by George West
“Holy shit! Why the hell did I listen to your plan to poke the bear?” said Ramos.
Chapter 4
The room was void of sound while anxious men in formal military uniforms and suits sat frozen in their chairs. The old man sitting at the head of the table appeared fatigued, his sunken eyes revealing his life’s experiences while the little hair he had on his head diminished each day. His suit was wrinkled while his loose tie resembled a noose waiting to be cinched around his neck. He continued to rapidly tap his fingers on the mahogany table as the others awaited his words.
"All right, what are our options?"
Generals and directors of intelligence agencies immediately leaned forward in their seats staring around the dimly-lit room. The leaders of the war-torn country glanced at one another trying to figure out what they would collectively say, scared to voice their own opinions.
"We get him back."
The man at the head of the table scanned the large room until he found the person who spoke. Every head turned as a woman stood up from a chair behind the large conference table.
"Mr. Vice President, sir. I know where they are taking him. I have a team nearby ready to go."
The Vice President of the United States was speechless. "Who are you?"
"Sir, I am Agent Reyes, special agent in charge of the task force assigned to Dr. Eris's abduction."
"Well, Ms. Reyes. I don't think you have been properly informed, but the Joint Chiefs have already confirmed that we do not have any military assets operating near the East Coast. I think you have forgotten that we have a war on our hands, Ms. Reyes!"
Several men in uniform turned around and shot Agent Reyes a scowl look for her stupid suggestion. It was as if every man in the room thought she was incompetent.
"Now, does anyone have any... feasible strategies for this current crisis?" repeated the Vice President.
Men around the conference table whispered to one another preparing to provide a possible solution to the problem. Without hesitation, Agent Reyes stood up again.
"Mr. Vice President, we do have assets on the East Coast."
The vice president was astounded to witness Agent Reyes challenging him. "I'm sorry... Ms. Reyes. Is that your name? I have already informed you that we are fighting a fucking war. We do not have any military assets in that area!" He slammed his fist against the table.
Reyes stood her ground showing no emotion. "Sir, we may not have any military assets in the area, but we do have other assets ready to go. They can retrieve Dr. Eris before the Global Alliance smuggles him out of the country, sir!"
The special agent did not move a muscle as she waited for the VP's response. Reyes attempted to remain calm. Her heavy breathing echoed throughout the silent room as every man glared at her. Seconds felt like a lifetime, but the VP finally spoke.
"Who do you...have in mind, Agent Reyes?" replied the VP as he forced himself to bury his anger.
"Reapers...."
Suddenly, men around the table erupted into laughter. One of the generals spun around in his chair and interrupted Reyes. "Are you fucking joking, Ms. Reyes? The Reaper Program is dead. Are you trying to embarrass yourself?"
Before Agent Reyes could refute his statement, the Vice President stood up. "What the hell is the Reaper Program?"
Another general stood up to speak. "Sir, the Reaper Program was a military initiative during the early months of the invasion. As you know, Army Special Forces specialize in training foreign indigenous personnel to fight an oppressive regime. However, in this unique time, we sent SF units across the country to train American citizens to fight."
"Wait, are you telling me that we authorized American citizens to fight alongside our warfighters?" questioned the Vice President.
The general took a gulp of air as he stood, facing his superior. "Sir, it was an unusual time during the invasion."
"Well, general, it's even more fucked up now!"
The vice president then switched his attention to Agent Reyes who remained standing. "You mentioned that you have a team in position. Can they successfully accomplish this mission?"
Before Reyes had the chance to respond, the general interrupted her, again. "Mr. Vice President, the program was a complete failure. Every citizen recruited for the program is dead. I have no idea where Ms. Reyes is getting her intelligence."
Reyes marched toward the general. "It's Agent Reyes, General! And my intelligence is solid. Yes, most of the citizens recruited into the program didn't survive but some did. And these Reapers have proved their worth in battle and will accomplish this mission," affirmed Reyes.
The general remained silent as the DHS agent stood her ground just feet away from the general, glaring into his eyes.
"All right, all right. That's enough from both of you! Agent Reyes, how many men do you have?"
"Sir, there are a dozen or so Reapers ready to fight. They have a compound in D.C. among the rubble. They can intercept the G.A. convoy carrying Dr. Eris."
Everyone in the room remained silent as the Vice President of the United States contemplated his options. Reyes remained standing, awaiting his reply. People stared as the vice president continued to tap his fingers on the table.
"We have been at war for three years now. Our cities have been wiped from existence. Our people have been slaughtered. Our enemies are at the gates. The Global Alliance is attacking this nation from the west, the north, and the south. They have already decimated the East Coast, including our nation's capital. We are surrounded. The President is being relocated every 24 hours to avoid assassination. Hell, I don't even know where he is. The Global Alliance wants to annihilate our great country from the history books, and one of the only people that can end this chaos has been taken by our enemy. It is time. Time to conduct unconventional warfare to end this madness. Agent Reyes, I am authorizing you to reinitiate the Reaper Program."
Chapter 5
“Shit, that got my heart rate up,” said Ramos.
