I took a sip of the tea and was floored with all the flavors that exploded once it touched my tongue. I was shocked by the flavors and had to take a second to sort some of them out. I tasted peach, blueberries, strawberries, orange, apple, raspberry, lemon, among other flavors I could not identify.
The man smiled at me as if reading my thoughts. “It’s a special blend that I reserve for people I like.”
I took another sip, afraid to gulp it down and lose out on the chance to enjoy it. I cocked my head to the side and thought about the man’s words. I burrowed my brow and looked over at him. “First, I don’t know your name, and second, you just said you only share it with people you like. Do you know me?”
He gave me a gentle smile that reflected the sunlight off his teeth. “Dan, I have known you before you knew you. But we are getting off topic. We need to chat.”
I looked at him with confusion clearly written on my face. I know you want to know what that ‘look’, looks like. Just imagine when you speak baby language to your dog, and he tilts his head at you and his tongue falls out. Yeah except the tongue thing, that was me.
“You keep saying we need to talk, so talk. I’ll sit here and sip this awesome tea and give you my full attention.” I smart-assed.
He was so calm and treated me as if I was a child and he was a parent, suffering my small tantrum. “Dan, please, I have way more tea to share with you. You do not have to sip it. What I brought you here for is to push what Angel has been telling you. The reason you were chosen was your humanity and your inane ability to overcome obstacles. But your humanity may also be your down-fall. We have looked into this coming battle and no matter what you do, people will die. I know others have warned you, but as I watch you, I can see you being apprehensive. You need to make the next leap in leadership. Yes, people who you command will die, it is inevitable. And you must not hesitate to do what it takes, even though you know someone will die. In order for the human race to go on, you need to be the man that everyone relies on. Do not second guess your decisions.” The man stopped talking and looked into the sky for a moment as if seeing something, then brought his gaze back onto me.
I averted my gaze away from the small man and focused on Paradise. I do not know how long I stayed that way, my thoughts rushed through my head and I couldn’t grasp onto a single one. When I did come back, the man sat there patiently, waiting on me. I finished my tea and when I brought the cup down, the glass was full again. I smiled at that.
“Neat trick.” I took another drink.
“It’s all in the wrists.” The man joked and then flicked his right hand out and wham, he was holding an identical glass of tea and took a long drink from it. “It is good tea, that is for sure.”
“First, I still don’t know who you are. Although I may have an idea, and let me say I don’t even want to voice it. Cause if it is true, then I need to see a head shrink when you send me back.”
“Dan, I am whomever you choose me to be,” he offered cryptically with a smile.
“Oh please, don’t go there. I don’t want to imagine it. Secondly, you’re telling me the same thing I have already heard. No matter what decision I make in the coming battle, people will die and it will be my fault. That doesn’t sit well with me, but if that is really paradise and you are who I think you are, then I guess this is a truth I just have to accept. But I do not like it, and I will continually try to change fate. That is just who I am.” I took a long swallow of the tea.
“Dan, like I said, I know who you are. You wouldn’t be leading this fight, if you weren’t you.” He stopped talking and looked up again. He sighed sadly and looked over to me, catching my eye and not letting it go. “It is time to send you back, the battle is sooner than you think. Go back and lead these people, for it is the first step in the endgame.”
I started to speak when I was suddenly back in my body, I moved quickly opening my eyes and almost dropping the cup of hot coffee in my hand. I looked wildly around the table and saw that I had not been gone long, for the same conversations and actions were continuing from last I remembered. Apache caught my wild look and gave me a worried stare. I grasped Brian’s arm and squeezed, gaining his attention.
“We need to get top-side now.” He looked at me, confused over my words. But being the man he is, he leapt to his feet and slammed his hands on the table.
“Stop what you are doing grab your gear, and get top-side now!” he roared. The table went silent as they processed the big man’s words and body language. But in a heartbeat, they jumped to their feet, grabbed their weapons and took off for the door.
