by J. G. Martin
“That’s it?” She asked, surprised at the simplicity.
“That’s it.”
“What about the boats?”
“Don’t worry about them. I don’t think the scientists are here because the security is too light, so I’m not worried about anyone escaping. We need to make a statement to get the Cartel’s attention and then we can negotiate with them. A survivor will exaggerate our attack and make it seem even more impressive and scary than it was, which will improve our negotiating position.”
Rora nodded. “That makes sense.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo…” Derek assured her.
They snuck along the path that Derek had cleared and stashed their packs just outside the fence. Before they separated Derek warned her to remove the night vision goggles when she heard the explosion. He removed his goggles, then cut the fence and slipped inside as she made her way to her position. He climbed up a dead tree and waited for the guard to come by. When the man was underneath him, Derek dropped silently on top of him and swiftly slit his throat. Moving quickly he made his way to the corner of the building. Unfortunately the spider suit had been confiscated by the NASA tech geeks. They had never seen anything like it and had been eager to tear it apart so they could replicate it. They had promised him they would replace it, but he wasn’t holding his breath.
In the meantime, he would have to climb up the building the old fashioned way; by using the drain spout. Fortunately, with his enhanced strength and agility, this wasn’t much of a challenge. He quickly ascended to the top of the pipe and waited for the sentry on the roof to walk past his position. As soon as the man had passed, Derek swung onto the roof and came up slowly behind the oblivious sentry. A swift stroke of the knife silenced the guard forever. He lowered the body to the roof and wiped his knife on the man’s pants. The guards all seemed dressed the same in olive drab fatigues and floppy hat.
Thinking that even a simple disguise might buy him a few precious seconds, Derek replaced his jacket with the guard’s and placed the floppy hat on his head. Then he calmly and casually opened the rooftop door and walked down the stairs. A guard at the bottom turned to address him and in the time it took for the man to realize that Derek was not a guard, Derek had closed the distance and stabbed him in the throat. The guard died with a slow gurgle that couldn’t be heard above the generators running down below.
The Cartel had remodeled extensively. The interior of the building had been more or less gutted and the second floor removed. Only the original stairwells still stood. A catwalk extended from them around along the walls where the second floor had been. Another guard walked along the other side looking down onto the floor below where the drug processing was taking place. Naked men and women wearing only breathing masks worked with the toxic chemicals as they cut and packaged the drugs. Derek wasn’t sure what they were making and didn’t care. Drugs were a bane on humanity’s existence and only caused suffering. But the Collapse and the Aftermath had only increased the population’s desire for something to help them forget their pathetic lives.
Destroying this drug plant would be a bonus to the mission. It was time to get the action started. He shot the guard on the other side before the man even realized his partner was missing. The workers didn’t seem to realize what was going on at first. Derek assumed exposure to the chemicals had damaged their brains. So he started shooting around them to panic them. That had the desired effect and they fled the building screaming in terror.
As the workers fled, more guards entered from outside and he exchanged fire with them. They were all armed with variants of the Heckler & Koch G3 assault rifle that had been popular in Central and South America. Men started to flood inside and the volume of fire forced him to take cover in the stairwell to the roof. The metal walkway rang and the walls sprayed plaster from the impacts of the heavy hail of bullets.
Thinking they had him cornered, he could hear some of guards running up the stairs from the first floor. Retrieving a block of C-4 with a timer attached from a pouch on his vest, Derek hurled the device down onto the first floor. He aimed for where he remembered the chemicals being stored. Then he turned and rushed for the roof. The blast from the plastic explosives rocked the building, but the firebomb that resulted from the highly flammable processing chemicals chased him out onto the roof. The explosion blew out the windows and killed all the guards inside. Those outside were knocked down by the blast wave.
Derek heard the distinctive fire of an M4 and knew that Rora was firing onto the remaining guards. He rushed to the edge of the roof and joined in. Unable to find cover amongst the now flaming pallets and barrels the guards were easy targets for them. The men stood out against the flaming backdrop and were trapped between Rora and Derek with nowhere to run. With only a brief pause to reload, the duo mercilessly gunned down the facility’s remaining guards. When the last man fell, they both stopped shooting and an eerie silence fell.
Beneath him, Derek could feel the concrete structure heating up from the fire inside. He clambered back down the drain pipe and approached the bodies in the parking lot. He walked among them and finished off any survivors with a gunshot to the head. Rule #3. The building was fully engulfed behind him and he didn’t think there were any survivors inside to so he called Rora to join him. She materialized slowly from the darkness and made her way to join him.
“Did we get them all?” She asked.
“I think so. I’ll go check out the marina. Start stripping them of any ammo and small things we can carry. We need to travel light.” He said as he gestured to the dead guards.
“Got it.” She acknowledged and started searching the bodies.