Reaper team had just returned from their reconnaissance op and their near-death experience. The guys funneled into their team room to decompress. Of course, Ramos had already opened a beer and sat his ass down on an old, beat-up couch.
“All right, boys, what football game are we watching? Are the Redskins playing today?”
Adam played along. “I think kick-off is at 7:00."
Adam and his brother started to strip down their rifles for cleaning. They hadn’t even fired a single shot, but they weren't the type of guys to sit around doing nothing. Hunter was on the pull-up bar getting in some reps while other team members lay on their bunks attempting to get a few hours of sleep before getting their next call.
“Guys, I’m sorry to disturb you all, but you’re requested in the Operations Center,” announced Carly.
“Fine, but I’m bringing my beer,” replied Ramos.
Adam led his team into the Ops Center. In reality, the place was at the bottom of George Washington University’s swimming pool. Plastic folding tables were scattered around the bottom while TV monitors covered the walls of the pool. A handful of people scurried across the floor, analyzing endless stacks of intelligence from recent raids. A young woman stood next to a radio communications receiver jotting down notes from her call. She soon slammed the headset on the table after spotting Adam Dawkins.
“I don’t even know what to say! You decided to use yourself as target practice for a G.A. destroyer. Do you make it your mission in life to be more reckless than the day before?” retorted Katherine Shaw. She didn’t look a day over 25. She wore tight, black jeans and a green t-shirt that wrapped tightly over her breasts. Her physique resembled a former athlete while her demeanor appeared serious and strict.
“I understand it’s difficult to comprehend how things work outside, since your day consists of playing in an empty pool,” replied Adam.
“I just got off the radio with DHS. They have a mission for us."
Everyone in the pool froze, even Adam. "Huh? As I r
ecall, they disbanded the Reapers. Left us out in the cold. Or am I delusional?" snapped Dawkins.
"Well, now we are back in the game."
Everyone in the room remained silent as they watched the argument play out.
"We aren't working for the government, again. Not happening," asserted Adam.
"I'm sorry, but who died and made you king?" replied Katherine.
"First off, you are not a Reaper, Kat. You play a support role for my team."
Katherine turned her back to Dawkins and resisted flaring up. Seconds later, she flipped a table over and marched straight up to Adam. "How dare you! You fucking asshole!"
She then became silent as she attempted to slow her breathing. Everyone listened to the loud inhales and exhales coming from Katherine. A few seconds later, Katherine stood up straight. "Listen! I still remember what they did to us. They hung us out to dry even after the blood we sacrificed for them…but they have a mission for us, and they are offering compensation in return. DHS is willing to send us a ridiculous sum of resources. I'm talking about more ammo, more weapons, and new gear—not to mention food, which I think you have forgotten is in short supply around here. Please, Adam. Let's just do this one mission and then we can go back to fighting the G.A. on our own terms."
The team leader then turned around and started to climb the ladder out of the empty pool.
"Get the target package ready," echoed Dawkins as he exited the room.
Reaper team abruptly left the Ops Center and headed back to the team room to suit up. Adam put on a clean pair of socks, which provided him an unusual amount of satisfaction. He threw on his Kevlar vest and stuffed several extra magazines in the pouches of his body armor. Then he strapped on his thigh holster for his sidearm.
The entire process was relaxing to him. Every step he took was the same every time. It was a ritual to him and for everyone else on his team. His brother would excessively clean the optics on his sniper rifle while Ramos would douse himself with baby powder to avoid chafing. Each member had their own unique way to prepare for an operation. However, just before everyone was ready to leave, they would whack the bottom of the Grim Reaper flag hanging above the door.
The guys marched single file with their weapons slung around their chests. They climbed back down into the pool for one last briefing to go over the plan. Katherine and Adam did most of the talking while everyone else kept silent, except for Ramos, of course. “So why in the hell are we taking out only one of the vehicles with explosives and not the rest?”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Reaper 3? There’s a VIP in one of the vehicles that we must retrieve. Alive,” said Adam.
“Okay, okay, but really, how vital is this guy to Central Command? It would be a whole lot easier just to shoot a couple of rocket launchers at the convoy.”
Katherine couldn’t believe this guy. She rolled her eyes.
“Ramos, shut the fuck up,” ordered Adam.
"All right guys, let's go over this one more time—without interruption. Dr. Eris, a scientist with NASA, has recently been abducted. It appears that the Global Alliance is responsible for his kidnapping. DHS believes that they are smuggling him out of the country by ship. And there just so happens to be a G.A. destroyer parked in the Potomac,” announced Katherine.
“So what? There are plenty of other enemy ships surrounding the mainland. They could be heading to any number of them,” replied Ramos.
"Is this guy fucking serious, right now?" remarked Katherine.
Adam grabbed Ramos and sent him up the ladder of the pool.
“As our dumbass pointed out, there are enemy ships cruising along every coast off the mainland , but we just obtained intel that puts an unidentified convoy approximately 50 kilometers outside of D.C., headed this way.
“What the hell does the G.A. want with an old geezer?” interjected Ramos.
“Do I look like I know?" replied Katherine.
