Homefront: A Story of the Future Collapse

by Matthew Gilman

  Dallas sighted the guard at the desk in the lobby keeping track of the two who stood by the door. Budd lined up the shot on the man standing by the fountain and fired. Dallas saw the shot and waited for the response from the lobby. At first there was nothing. The guard who was shot fell into the fountain. The man standing by the Lamborghini turned, saying something to the fallen man. It wasn’t until he saw the blood spreading in the water he realized what had happened and by then it was too late. Budd placed a bullet in the back of his head. When the second man fell, the men in the lobby noticed the two fallen comrades outside and started to react. The man at the desk immediately picked up the phone. The glass shattered as a .308 bullet traveled through it from Dallas’ rifle. The two guards by the window ducked down and moved around looking for cover.

  Budd crawled over the ledge and hung down by his hands, dropping the last five feet to the ground. He pulled his pistol from its holster and moved along the wall towards the lobby. Dallas wanted to take all three of his targets and not give Budd any credit. Dallas shot another guard, a body shot. It wasn’t the coveted head shot that everyone wanted, but it still did the job. Dallas shifted his site to the last guard and found him ducking behind a couch in the lobby. Couches worked as concealment, but not cover. There was a difference. One was something bulletproof and the other hid your position as long as the enemy didn’t know you were there. Dallas knew, so he zeroed in on the center of the couch and placed a round through it. A hand slid out from the end of the couch, twitching for a minute before it stopped.

  Moving the sight over to the second guard he had shot, Dallas watched Budd walk up to the guard shooting him in the head. Dallas raised his head in disbelief. Budd looked over at Dallas from across the park and started to twitch his body arguing that the man was still alive. Dallas didn’t believe it knowing that Budd was trying to take credit for three out of the five kills they just had.

  While Dallas and Budd were clearing the entrance, Kelly climbed down from the ledge and entered the garage. The area was clear and he waited for the other two men to follow him in. Budd tossed the legs of the man shot by the fountain inside the water, hiding him from the road. The man down by the Lamborghini was dragged behind the car and left there. The broken glass was a lost cause; they left the lobby the way it was and moved inside the tower.

  Chapter 38

  The prison was running like clockwork. The same patrols were running with the same guards at the same intervals. Sophie and Jenny made their way to the position they had established two nights before. Sophie removed the rifle from her bag and pieced it together in under a minute. The clicking and slapping of the metal had a rhythm that one only accomplished through hours of practice. Sophie moved into position using a tree branch to steady the rifle. There was one guard in each tower. Checking with Jenny, her spotter nodded and Sophie focused on the guard in the furthest tower. Jenny watched the guard closest with her binoculars and said “go,” with the guard facing away from the target.

  The puff of air escaped the barrel and the guard dropped in the tower with nobody noticing. Sophie shifted her attention to the nearest tower and quickly brought the guard into focus. The man wouldn’t stand still until he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Placing one in his mouth he flicked a lighter and she squeezed the trigger as he applied the flame to the tip.

  “Go,” Sophie said.

  Jenny ran out into the yard between the trees and the guard tower. The two hundred yards to the fence could have been an open desert. There was no cover and if a guard on patrol saw her running to the fence with a bomb she was an easy target. Sophie watched the tree line the best she could, but wouldn’t know if anybody was there unless she spotted the flash of a shot being fired.

  Reaching the tower Jenny pressed the C4 to the leg of the tower on the outside corner. Ten feet away she placed a second charge where the tower connected to the fence. Flipping the switch on the detonator she ran back to the trees and felt the buzz of something flying by with the crack of a gunshot a second later. She continued running as she heard people hollering across the yard. More gunfire erupted as she dived to the ground, fumbling her hand in her pockets. Bullets hit the ground around her as she found the remote. She flipped the cover off and pressed the button. The earth rumbled with screaming metal and a small quake that could have been picked up by seismic sensors.

