jewel stirred in Johann’s grasp. He kissed her forehead. “My wife, Freda, always wanted a girl. We have three boys, two of draft age. Now, she will have a house full of little girls. She will be very happy. And thus, I will be happy.”

  Emily stood up and approached Johann. She had to go up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Johann, you are a saint. When all these girls are well enough, bring them to my vet’s office. I have lots of dogs to play with.”

  He grinned. “I will do that, my lady. Now we must go, get these ones in baths, then beds.” He turned to go, Ichiro following him. The other Sons of the North, including Rolf, were picking up the remaining girls, lifting them up on their shoulders to give them all pony rides. That way, they could still carry their swords and shields. Brynhildr brought up the rear.

  Commissioner Miller appeared, started to say something. Then he stopped. “I can talk to them later,” he said, thinking out loud. “We have enough evidence to hang all these Krakens.”

  “Krakens?” Torbin asked.

  “Yes. Over Half the prisoners have those god awful Giant Kraken tattoos on their chests. Church of Kraken through and through. Now I get to find out how long these assholes have been operating in my backyard.”

  He turned to Torbin. “I will have to send a forensic doctor I have on staff to try to get some rape kits tonight, if possible. If not, so be it.”

  As he watched Brynhildr bringing up the rear of the procession, he said “Excuse me,” to Torbin and quickly went to catch up.

  “Excuse me young lady, Brynhildr is your name?”

  “Yes Sir. Brynhildr Jorgensen.”

  “Do you have a draft notice yet?

  “No, although I am twenty one years old. I expect to be called up for service any day now.”

  “Do you want to be in the military?”

  With that, she stopped. “Why so many questions?” Brynhildr asked bluntly.

  “Well, Ms. Jorgensen, I am about to offer you a job that counts as government service. One that will give you a little more…autonomy than starting out as a boot soldier.”

  “It is Miss, Commissioner. We so called Norskies have no trouble with young women being maids, unmarried women. We do not need a special title to express our individuality.”

  Paul Miller chuckled. “Well, you definitely are not afraid to speak your mind. But I need an answer to my question.”

  The tall and buxom blonde thought for a moment. “I do not suffer fools easily, no matter what their rank. I train with Rolf and the others because I know they are not fools. And they will listen to me as a warrior, not just a woman. So, yes, I do like some autonomy as you call it.”

  “You do know how to follow orders though, right?”

  Brynhildr laughed. “Let us cut through the bullshit, Commissioner. Could I listen to you? Yes. See, I was watching you also. So I know you are no fool. Thus yes, tell me to do something, I will do it. But if for some reason I think you are being a fool, I’ll tell you.” She smiled. “And I hope, like Rolf and the others, that you will listen to reason.”

  Miller laughed. “It is nice to have someone around who is the antithesis of a Yes Man.” He reached into a pocket and removed a business card. “Give me a call at this number in a couple of days. I will be tied up on this crime scene for a while. But, I think with a little of my training, I definitely could use you in law enforcement. It might be in something…special. By the way, what subjects do you like in school?”

  “I do well in Biology, Chemistry—all of the sciences. Why?”

  “Just trying to get a feel for your expertise in other things other than shooting arrows, throwing things, and beating the crap out of people.”

  Brynhildr laughed. “I assure you, I’m good at other activities. I’ll call you in a couple of days, to see if you have changed your mind.”

  “I don’t think so, Miss Jorgensen. I know what I want and need.” He stuck his hand out. She took it in a very firm grip, shook it.

  “Pardon me Sir, but I must catch up to my fellows. I will call you.” With that, Brynhildr turned and walked quickly to catch up with the other “Norskies”.

  Miller watched her leave. “Yes, I think this may be a very fruitful relationship,” he said to himself. He then turned back to the task at hand, a huge crime scene.

  The Commissioner walked over to where Emily and Torbin were sitting, conversing as they kept an eye on the two wounded agents. Emily seemed to be showing something to Torbin.

  “So, what do we have here, Doctor?”

  The vet looked up at him. “Good, I was about ready to come looking for you.”

  “This,” she began as she held
up an object about the size and shape of a D cell battery. “Is what seems to be used to control all of these genetic monstrosities. I took this one from the brain of that crazy weasel creature I shot. Luckily, I missed this little gem. A bit of twisting and prying and viola, here it is.” Emily pointed to the end that had been inserted into the super weasel.