He made a quick sweep of the area and then approached the marina building. Kicking open the door he rushed in with his gun out. Nothing but silence greeted him as he explored the interior of the dimly lit building. It had once housed a small store but all the coolers and shelves were empty. It looked like they had only been using the offices in back. They were also empty except for some beat up furniture and a radio set up. Derek had noticed the tower antenna outside. He looked out the window and noticed that one of the boats was gone, probably taken by the workers. Hopefully they escaped instead of heading back to the Cartel, although unarmed and untrained it might be safer for them with the Cartel instead of heading into the wasteland.
The silence was broken by a chime in his ear startling him. He had forgotten about the earpiece and The Voice. Now was not the best time and he really didn’t want to explain what he was doing. But the chime sounded again and again insistently and Derek finally took the call.
“Major. Where have you been? I lost your signal outside NASA for a while and then it suddenly reappeared a few hours ago heading south. But you didn’t contact me.” The Voice asked in an annoyed tone.
That was interesting. NASA had some sort of jamming device that blocked an encrypted satellite phone from working. They seemed more advanced and better equipped than everyone except the Collective. And it didn’t seem like there was too much of a gap there either.
“I’ve been a little busy.” Derek answered shortly.
“Bringing me the device?”
“Not just yet. I still have a few things to take care of first.”
“Major! I don’t think you understand the urgency of delivering the device. Every minute you hold it the possibility someone else will take it from you increases. I need the device now.” The voice said in an angry tone.
“That’s not my fault. I tried to hand it off to your man in Jacksonville, but that didn’t work out did it?”
“Fair enough. I have found a safe place for you to deliver it. Bring the device to Mount Rushmore. I will have someone meet you there with your payment. Once I have the device we will issue your pardon.” The Voice explained, suddenly calm.
“I don’t think so. I’m going to finish this task and then I’ll think about delivering the device to you.” Derek informed him.
“Major…if you don�
��t deliver the device to me soon, you will regret it.” The Voice informed him in a cold and dangerous tone.
“Are you threatening me?” Derek asked, almost incredulous.
“No Major, but I have helped you stay alive and you owe me. I make a much better friend than an enemy. We had a deal. Don’t cross me on this.” The voice explained in the same cold and serious tone.
“You’re right, we did have a deal. And I will still deliver the device to you. Once I am done getting Rora into NASA. Help me out and it will go much quicker. Then I can get you the device.”
“Fine. I will help you, but don’t waste my time.” The Voice agreed reluctantly.
“I’m not. I still want the payment, but I made a promise I need to keep.” Derek explained.
“Very well. What can I do to help?”
“Any way you can check to see if I have a tracker on me?” Derek asked.
“Run the phone over your body. I should be able to hear a slight interference if you have a tracker implanted in you.” The Voice informed him.
Derek did as he was told. “Anything?” He asked.
“You have something in your right shoulder and between your toes.” The Voice told him.
“Clever.” Derek said. “They used more than one. They must have assumed I would find one and assume that was it.”
“How else can I be of service?” The Voice asked with a slight hint of sarcasm.
“What frequency can I reach the Cartel bosses on?”
Chapter 12
June 19, 2029
Flamingo Marina, Everglades National Park
As the sun rose over the water a very large luxury speedboat pulled into the marina with a throaty roar. The heavily armed gunmen on deck kept their M4 carbines aimed at Derek as they coasted to a stop. Unlike the other boats, this one had light armor on the bow and a heavy machine gun nest welded on top. The Cartel had converted it into a floating technical. The gunmen were all dressed in camouflage BDUs with body armor and black sunglasses.
While he had waited, Derek had dug out both of the trackers. They had been simple to find once he knew where he was looking. Both were very small, but powerful tracking devices. Still, they had a limited range; so the NASA boys wouldn’t know he had removed them until later. While he had expected something like that, Derek didn’t like the invasion of his body and privacy. He would take that up with them later.
The gunmen from the boat swarmed onto the dock and took up positions guarding the boat and covering Derek. Their technical precision and professionalism indicated they were ex-military and probably members of the Alphas, the Cartel’s elite combat unit. This was quite a bit more than he had been expecting when the Cartel radio operator had agreed to send someone to negotiate. A large well-dressed, middle-aged Hispanic man in white linen pants, a colorful cotton shirt, and covered in gold jewelry exited the boat and addressed him.
“If you wanted to talk Derek, all you had to do was call me.” The man declared in a rich, deep voice with only a slight accent.
Derek was stunned. “Mario?”
“That’s right mi hermano. In the flesh. Although a little more of it I am afraid.” The man responded with a chuckle. “You don’t seem to have aged one bit. A bit more grizzled and scarred, but you are in remarkably good shape. Especially for a dead man.”
“What are you doing here?” Derek asked, confused. Mario Sandoval had been one of his officers in the special forces unit prior to the Collapse. He had not been on the mission that had killed most of Derek’s team and put him in the hospital, but they had been in many firefights together. The large Cuban-American had been a good soldier and a good man. They had lost touch during the Collapse.