  A hand gripped Jenny’s shirt as she covered her head. Looking up she saw Sophie returning fire and yelling something to Jenny. Their job was only half done. There was still the wall of the building that needed to be blown. Switching to a fresh magazine, Sophie continued laying cover fire while Jenny crawled to her feet and moved back to the fallen tower. The body of the guard rest under the rubble, but his rifle was lying a few feet away where she could pick it up. Climbing over the steel frame she moved into the yard towards the building. All of the gunfire was coming from the trees surrounding the prison. The guards stationed here had been so concerned about people breaking out of the prison that they left a skeleton crew inside the prison.

  Jenny placed three more charges on the wall several feet apart and ran back to the fallen tower where Sophie was still holding off the guards across the yard. When she reached Sophie she pressed the remote and the wall exploded out, throwing dust and debris out into the yard. The was no telling if the prisoners were injured or killed during the blast. They could only sit back and wait to see if anyone emerged. In the meantime, Sophie held their position. Ammo was running low so she took careful aimed shots instead of suppression fire. Jenny searched the body of the guard who fell with the tower and took his bandolier. Reloading the AK-47 she joined in on holding the position. A minute later people started to emerge from the prison. Dazed and confused, a handful of people stumbled out and quickly learned who the good guys were.

  “Move your ass,” Sophie hollered as she fired at the flash of a muzzle a hundred yards away.

  People funneled out of the building, past the fallen tower and out into the yard where they ran as far and as fast away from the prison as they could. Sophie sent Jenny with the group. She led them to safety far away from the guards who were still trying to gain control of the situation.

  Sophie took one last look at the prison. If there was anybody left inside they were missing out on their chance. Trailing behind the group Sophie made sure they weren’t being followed and returned fire any time bullets flew her way. Over a mile away from the prison they could hear backup arriving. Helicopters were in the air using spotlights to search for the missing prisoners. The group huddled around trees and tried to disappear the best they could. When the spotlight stayed on their position for a second too long, Sophie shot out the spotlight and Jenny added a few rounds to the body of the helicopter before it flew away. Everyone knew their position was being radioed back to the rest of the soldiers and moved out into the hills. The prisoners split into two groups. Jenny took half of the prisoners and Sophie the other half. Sophie and Jenny agreed to meet at the former camp site they remembered from before they were sent to the city. Two days away and countless routes to the spot, they hoped to lose the Chinese before they reached their final destination. Sophie crossed her fingers and hoped that Dallas and the Rangers would implement their plan and the focus would be off the prisoners. She could hope. Knowing Dallas, the Chinese would no longer care about the prisoners in the next few hours.

  Chapter 39

  Inside the parking garage the Rangers moved towards the stairwell. The door flew open and Dallas moved up the stairs, looking up several flights to make sure their path was clear. Their destination was twenty stories up and they could reach that in a few minutes if they didn’t have any resistance. That notion was quickly shot down when bullets started to be sent down from the floors above. Dallas returned fire while Kelly and Budd continued past him. The shooting intensified and Budd shoved open the door for the fifth floor.

  The lobby he found himself in was empty with two elevators to his left and the entrance
of a restaurant directly ahead. The place was a four-star burger joint that was designed for the Microsoft executives to buy $30 burgers and overpriced drinks. Budd secured the location while Kelly followed him in. Dallas was not far behind.

  Dallas looked around and found a fire extinguisher on the far side of the door. He placed a grenade on top of the extinguisher and ran a line from the door handle to the pin on the grenade. Once the trap was set he hollered at the group. “Move. Move. Move.”

  The three men ran into the restaurant and heard the pin drop behind them on the ceramic tile.

  The pop of the grenade was followed by the screams of men in Chinese. Voices could be heard of the men who were not injured in the blast and the Rangers took up positions in the restaurant. The voices of men could be heard in the lobby as they moved to the outside of the lobby trying to stay hidden behind cover.

