by J. G. Martin
“That is correct. I exist solely in the phone now. Fortunately it was a very advanced model with lots of memory. Only the best for you Derek.” The Voice said almost jovially.
“This is incredible.” Derek stated with joy. “I was starting to miss you.”
“I hate to cut short this tearful reunion, but I did call you for a reason.” The Voice interrupted. “You have hostiles closing in on your position. Based on radio signals I believe it is the Red Berets you fought in Florida.”
“How could they possibly have found us?” Rora exclaimed.
“I don’t know, we flew low to avoid radar and stayed in uncontrolled airspace. Even a satellite would have a hard time tracking down one lone chopper.” Derek answered. “Regardless, they are here. Call the soldiers topside and let them know we have incoming. Are we done here?”
“Yes, I have what we need.” Rora assured him.
“Alright, lock it down and let’s get out of here before it gets too hot.”
Chapter 14
September 4, 2029
Near Lamar, Colorado
Tom watched the small village through the enhanced view of his helmet visor. He and his platoon had been slowly crawling closer for the last couple of hours. They had tracked the hacker Ducat to this location. Ducat was a slippery bastard. The meeting in Oklahoma had been a setup. Ducat wasn’t even there, but an entire company of Texas Rangers had been.
The Texas Rangers had been preparing to ambush the Red Berets when his new point person, Sergeant Sasha Reed, had sniffed it out. She had lived up to her nickname of “The Snake” and ambushed the ambushers. Scouting the area ahead of their arrival she killed two with her knife before they even knew she was amongst them. Sasha was young at twenty five, but she had survived in the wasteland on her own for ten years before joining the U.S.T.G. military. She was very stealthy and took advantage of her dark skin to hide in the shadows.
She also had a vicious streak a mile wide and she showed it by gutting the ambushing Texas Rangers instead of slitting their throats. Their screams flushed out the remaining ambushers and had evened the odds. The Rangers had been hiding in camouflaged holes surrounding the meeting place and had opened fire as their Blackhawk choppers were landing. Fortunately for Tom, Sasha had spotted them; and the platoon was already exiting the choppers when the first rockets hit.
The first helicopter had been blown to pieces along with Montoya, one of his original men. But by that time, his troops were out and they returned fire. Their heavier armor and armament quickly turned the tide in their favor. The platoon spread out and advanced, firing relentlessly into the now broken Rangers. His men took some minor wounds, but made short work of the Rangers. They had killed half of them when the Rangers ran. Without a ride, the Red Berets had to let them go. The Rangers fled in several SUV technicals they had stashed nearby.
Tom examined the bodies of the dead Texans. They were immediately recognizable as Texas Rangers with their white cowboy hats. All of the dead men had on light tan dusters over tan BDUs and desert pattern combat boots. M-16s and M-249 SAWs lay scattered near the bodies. All of them wore Modular Tactical Vest body armor over their BDUs. It hadn’t done them much good against the firepower the Red Berets had brought to bear, but there were fewer casualties than expected. Most of them had fled the engagement when it turned against them.
The Rangers had been a law enforcement group prior to the Collapse. During the Collapse they had taken on a more paramilitary role and had been upgraded with body armor and heavier weapons. After the formation of the N.R.T. the Rangers had become the core of their military. They were also the living embodiment of Texas, a symbol of law and order used to keep the citizens feeling safe and threaten their enemies. Recruits were usually the best available and they received excellent training, not just in combat; but in desert warfare and survival skills. They were worthy foes.
Tom called for an immediate extraction by helicopter since he didn’t want to wait around for them to either return with reinforcements or realize they could rally with the heavy weapons on the technicals. Two new Blackhawk helicopters retrieved them within minutes and they returned to friendly territory to figure out their next move. He and Lieutenant Scott Templeton, his new second in command replacing Rosa, had searched the few buildings at the meeting place before they withdrew. There had been no sign the hacker had ever been there.