  “See how there looks to be multiple tiny contact points, as if you were plugging in a cell phone to a charger? Inside the creature are some miniature circuits and wires that infest the motor and decision portions of the brain. Not a lot, just enough so this, when activated, provides stimulus to the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and related areas. I’ll have to do a complete autopsies on examples of all these beasts to figure out the exact wiring, stimulus points. But I think it is safe to say that the areas of aggression and movement are connected. They probably received a little bit of conditioning so they knew to attack strange humans and specified targets, not the other beasts and creatures.”

  The Commissioner shook his head. “Well, I guess I will have to find some refrigeration units to preserve all these monsters for further examination. Torbin, does the military have access also to some people that can help with the autopsies? I can’t see the good doctor doing it all herself. And my forensic people are definitely not experts in animal physiology.”

  “If you call General Reed directly, and explain what you have, I think he’ll help you find some of the right people somewhere in the U.S.A. All of these…things are potential weapons on a large scale. The thought of even one other location like this place scares the hell out of me.”

  “Commissioner,” Emily asked. “What is in the other trailer?”

  He sighed. “It looks like some type of mobile lab. We put a spy camera through the wall to make sure there was nothing alive, moving in there. We didn’t find anything, so we popped it open. They are going over it with a fine tooth comb. The first thing we found appears to be a Tschaaa organic growth vat, like the ones in which they grow their grays. It might also be similar to the ones Colonel Bardun saw on Platform One.”

  Emily involuntarily shivered. Everyone had been told the story of what the Tschaaa and some sick humans were trying to grow in space. “Did you find…?”

  “No, Doctor, no fetuses or babies growing in there. But it looked like some type of canine body was in a very early state. I hope you and some geneticists can help us figure out things like this.”

  “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to do some more coordination. I’ll give the General a call, see if I can keep the response team here for a while to help with security.”

  “Did you find the fighting pits?” Torbin asked.

  Miller grunted. “Yes. Those…assholes—pardon my French, Doctor—have a good sized arena built directly under the former stable business office. It is all wired for sound and video, with a few “box seats” for special VIPs to watch the festivities live.”

  He paused for a minute, seemed hesitant to continue. Torbin had seen the look he had on his face before.

  “Something worse than what we have seen so far?”

  Miller directed his gaze to Emily.

  “Go ahead, Commissioner. I’ve been around the block a few times. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I can’t handle bad news.”

  “Well,” Miller began. “A quick cursory examination of some of the tapes and DVD show that in addition to dog fights, creature fights, they also used…people. Especially young girls. Some were used in catfights, others were pitted against animals, the monsters.” He looked away and spit.

  “I’m going to have to eventually bring in some cadaver dogs in to search this whole compound, as I think there are some human bodies, or at least bones, buried here. I think some missing persons cases will be cleared up. No matter if we only recover one set of remains, based on what we know now, all twelve of the prisoners are facing a firing squad.”

  Shooting was now the official method for the death penalty. Quick, easy, no gallows to be constructed, no gas chambers, electric chairs, or lethal chemicals needed.

  “So you’ll have to interview the five little girls about what they…saw,” Emily said.

  “Yep. As much as I do not want to make them live through it, I’ll have to.”

  Paul Miller paused.“Sometimes, being in charge really sucks.” He excused himself and went to make more arrangements.

  Torbin addressed Emily. “So, when are you going to tell me how you came to be here?”

  The vet smiled. “The same as you, Torbin Bender, warrior extraordinaire. I was snooping around, trying to collect some info as I thought the powers that be were moving too slowly. I was wrong. Ran smack dab into the Commissioner. I told him he would have to waste a couple of his men to sit on me, or he could let me go in with him. After all, a trained veterinarian would be a help with any fighting dogs they found. But instead we found a bunch of creatures that only a mother could love.”

  Torbin laughed. “And I thought I was nuts for wanting some payback. You risked your life to help some fighting dogs.”

  Emily shrugged. “That is what I do. I help animals—especially dogs, cats, and horses. Someone has to do the heavy lifting.”