“Dawkins, can I talk to you for a second, alone?” asked Katherine. The team started to make fun of Adam.
Adam Dawkins trudged over to the other end of the pool. “Are you good?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“You and your brother went off on an op alone and executed three G.A. officers. And then you provoked a naval class destroyer to fire upon your team. You keep getting more reckless."
“We are not doing this right now. You aren't my boss. I take care of things outside while you take care of the shit in here. That's how it works.” Then Adam marched his way towards the pool ladder.
"Good talk," nodded Katherine.
Suddenly, several loud bangs went off. Katherine Shaw and others hit the ground while Ramos and some of the other team members started to laugh hysterically.
“I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t resist. Y’all needed to wake up; the energy felt too low in here,” laughed Ramos.
Katherine picked up a burnt firecracker and threw the remains at Ramos. “Get the fuck out of here!”
Chapter 6
The team headed down the sewage system. Their ATVs screamed through the filth that laid waste to the once-beautiful city. The men were headed to intercept the convoy before it reached the naval destroyer that was currently anchored in the Potomac. The men were geared up for whatever awaited them. Adam and the rest of his team were dressed for war: each guy wore Kevlar vests with extra ammo strapped to their chests, Glocks and Berettas hung from their hips, M4 Carbines were slung around their backs. Several guys on the team also carried grenade launchers for extra fire power. However, the team’s gear seemed out of place since their outfits consisted of jeans and flannels.
Adam adjusted his headset. “Three mikes till intercept.”
The team members pulled down their NVGs attached to their helmets. Adam drove the lead vehicle while his brother sat on the back trying not to straddle his brother. Each ATV was custom built with mounted LED light bars on the front. The four vehicles soared through the underground tunnels while rats scurried to safety as they passed. The filth in the tunnels appeared unbearable when combined with the stench, but the team was used to it by now. The sewage tunnels were popular routes with the team since they hid their movements from anyone above ground, including enemy Predator drones and other UAVs.
The ATVs screeched to a halt as they approached the manhole above them. The team knew they had half an hour at most to get into position before the convoy passed by.
“Let’s get topside, boys. Ramos, take the southeast corner of the block. John and Hunter, you two find a vantage point overlooking the kill zone. The rest of you hole up on the northeast side of the street. Let’s go to work,” ordered Adam.
Then the team ascended towards the surface.
***
Captain Andre Resnik stayed vigilant as his platoon roared through the night-covered streets of D.C. His men had just completed a mission to retrieve a scientist that had been hiding from his superiors for some time now, yet their mission wasn’t over until they reached their fellow soldiers who waited patiently on the Potomac River. Unlike the men he commanded, Captain Resnik had lost his taste for war. He had seen enough death and destruction for a hundred lifetimes, but the men he commanded hadn’t seen the truth of what they were really doing. He was here to do a job and get back to his family who waited at home. His men whooped and hollered. Their bodies shook with excitement, yet none of them had actually ever been in a firefight—and the captain prayed they never would. Resnik believed that he was risking his men’s lives for a scientist who provided little value to the Global Alliance, but he would never disobey a direct order. The soldiers laughed at jokes they made up during the long journey back to the destroyer.
“Shut the fuck up, or you’ll be licking the deck of the ship for the next week." His men suddenly became silent because they knew that the captain was a man of his word.
***
“Two hundred meters out,” radioed John Dawkins as he tracked the approaching convoy through his sniper scope.
Th
e members of Reaper team were scattered across the surrounding buildings of the street. Some guys hid inside vacant stores while others lay prone on rooftops. They were silent and calm. This wasn’t the first ambush they had conducted, and it wasn’t going to be the last. The guys resembled lions waiting in the tall grass of the Serengeti, stalking their pray. It was uncanny how they could clear their minds and enjoy the anticipation.
As the convoy approached, Adam started to remember his time hunting as a boy. He remembered freezing his ass off twenty feet above the ground. Adam could still feel the cold steel against his butt as he sat perched in a tiny tree stand. He remembered the excitement of finally spotting a deer and how his heart beat faster and faster with each step the animal took. He remembered the sensation of peering down the scope of his hunting rifle and zeroing in on the deer. A burst of power would surge through his body as he observed the oblivious animal trying to maneuver through the forest, avoiding predators. Adam’s mind would become clear as he nudged the gun’s safety forward with his thumb. He would then slide his index finger on the cold, metal trigger as he prepared to take the shot. The approaching headlights of the convoy snapped Adam out of his head .
Adam then whispered into his headset. “On my count.”
The convoy was now less than a hundred meters away from the kill zone. The caravan of vehicles consisted of three SUVs and a lead Humvee armed with a 50-caliber machine gun.
“Three, two, one.”
John Dawkins exhaled the air from his lungs one last time as he pulled the trigger. He fired several rounds into the lead driver’s chest. The rest of his team followed with bursts of gunfire.
***
Captain Resnik heard the initial shots and picked up the radio. “Ambush!” The gunfire overwhelmed his convoy, and everything was happening too fast. His men couldn’t pinpoint the direction of the fire. The gunner on the lead Humvee took a round to the head and crumbled back down inside the vehicle.