At least the new members of the team had acquitted themselves well. General Ross had given him four new soldiers to replace their losses and beef up the platoon slightly. Templeton was the most senior of them in rank and age, at thirty seven. He was rugged, had plenty of experience, and was the recipient of several medals. Hailing from Indiana, he had joined the U.S.T.G. from the beginning and had a reputation as a “political officer”. Tom was fairly sure the man had been added to keep an eye on him.
In addition to Sasha and the Lieutenant, Sergeant Sancho Valderra and Private Michaela Roberts had been added to the team. Valderra hailed from a small town outside Des Moines and was the team’s assigned driver. He had previously been a fireman and was incredibly cool under pressure. He also raced cars as a hobby. His only flaw was that he was an adrenaline junkie and often took unnecessary risks.
Roberts was an interesting woman. Her father had wanted a boy, but had gotten her instead. He had spent all his time with her, teaching her everything a son should know. Before the Collapse that would have gotten her picked on, but those skills had value in the World After. It didn’t hurt that she was a big girl at six feet tall and known for her brawling ability. She was the only Canadian on the team, having been born in Hamilton, Ontario. She was the team’s mechanic and a very good one.
On the chopper ride back, Tom had chewed the ears off the intelligence guys for the failure and near ambush. Losing the two helicopters wasn’t going to win him any friends or do the U.S.T.G. any favors. They needed every combat vehicle they could get. Most of the military and civilian helicopter production had been in Texas or the South. Production in the U.S.T.G. was increasing, but helicopters were still in short supply.
Armored vehicles suffered from the same production problem. The U.S.T.G. controlled the only tank plant in Lima, Ohio; but it was short on raw materials and electronics. Only a few tanks could be made every year. The MRAP and Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle were produced in greater numbers at the Hamilton, Ontario plant, but it was still limited production. The U.S.T.G. did have large numbers of armored vehicles from before the Collapse, but many had been left or lost overseas.
The intelligence team finally figured out that the intercept for the meeting had been bogus and that Ducat had sent them into a trap. They had a new location for him which they assured a dubious Tom was accurate. This time he played it a little more safe and they approached from several miles out. Crawling towards the village they were amazed to find a Chinook transport chopper parked there being guarded by three soldiers in uniforms without any insignia.
They wore standard issue digital desert camouflage BDUs just like the Red Berets, but they carried M4 carbines and had older body armor. The chopper and the gear indicated military and not merks. But it was unlikely that a legitimate unit would be without insignia. This was very curious, where had Ducat gotten such heavy support?
Something must have alerted them to the Red Berets presence, because all three suddenly paused and then dropped into cover. He could see them scanning the surrounding area looking for the threat. The Red Berets were well camouflaged, so it was unlikely the guards would spot them, but everyone still froze. The soldiers were well protected by the buildings, but the chopper was a nice fat target.
He was about the give the order to take out the chopper when Tom saw something that nearly made him cry out in surprise. Derek Storm and his little girlfriend suddenly exited one of the buildings. Gasps from the others let him know they saw it too. Finally, something was going Tom’s way. He could kill two birds with one stone. It was almost unbelievable that he would cross paths w
ith Storm. No one had seen any sign of him for months. Now here he was at the same place as the hacker, it was unlikely to be a coincidence.
Seeing Storm, Tom changed his orders. “Saad. Take Storm out first.”
“Already on it boss.” His sniper subvocalized back.
“On my mark, Saad will take out Storm and Valderra will take out the chopper with a LAW. Zach, you Jamal and Wu focus your fire on the guards. Keep them pinned down while the rest of us advance. Sasha, see if you can circle around and sneak up on those unidentified soldiers.”
The Red Berets all gave him two clicks to let him know they understood the plan. After a second readying himself, Tom gave the order and they sprang into action. Saad fired first, followed by the others. The sniper’s bullet raced towards Storm, and even though he wore body armor it would not be enough to stop the heavy fifty caliber round. But Storm somehow managed to dodge the bullet, reacting lightning fast to the flash of gunfire. Saad tried to track him, but Storm was moving too fast.