“I am the head of security for Don Quinones, the Cartel chief for Miami. When the world fell apart I returned home to take care of my family. The Cartel was the only group with food and medical supplies so I offered my services in exchange for help. My skills proved very marketable and I was able to rise up the ranks. Now I live a more comfortable life and I don’t have to get my hands dirty. But when I heard your voice I decided to come take care of this myself.” Mario explained.
“I suppose I can’t fault you for switching sides.” Derek reluctantly agreed.
“Switching sides? Where was the government when we needed them? They left my side…But we are not here to debate politics. You destroyed one of my processing facilities and you are threatening to destroy more if we don’t return the scientists. Yes?” Mario asked.
“That’s right. Give me back the scientists and we will leave your territory and never bother you again.”
“You’re working for NASA now?”
“Just on a temporary basis as a favor to a friend.”
Mario laughed. “While I know you are a very capable soldier, you cannot kill all of my men in a straight up fight. Why shouldn’t I just kill you now?”
“Because I have a team out there covering you right now. If you start shooting they will wipe you out.”
“And if I don’t believe you?” Mario asked almost jovially.
“Look at your chest.” Derek pointed out.
Mario looked down and saw the laser dot on his chest. He smiled broadly without any sign of nervousness. “Okay, how about a counter offer?”
“I’m listening.”
“Since we are old friends, and you may have saved my life a time or two, I will make you a deal. If you do me a favor, I will return the scientists to you and let you go.” Mario offered.
“What’s the favor?” Derek asked cautiously.
“I need you to blow up a processing facility.” Mario stated simply.
“I just did that. You want me to destroy another one?”
“Not one of ours. One of the Order’s.” Mario explained. “They are the largest crystal meth producers in the Americas besides us. Lately they have increased the volume of product and lowered their prices. They are starting to cut into our business and we want that stopped. But, we cannot go into their territory since we would have to cross U.S.T.G. waters to do it. I think it a fair compensation for the destruction you just caused.”
“What’s the catch?” Derek asked suspiciously. “Why don’t you hire some merks or infiltrate some of your guys by land?”
“The Order has been growing much larger and more powerful. They have been recruiting whites from all over old U.S. to join them. No merks want to cross them and my guys would stand out for obvious reasons. You can get in posing as a possible recruit and then sabotage their plant. This is right in your wheelhouse, as evidenced by this.” Mario pointed out as he gestured to the smoking ruins of the former visitor center.
“How do I know if I do this, you will honor your end of the bargain?” Derek inquired.
“I’m a little insulted given our history, but I do work for the Cartel. So I’m willing to swear a blood oath with you.” Mario promised, drawing a sharp knife from his belt sheath.
Derek had no choice but to agree. He cut his own hand and shook hands with Mario. It might be a deal with the devil, but he knew that Mario took the oath pretty seriously. He and Rora would go take out this other drug processing facility and hopefully Mario would hand over the scientists. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t enjoy sticking it to those Neo-Nazi bastards.
“How do we get there?” Derek inquired.
Mario handed him a piece of paper. “The coordinates are there. You and the girl can take one of these boats.”
“How did you know about the girl?”
“Do you think I trust these pendejos enough not to monitor them?” Mario asked rhetorically as he gestured to what appeared to be a hidden camera.
Derek laughed. “I should have known. So you knew all the time it was just me and the girl?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have risked being ambushed by a squad of merks.” He said arrogantly.
“Aren’t you worried she is an excellent shot?”
“What, that little girl?” Mario said dismissively.
&nb
sp; “You’d be surprised at what she is capable of. Besides she has had an excellent teacher.” Derek told him jokingly.
Mario laughed again. “You got me there mi hermano. But your sense of honor wouldn’t allow you to just kill me in cold blood, and then you wouldn’t get the scientists back. I thought I would take the chance. Besides, it feels good to get back out into the mix again.”
“I know what you mean.” Derek agreed with a grin. “How do I contact you when it is done?”
“I will know. Once it is done I will bring the scientists here and you can take them. Vaya con dios, mi hermano.”
With that Mario turned and climbed back onto the boat. His guards followed but maintained a careful watch on Derek the entire time. Mario waved flippantly as the boat pulled away from the dock and then roared back out into the bay. Rora joined Derek on the dock once the Cartel boat had vanished from sight.
“So how did it go?” She asked. “You’re not dead, so that’s something.”
Derek sighed. “True, but we have to go do a favor for the Cartel to get the scientists back.”
“What favor?” She asked sourly.
“We need to go pay a visit to our shaven-headed friends, the Order, and destroy one of their drug processing plants. Then we can have the scientists.”
“Those were the guys that tried to attack me at the bar?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not too broken up about hurting them.”
“Well…it’s not that simple. We have to pose as recruits to get in.”
Rora’s look of disgust only mirrored his feelings on the subject. Pretending to be a racist thug wasn’t exactly on his list of things to do. But they needed to get those scientists back so NASA would accept Rora. So they would just have to suck it up and play along. At least at the end they got to blow something up.
Chapter 13
June 18, 2029
Louisiana Coast, Gulf of Mexico