  She motioned toward the prisoners. “My friend Baker is over there. I knew he was up to no good for a while. But I never thought he would be involved with young girls…”

  “Well, Abigail knew him from the little incident she had in your office. Plus, the brawl we had with his buddies at Oktoberfest, from which he ran. But the worst of it was his brother is Lieutenant Baker, who saved my ass in Wyoming.” Torbin explained to Emily how he had come to this place, about the older Baker’s involvement with the attempt on Aleks’ life with the Eater, and about how much he knew what was going on inside the compound. “He knew about all the beasts, so he must have known about the youngsters. I think we have a community of really sick puppies here.”

  At that time the ambulances arrived for the wounded and injured, including the Krakens. The medics and EMTs went straight to the injured agents, eliciting cries of complaints from the Krakens and their partners in crime. In one quick motion, Emily walked toward the prisoners. Torbin saw her move and started following, wondering what she was thinking.

  Emily had the cattle prod she had brought with her in her right hand as she approached Baker. “Hey, Baker. Got yourself in over your head, didn’t you,” the vet stated.

  The skinny man, looking much the worse for wear, glared at her. “Go fuck yourself, bitch. Always thinking you’re better than everyone else. But you’re just a stuck up…” The rest of the insult was quickly cut off by volts of electricity coursing through his crotch area. Emily had jammed her cattle prod onto his inner thigh and hit the on button. Baker started to shake and twitch as some eight thousand volts coursed thru his lower body.

  “Emily. Stop that!” Torbin’s loud admonition made her jerk it back. The Marine grabbed the doctor and walked her back into the stable, away from the prisoners. The twelve miscreants suddenly became very quiet. The realization that they were at complete mercy of someone else, a mercy that could be removed, made them shut up. Now they were someone’s little bitch, rather than the other way around.

  Emily began to shake in Torbin’s grasp. Then, she was hugging him, holding tight. “What they did to those little girls…and to not even feel guilty. I am so goddamned mad.” She began to cry. Torbin held her in the hug, gently rubbing her back. He knew she needed the release of a good cry. So, he did what any good man did when a woman began to sob. He became a silent source of strength, letting her know he was not going anywhere, that it was okay to cry.

  After a few minutes she stopped, still hanging on. Then, she untangled herself from him. She wiped her eyes with her hands until Torbin magically produced a handkerchief form some hidden pocket. She used it to finish wiping her face, blowing her nose. She smiled sheepishly at him. “So much for the tough old veterinarian, used to seeing death in all of its forms. Sometimes even dealing it to put some poor
animal down. I’m mad about what they did to the animals here. But what they did to young girls, using animals in sick perverse ways….I want to castrate them all with a dull scalpel and no anesthesia.”

  “I’d hold them down for you, Emily, if I could. But, well, we have to let the law take its course. I almost screwed this up for the Commissioner. If I had come a day earlier, they may have been tipped off, and started destroying evidence. And witnesses.”

  “You mean there is a limit to what a Marine can do?”

  He sighed heavily. “Yes. I would have been dead meat after ten minutes and those monster-dogs got wind of me. One man, even a Marine—God forbid anyone of the old corps hear me say this—would be dog food.”

  Emily kissed him on the cheek. “Yeah, I almost did the same thing. Blinded by the thirst for revenge. I guess someone upstairs had the angels working overtime saving us.”

  She started to give the handkerchief back to Torbin. “Keep it. I have lots of spares. I have a very pregnant wife at home with trolls in her stomach. She has mood swings that are like the onslaught of hurricane season.”

  Emily looked at Torbin, her face a serious mask. “You really love her, don’t you?”

  “She’s my life. Her and the two boys in her belly. That’s why I came here. To make sure no one tried that shit with the Eaters ever again.”

  Emily found herself once again a bit jealous of Aleks. Why couldn’t there be more eligible men like Torbin around? The universe was inherently unfair.

  Commissioner Miller returned at that moment. “Major, time for you to he. The General contacted me, said he wanted to see you, Ichiro, and Rolf Knudsen in uniform at 0900. Something about military members going off on half-baked operations without a certain General knowing about it.”

  Torbin shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I guess he could throw me in the brig. Might be a vacation for me, no wife to threaten to kick my ass.”

  Miller laughed. “Be glad you have a wife, Major, and soon kids. It starts to get lonely at the top, without companionship.”