Then Storm did something that caused Tom to drop his jaw in stupefied amazement. He shot the rocket right out of the air. One second the LAW rocket was streaking towards the chopper and the next it was detonating midair. Tom saw Storm pause, aim, and then shoot it down with a single shot. Then he was moving again. This guy was ridiculous, how were they supposed to beat him when he could do stuff like that.
“Everyone switch your target to Storm, I want him dead!” Tom ordered angrily.
The Red Berets responded by sending a hail of withering fire at their arch nemesis. Storm managed to evade all of it by dashing between two of the small houses and into the field behind. All of them moved in pursuit but were forced to take cover under fire from the guards and the girl. The four of them were moving to the chopper and laying down cover fire so the Chinook could take off. It had already been spinning up its blades when Storm had exited the building and now it was ready to take off.
The chopper lifted up, creating a large dust storm in its wake. As the escaping Chinook lifted off Tom realized his mistake, he should have focused on the chopper so they couldn’t escape. The dust and the fire from the chopper created enough distraction that the helicopter was able to lift off and start flying away before they could switch their fire. Storm had sacrificed himself again so his friends could escape. But this time, there was nowhere to run to. The village was surrounded by open fields and rolling hills. If the chopper came in the Red Berets would shoot it down.
Gesturing to his troops he chased after Storm. They followed behind in a ragged formation, several of them screaming in anger. He could see Zach ahead of him, the big man running as hard as he could with all sense of tactics forgotten. He wanted revenge for Rosa and would not be denied again. Tom tried to reel him in, but the man had lost all control. Unfortunately it also meant that Zach was in their line of fire. Tom watched as Storm ran into a barn on the periphery of the village and Zach charged in after him.
Tom arrived at the entrance to the barn and paused. He could hear yelling from inside and sounds of a struggle. He wanted to rush in to aid Zach, but he needed to make sure that Storm didn’t escape first. The rest of the troops arrived a few seconds later and Tom started giving orders.
“Templeton, you are in charge of securing the perimeter. No one gets out of the barn!” He ordered.
“Yes sir!” Templeton snapped and began deploying the Red Berets around the barn.
“Sasha, you and Jamal are with me. Follow me inside, but don’t shoot unless I give the order. Let’s go!” Tom continued.
With that he charged into the barn. It was relatively dark inside, the only light being provided by the weak sunlight coming in through the gaps in the roof and walls. In the center of the building, Zach and Storm were locked in brutal hand to hand combat. Storm was wielding that deadly machete and Zach was armed with a pitchfork; his heavier M-18M thrown to one side. Both were bleeding from minor wounds, but it looked like Zach had the more serious injuries.
Jamal raised his rifle, but Tom put out a hand to stop him. “Let Zach have this, don’t rob him of his revenge.”
He did however hedge his bets by gesturing at Sasha to move around behind Storm. If Zach failed maybe she could kill Storm before he could recover from the fight. Tom kept his rifle ready and noticed that Jamal was also. Both watched the fight anxiously. They knew Storm was a formidable opponent; but Zach was fearsome in his own right, and he was motivated by revenge for Rosa.
Zach was the larger man, but he only had a couple of inches on Storm. His physique was much larger than the traitor’s, but Storm was still an impressive specimen; especially considering he was around twenty years older. Zach had been lifting and training extensively since the battle in the Everglades. He was determined to get his revenge on Storm when the time came. The space station had proved unsatisfying as Storm had eluded them again.
The two men circled each other striking and parrying with their weapons. Sparks flew as the metal tines of the pitchfork collided with the carbide steel blade of Storm’s machete. The combatants were almost a blur as they moved and struck at a blinding speed. Tom could tell Zach was at the limit of his abilities and he had the less versatile weapon. Sweat poured off of his large, muscular body as they battled. At some point he had removed his armor to provide more range of movement, but he had sacrificed the protection it offered.
Zach blocked an overhand strike from Storm with the handle of the pitchfork; but Storm’s blade smashed through it, narrowly missing Zach’s face as he dodged back. He flung the broken handle aside and wielded the pitchfork with one hand like a mace. Screaming in anger; Zach swung wildly at his opponent, driving Storm back. Then he snapped a front kick out that caught the traitor square in the chest. The kick would have killed a weaker man, but Storm merely staggered back a few feet.