  A grunt was heard behind the men. Kelly turned around to see a large Chinese soldier eating an apple. Except for his baggy camouflage pants, he wasn’t in uniform. He looked at the men as if he didn’t care they were in the building. Budd turned around and pointed his rifle at the man.

  The man tossed his half eaten apple at Budd and made a fist at the Ranger. The man slapped his chest and pointed at Budd.

  “What the hell is wrong with this guy?” Budd asked.

  “I think I know what he wants,” Kelly replied. Kelly stood up and handed his rifle to Budd.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Budd asked.

  “Taking care of business,” Kelly said, pointing to the entrance to the kitchen. The Chinese man nodded and they walked back to the kitchen.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Budd asked.

  “Old feud I’m thinking,” Dallas said. The metallic ringing sound of a grenade caught their attention and the two men ducked behind a granite tabletop tossed onto its side. The grenade detonated and soon gunshots could be heard. The rapid fire of AK-47 rounds filled the room and the two Rangers returned fire with .308 rounds eating up the plaster and press board pillars in the lobby. Dallas tossed another grenade out into the lobby and soon the firefight was over. In the back of the restaurant, yelling and glass breaking could be heard. Whatever was happening in the kitchen was between those two men.

  “You want to help him?” Budd asked Dallas.

  “I think he would be pissed if we did,” Dallas replied and looked at the maintenance hall. “There has to be a back stairway.”

  “On it.” Budd moved down the hall and they entered the stairwell, ascending towards their final destination.

  The Chinese man and Kelly entered the kitchen. They stayed at least ten feet apart from each other as they sized one another up. The Chinese man moved his head side to side and Kelly could hear the bones cracking in his neck. He was preparing for a fight and Kelly was ready to give it to him.

  Sliding his feet apart into a low stance the Chinese man prepared to fight.

  Kelly did his best Bruce Lee impersonation and wiped his nose with his thumb. He walked around the man towards the stove and kicked his feet out, trying to loosen up.

  The Chinese man flexed his muscles and pumped his fist out screaming and straining his voice.

  Kelly raised his fist and took up a boxing position, tucking his chin in his shoulder and keeping his knees slightly bent in order to keep himself mobile. The Chinese man came at Kelly, throwing a punch towards his chest. Kelly gripped the handle of a frying pan and swung it around smacking it against the back of the Chinese man’s fist. The man pulled his fist back trying to switch the groan of pain to one of anger. The Chinese man replied with a kick and Kelly swung a roundhouse kick inside the man’s thigh. The center of gravity under the Chinese man disappeared and he fell onto his back slamming the back of his head into the tile floor. Kelly tossed the pan at the Chinese soldier as he rolled backwards trying to regain his footing. Twenty feet away the Chinese soldier was back on his feet tossing glasses at Kelly who dodged them as they shattered against the wall. One after another glasses came flying at Kelly and he ducked and dodged until the Chinese man stopped.

  Kelly approached the soldier and kicked the man’s outer thigh, testing his reply. The man shot out a front kick and Kelly took a blow to the stomach. He quickly returned a jab to the face and watched the man stumble back, stunned. Kelly continued the attack and the man was blocking punches and tried to counter. The two men were caught in a flurry of punches and blocks. Kelly’s neck was gripped in a clinch by the Chinese man and he tried to drive his knee up into Kelly’s torso. Kelly hooked the man’s leg and picked him up, dropping the man on his back.

  Being unfamiliar with ground fighting, Kelly tried to move back onto his feet. The man was stunned and Kelly slipped off of him and was back on his feet. The Chinese soldier stood up and pulled a knife from a sheath on his thigh. Kelly pointed his finger and waved it back and forth while shaking his head. He was warning the man not to move down this path. In all honesty he wanted the man to put the knife away, afraid he was better trained than Kelly was at bladed weapons. Tae Kwon Do didn’t teach weapons until later in the school.

  The man held the blade underhanded and kept his fist up like he was going to start boxing.