I stood, placed my coffee on the table and was right in the middle of the group as we left the room, ran down the hallway and up the stairs. Dread filled my emotions and pushed the adrenaline to go wild in my system. Once in the guard room near the big door to the outside, we stopped and crowded around a radio technician manning a small desk and radio set. He looked shocked to see us and then suddenly pressed his headset to his ears. He raised a hand to silence us as he wrote down what he had heard.
“Enemy convoy sighted three mikes out. Four troop transport helicopters, possible Blackhawks inbound, ATM emplacements hunkered down and believe they have not been seen,” he spoke as he wrote. “Count of eleven combatants fast roping from Blackhawks, they are one hundred yards from our front door. All stations awaiting orders.” The man turned to accept new orders from me.
I thought for a quick second. “Tell all to hold their positions and to report when things change. After that, get Delta on that thing.”
The man turned and relayed my orders to the men and then flipped some switches and called out for Delta. After a moment, the man turned back to me. “Delta awaiting orders sir.”
“Ask them what their position and situation is. Also, alert them to our new problem.” I ordered.
This relaying thing was getting on my nerves. I tapped the man on the shoulder and held my hand out, interrupting his transmission. He stared at me for a moment and handed over his headset and vacated his chair. I sat down and removed my notebook from my vest chest pouch.
“Hey it’s Dan, where are you guys? Over.” I called out.
“Dan, good to hear your voice, brother.” It was Heaven’s voice coming over the air. “We are within sight of the facility. Had to make a detour to avoid the enemy convoy and patrols. Where do you want us, Dan? Over.”
“Wait one, over” I pulled out my notebook and perused through the notes I’d made. I looked back to Brian. “Can I have a map, please?”
Brian pulled one from Vic’s thigh pocket and spread it out on the table nearby. I studied, making quick notes back in my notebook and making marks on the map. I looked it over for a couple more minutes and made my decisions.
“Heaven, I want you guys up on the plateau looking down on the garage entrance. Watch those guys who just came off the Blackhawks, and keep me informed of their movements. Over.”
“Roger, Dan. Guard garage entrance and report enemy’s movements. Understood all. Over.” Heaven answered.
“Roger. Out.” I gave the radioman his seat and headset back. “Send someone to get me if Delta reports in.”
“Yes, Sir,” he answered.
I turned and surveyed the team. “Kuppers, take command of the ground forces, and attack when you see fit.” I turned to Brian. “Brian, you have command of the ATM forces. Make sure you keep communication with Kuppers. I expect you two to keep us afloat. Apache, Doc, and Cupcake, I want all three of you in the garage prepared to back up Delta, if they need it.”
Vic tapped me on the shoulder. “Where do you want me?”
I smiled. “By my side the whole time. I need someone who knows military doctrine and can communicate my ideas and plans with the rest of the team. You get the most fun!”
Vic dropped his head and wiped his brow. “Yeah, me!” he joked.
We broke into our teams and moved on to take our commands. Vic and I took one of the guard rooms on the ground floor.
We moved the table and taped the map on the wall. The NG who had parachuted in were divided up between the garage, the ATM positions staged on the mountain tops, and the majority in the stairway on the bottom level, ready to move upstairs when needed. My thinking was that if we were bombed or the ground floor of the building was destroyed, they would be able to protect the main part of the facility. Kuppers agreed with my idea and staged them accordingly.
Radio messages came in from all stations as the day went by. Delta reported that the Ridder forces who had come in by air had hunkered down and not moved. The convoy had completely arrived and were in the act of surrounding the whole facility. Amazingly, no one had tried to move in on the garage yet. We waited on pins and needles for the attack we all knew was coming. The stress was getting to all of us. I ordered the cafeteria to make warm food and get the men and women to enjoy the down-time in between shifts. I didn’t want to make the mistake of having our troops too stressed, too tired, or too hungry to fight back.