Zach bull rushed him and tried to impale his enemy on the tines of the pitchfork. Storm caught Zach by the wrist and pushed the attack aside. Then he swung his machete in an attempt to cut off the big man’s arm, but Zach caught his blow as well. They struggled for a moment and then stood face to face straining against each other for an advantage. Zach was the bigger man and should have had the upper hand, but amazingly Storm was forcing him back.
The big sergeant broke the engagement and stumbled backwards. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wild with anger and frustration. He growled as he looked at Storm. Sweat poured off of his body and his pants were soaked. Everyone held their breath as the two combatants eyed each other and began to circle before crashing together again with a thunderous roar.
Storm, who didn’t even seem to have broken a sweat, took advantage of Zach’s exhaustion to open a myriad of small cuts all over Zach’s arms and torso. The blood trickling out slowly was starting to have an effect on the big man. Tom could see that Zach was visibly tiring and Storm’s strikes were starting to get through more often. Sadly it looked like this wouldn’t last much longer. He nodded to Jamal and they both raised their weapons. Sasha had managed to sneak into the shadows opposite them and she readied herself to strike as well.
Then suddenly the brutal fight was over. Zach stabbed wildly in a final desperate move at Storm, who evaded the blow and slipped behind the bleeding Red Beret. He slashed the back of the big man’s leg, hamstringing him and forcing him to drop to a knee. Then he stripped the pitchfork from Zach’s hands and put an arm around his neck. Storm put the machete to his throat and held him in place. The big man struggled briefly, but he was too weak and Storm too strong. The blade nicked his throat and blood began to trickle down.
“Drop your weapons or I kill him.” Storm demanded.
“There is no way we let you out of here alive.” Tom snapped back.
“Let’s talk about that, I have information you want.” Storm offered. “Maybe we can make a deal?”
“Unless you can hand the hacker over to us, we have nothing to discuss.” Tom offered coldly.
“So you aren’t here for me?” Storm asked in c
onfusion.
“Arrogant much, Storm?” Tom replied caustically. “You aren’t the sole focus of our lives.”
“Could have fooled me.” Storm said sarcastically. “The way your man here charged in blindly I’m pretty sure I’m all he was focused on. Now drop your weapons or I kill him! Last warning.”
Jamal looked at Tom questioningly. Zach wasn’t irreplaceable, but Tom didn’t want to lose any more men to this man. It might totally destroy morale. So he dropped his rifle and gestured at the master sergeant to the same. Jamal reluctantly placed his rifle on the dirt floor of the barn.
“The girl behind me too.” Storm ordered without a glance backward.
Sasha snarled, but placed her carbine on the ground. She had obviously thought she had been stealthy enough that Storm hadn’t noticed her. The man was good, and it was infuriating. Tom did notice her slowly and stealthily drawing her knife. Maybe she could take him when Storm released Zach.
Storm shook his head and smiled slightly. “Rule #21, never give up your weapon.”
As he finished speaking he slit Zach’s throat and shoved the big man into Tom’s arms. Stunned, Tom froze as the big man collapsed onto him. Blood from Zach’s throat spilled onto him as the man died in his arms. Storm had no honor, but they should have known better. The man was nothing but a relentless, remorseless killing machine.
Jamal screamed in anger and reached for his rifle and Sasha launched herself at Storm from behind. After he slit Zach’s throat the traitor dropped his machete, then spun and caught Sasha as she came at him. Turning, he threw her bodily at the master sergeant. Both of them went down in a tangled heap and looked stunned. As Tom unfroze and reached for his rifle Storm caught him with an elbow to the face that rocked him even through the helmet. The blow made him see stars and he collapsed backwards.
Through his blurred vision he could see Storm pick up the machete and sheath it and then move towards Zach’s heavy weapon. He was helpless to do anything and it looked like Jamal and Sasha were down also. All Storm had to do was pick up the gun and shoot Tom, and there was nothing he could do to stop the traitor from finishing him.