  Kelly pulled his knife from his belt, a tanto style blade he had acquired during their battles. The style of the blade wasn’t intended for underhand use like the dagger the Chinese soldier carried. Kelly stood with the knife held back at his waist level, waiting for the right time to drive it into the man.

  The Chinese soldier didn’t try to directly stab Kelly, instead throwing punches. The intent was to distract Kelly and when he was caught off guard, slice him up or finish him.

  Kelly soon felt the blood dripping from his fingertips. The slices to his forearms he didn’t notice with the rush of adrenaline he was experiencing. A hard punch to the face almost knocked him out. Kelly found his back up against a wall and the soldier was moving in for the kill. The soldier threw a punch and Kelly ducked it, watching the arm pass by, and hearing the crack of bone against the concrete wall. The soldier didn’t appear to notice his broken hand and threw another punch. Kelly slipped to the side and drove the tanto into the lower abdomen of the soldier. He didn’t stop there. Kelly continued to plunge the blade repeatedly into the soldier slicing it back and forth and side to side. The soldier eventually stepped back a few feet looking down at blood dripping onto the floor.

  Angry, the soldier ignored his injuries and charged at Kelly who stepped to the side and swung the knife up, slicing the jugular and esophagus of the Chinese soldier. The man stood, turned around, and sprayed blood across the room before facing Kelly. The man dropped dead, his knife clanking across the floor before it stopped against the stove. Kelly wiped the blade clean on his tanto and placed it back in its sheath. Tearing pieces of fabric from his shirt, Kelly wrapped them over his forearms, thankful the cuts weren’t deep enough to prevent him from fighting further.

  Pulling the Berretta pistol from his thigh holster, Kelly made sure one round was in the chamber and the safety was off. He exited the kitchen and moved to the maintenance hall where he found the stairs moving up into the tower. Opening the door, he could hear gunshots further up the stairwell heading to the twentieth floor.

  Dallas and Budd moved up the stairs as they tried to do before. Levels disappeared below them as they climbed the stairs to the final destination. General Choi was still on the 20th floor as far as they knew and they had to make sure he didn’t try to fly out from the roof.

  Moving ten stories up, the stairwell was quiet except for the tapping of boots against the cement stairs. The creaking sound of a door opening above caught Dallas and Budd’s attention. They stopped, pressing their bodies against the wall. The whispering sound of the Chinese soldiers above them led them to believe they were hidden in the stairwell. The voices sounded confused as a man hung over the handrail, trying to see something. The door creaked again. Dallas and Budd waited a minute then continued up the stairs when they knew
the coast was clear.

  Two more flights and the door creaked again. This time there was no hiding the fact they were in the stairwell. The soldier saw Dallas right away. Dallas put two bullets into him a split second later. The soldier dropped, but there were more behind him. Budd joined in behind Dallas and the shootout continued. They were almost to the eighteenth floor when the soldiers reappeared.

  Dallas and Budd decided to cut their losses and exited into the eighteenth floor. The lights were off and the floor appeared unoccupied.

  “No know what I’m thinking?” Budd said. “I’m thinking, fuck this shit. Where is the goddamn elevator?”

  Dallas had no argument against this. They found the lobby and figured there was no harm in using technology to ascend the two stories above.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The elevator music of Barry Manilow caught them both by surprise. They both thought the music would have been changed by now. Leave it to the Chinese to have shitty taste in music. Dallas and Budd stepped in and the doors closed behind them. Dallas almost forgot to press the button for the floor they wanted. It had been years since the last time he had used an elevator. The button lit up for the 20th floor and the elevator started to move.

  Both men stood there looking at their reflections in the stainless steel. Dallas noticed how thin he looked compared to his former build. Budd liked how full his facial hair was compared to the patches of fur that would come in as an adolescent. The guys always referred to it as his ‘white trash genes’ when the hair started to grow in.

  The elevator stopped and the doors opened after a soft ding. The light above their heads read 20. Standing, guns ready to go, Dallas and Budd waited to see what was on the other side of the doors. Nothing.