The problem, was that I could not relieve the forces outside. I just had to believe they would be ok and ready to fight when needed. I wondered what Ridder was doing when it came to me. They were going to encircle us and then pound us into submission. I still didn’t think they would bomb us, but fire heavy weapons into the main facility and assault the garage I knew that had to be their plan. I shared my feelings with Vic, and just suggested that maybe we should move down-stairs and button up, when the building shook from a mighty explosion. I was thrown off of my feet and thankfully, landed on a bunk still in the room. Vic was not so lucky, he fell on his ass on to the tiled floor and knocked his helmeted head against the door frame.
Brian poked his head in, took in the situation, and threw me a thumbs up to make sure we were ok. I threw one back at him and he nodded his understanding, disappearing back into the hallway.
“Vic, you ok?” I enquired.
“Yeah, I’m ok, thank God for helmets. I think they just fired the first shots of this battle,” he answered.
“Grab the map and all the files and move downstairs to the radio room. I am going to quarterback this up here for a little longer.”
He nodded his understanding grabbed the items I’d suggested, and bolted from the room. I tightened my helmet on my head and checked my new battle rifle, which I still had not been trained on. I found the magazine release button and pushed it, dropping the magazine out of its well and checked to make sure it was full. I slapped it back in, found the charging handle and pulled it back, putting a round into the chamber and flicked the safety off, making my way into the front of the facility. I found Brian and Kuppers making marks on a map, that they had taped to a wall. I studied it and had to grab the wall when the building shook again, and this time, the blasts starting coming right after another.
“What are they hitting us with? Do we have an update on damage?” I shouted over the blasts.
Kuppers turned to me. “They have set up some mortars over near the back of the convoy. They are hitting the mountain side that we sit up against. I have no idea why, maybe they think the facility is dug into the mountain, instead of below it. No damager yet, but I had Delta move so they wouldn’t get decimated.”
“Brian, how about our ATM teams? How are they fairing?” I had to stay next to the wall or risk falling to the floor.
Without turning from the map he reported, “Standing by and keeping their heads down.”
I had to think quickly. “Ok, I want to send Hunter, Harry, and Howser out to put eyes on the mortars. Give them orders to fire on the mortars if they shift fire onto this facility, and then be ready to move downstairs if we get hit.” The radioman transmitted my orders to Delta.
“Kuppers, any news on those Ridder guys who came on the choppers?” I asked.
“They were sitting still, last we checked,” he reported.
“I have a feeling they won’t for long. What do we do if they move in on us?”
“If I was the guy in charge of the enemy force, I would lay down smoke and send my men in close to the building. That would allow them to blow the door and enter the facility,” he answered.
I stepped away from the door and realized the reason that I could was because the building was not shaking anymore. At the same time, I came to that conclusion that Brian and Kuppers had realized the same thing and were raising their rifles toward the front door. I dropped to my knee and raised my own.
I pointed at the radioman. “Go downstairs and send up two squads. Keep the rest down there and be ready, if they get past us. Go!” He nodded and took off down the hallway.
Brian came over next to me and pushed over the table we had used to plan our defenses. All three of us rested our barrels on it and waited for the men outside to make their move. We didn’t have to wait long, we heard thumps on the door. Brian grabbed me and pushed me to the floor, then covered my body with his. Just as he did that, the door exploded inwards, sending shards of metal and wood over the table and into the walls behind us. The sound was like a physical punch as it hit the table, pushing it against us. In a second Brian popped up to his knees and pulled on my vest bringing me up. I was slightly woozy, but shook it off and quickly brought my rifle up and put it against my shoulder, aiming toward the door. A head popped around the door, and without a thought, I put two rounds into it. I didn’t take the time to admire my handiwork. Instead I went back to watching the door. Kuppers came to his feet and threw a small ball out of the door. I recognized it as a grenade and dropped back down behind the table again.
The explosion happened just outside the door frame and mimicked the size of the one which blown the door in. But this time, it killed whoever had been stacked up just outside the door. Brian vaulted over the table and up to the door, threw his head around the door fast, then pulled it back in fast. “Not good, Boss. Call up the team and have them station in the hallway in two ranks. One behind the other, we are going to have a lot of company soon. At least forty and they look a little unhappy. And they have some heavier weapons than we do.”
I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could to the head of the stairs. Just as I got there the troops had arrived up top. I relayed the orders and apprised them of the situation. The oldest guy met my gaze. “Yes, Major, I got this.” He turned and addressed his men and women. “Alright mutts, you heard the Major, Reyes, you and your troops have the front ranks, down on your knees. The rest of you will line up behind them, now move it!” They took their cues and ran down the hall. I turned and followed them, skidding to a stop when Brian and Kuppers appeared. They motioned for everyone to take their positions.
“We have company. They’ll be entering any minute. Be prepared for grenades and possibly flash bangs. No firing till I give the order.” Brian shouted in his best drill instructor voice, which the troops immediately followed.
I had a quick inner fight with myself. Do I stay behind and let these men sacrifice themselves? Or do I nut up and take a position on the line? I of course, took a position, I tapped one of the men on the front line and ordered him to take the rear. I hunkered down, slid my battle rifle to my back and brought my shotgun around and chambered a round. I waited and prepared myself to fire when it was called for.
I watched the front door as bodies started coming through, firing in all directions. Most were not coming down the hallway just yet. They must have figured that we would be manning the room they came into and hadn’t seen us yet. I waited an extra second and then started firing at the figures ahead of me. As if I had opened a spigot, the rest of the squad around me opened up, pouring round after round into the room.
When no more targets appeared Brian’s voice came across over our firing. “Cease-fire!”
I took my finger off of the trigger and waited for more to appear through the door. If I’d had a chance, I could have taken my Kabar out and cut through the tension in the air with it. Instead, I tried in vain to calm my breathing and get my heart to calm down before it beat itself out of my chest. I could he
ar the men and women around me trying to do the same.
Chapter 6
The following is not entirely from me. I compiled a lot of different stories to create an after action report, so I could get all the details about what happened during the multi-staged attack. I tend to write this from my view, the following will be from many different views. So I will tell it as a third person narrator. Hope I don’t lose you.
At the same time that Dan and his squad were protecting the facility at the front entrance, Ridder hit from multiple directions. Hunter, Harry and Howser followed the mountain ridge they had climbed up to so they could flank the mortars. They’d left their heavy packs with the rest of Delta and only took weapons and plenty of ammo. With only half the weight they were used to carrying they could have moved faster, but they found the going slowed as they hunched down, not wanting to skyline themselves and give away their intentions to the Ridder forces below in the valley. Once in position, they radioed Hase and then tried to contact Dan, but could not get through. Howser climbed to the highest point he could and saw why. White thick smoke covered the ground up to the facility, he saw a flash at the entrance and knew they were attempting entry.
“Harry, our boys are extremely busy dealing with an armed entry. Why don’t we get into this fight and take these mortars out?” Howser spoke quietly to the man lying on his stomach to his right.
“I am always in for a fight. I’ll crawl back to Hunter and let him know what we are planning. He brought the SAW with him and has been wanting to use it. Hase won’t let him, since it is so loud and useless against the dead fucks. Let’s position him over there by that rock out-crop. He can cover that area over there to the west and hit Ridder’s rear. I’ll move over another fifty yards from our current position and hit the front. You can stay here and hit those two officers, then decimate those three positions there.” He looked down at his watch and made a sour-looking expression. “Let’s boogie and do this before we are too late to be of any good use. Once we are done, let’s move back off of this peak and move toward that command vehicle over there. Then, we can practice those guerilla tactics we learned when we were in Columbia.” He held out his fist and Howser bumped it with his.
Zombie Theorem (Book 3): The End Game Page 21
