by George West
Chapter 19
Adam witnessed a familiar face exit the hull of the ship. His mind became overwhelmed as neurons fired rapidly. Adam felt the anger boil inside him as he remembered the death of his friend and stopped in his tracks before sprinting towards the gunfire. His emotions spiraled out of control. He craved the feeling to make someone hurt.
There were still several shooters on the top deck, including Resnick. Adam was able to flank one of the sailors and fired three shots. The sailor collapsed and Adam redirected his aim at another target. Adam managed to fire several shots at the next shooter before the rest of the sailors returned fire. He took cover behind the base of the 130mm cannon and returned fire until he heard a clicking sound. He went to grab another magazine from his hip but realized that he had just made a stupid and grave mistake: overwhelming anger caused him to neglect his ammo count as he rushed back towards the shooting. He tossed his Berretta 9mm to the side and prepared himself for hand-to-hand combat.
As the remaining two shooters approached his position, he spotted the man he wanted to kill. Adam gazed at the bearded man that crept closer. He pulled out his knife and took a step out into the open. The shooters spotted Adam and unloaded bullets. The gunfire interrupted Dawkins's trance and he stepped back as the bullets whizzed passed him. He could now feel his own demise approaching. His enemy had surrounded him, and he was out of ammo. Then Adam smiled as he peeked around the canon and glanced at the approaching G.A. soldiers. They made an amateur mistake of failing to flank the other side of Adam’s position.
Dawkins stared down the starboard side of the ship and realized his opportunity. He flung his knife towards the port side of the deck. The inexperienced shooter unloaded a barrage of bullets after spotting the quick motion of the knife. Adam then sprinted passed Resnik and the other shooter. Captain Resnik spotted Adam and fired his pistol. Dawkins slid to the ground next to a dead body and grabbed an AK-47. Before the remaining shooters had a chance to return fire, Adam pulled the trigger and fired a burst of projectiles toward one of the soldiers. The inexperienced soldier fell to the ground while Resnik returned fire. Adam suddenly felt the sting of a bullet graze his arm.
Adam lost hold of his gun as he scrambled to cover. Dawkins knew he had one move left. He was a dead man if he waited until Resnik rounded the corner of the crates. He climbed on top of the eight-foot tall crates and leaped towards the shooter.
Resnik raised his gun as he witnessed his adversary leap off the crate, but he couldn’t pull the trigger before Adam landed on top of him.
The captain's pistol slid away from the two men after being tackled. Adam and Resnik started to wrestle on the ground. Both men threw several punches back and forth until they rolled away from one another. The two fighters struggled to stand up after receiving several blows from each other.
“So, we meet again. How many people did my operative kill?”
Adam clinched his teeth and rushed towards Resnik but fell straight into the captain’s plan. Resnik pulled out his knife and slashed him in the chest. Adam managed to step back and only sustained a flesh wound. However, he felt the pain from his cut while blood flowed from his chest. Resnik didn’t let up and stepped toward Adam. The captain swung out his knife, attempting to strike Adam in the side of his head, but Dawkins was ready this time. He sidestepped and stuck out his arm to deflect Resnik’s blade. He then grabbed the captain’s neck and tripped one of his legs. Adam fell on top of Resnik while disarming him of the knife. Dawkins pressed the blade against Resnik’s jugular, ready to send him to the afterlife.
“Come on! I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes.," shouted Resnik.
Adam pressed the knife harder against Resnik’s throat. Blood started to slowly flow down the side of the captain's neck.
"You and I were made for this!" said Resnik.
Adam stared into his eyes and then screamed. He dropped the knife and struck a blow to Resnik's skull with his fist.
Dawkins picked up the captain's unconscious body, struggling to throw the deadweight over his shoulders. Other sailors armed with AKs spotted Adam and fired a barrage of bullets towards him. Dawkins ran as fast as he could towards the port side of the ship. He flung himself over the railing into a fifty-foot free fall, his back hitting against the water. He felt like he had broken several ribs. He grabbed Resnik’s unconscious body and swam with him towards the riverbank. He dragged Resnik’s body onto dry land and gazed at the chaotic scene he had just orchestrated. The destroyer continued to slowly sink into the river while sailors continued to abandon their ship.
“You and I are nothing alike.”
Chapter 20
“Valhalla, the gods await me. Open wide thy gates embrace me. Great hall of the battle slain,” screamed the members of Reaper team.
The guys sung and downed their booze as they celebrated. This time, the team drank their bourbon in the demolished Ops Center. Guys perched on the ledge of the empty pool while others danced around the shattered hardware at the bottom.
Adam Dawkins sat on the ledge drinking straight from the bottle. He still wasn’t satisfied with the outcome, but he was glad to watch his team cheering and smiling again. Then he saw Katherine enter the room. The memories started to pour back into his head. He didn’t know what to say to her. Adam gazed at Kat as she strolled around the empty pool congratulating every member of his team. Adam’s heart started to pound as she came closer.
“Hey chief, do you mind sharing that bottle?” Kat smiled as she grabbed the bourbon from his hand. She took a long swig.
“How did the interrogation go with our HVTs?” asked Adam.
“It went as expected. They said nothing. We’ll hand them off to DHS in the morning. Maybe they’ll get something out of them.”
There was a moment of silence until laughter erupted.
"Kat, I thought you were serious there for a sec."
Adam then stared into Katherine’s eyes. He just gazed in silence trying to find the right words. “I didn’t kill Resnik.”
Katherine stared out over the empty pool and observed the members of Reaper team laughing and playing. She then took one more gulp of bourbon before standing up.
"That's not what makes you a good man."
Dawkins remained sitting on the ledge; staring at his teammates. They continued to drink and sing.
“I point my hatchet to the wind. I guard the gates and all within. Hear my sword sing, as I ride across the sky."
Adam soon raised his bottle in the air.
“To Ramos.”
“To Ramos,” echoed Reaper team.
The team leader stood up from his perch and left his team.
Dawkins strolled down the dark corridors of the compound with another bottle. He soon approached a steel door at the end of the hall. Two guys armed with MP5s blocked the entrance. Adam waved them off and they unlocked the door. Dawkins entered a small room enclosed by concrete walls. A large cast iron fence separated Adam from the prisoner.
"Have you come back to finish the job?" said Resnik.
"How's the cage?" replied Adam.
"I've seen worse."
Dawkins then picked up a wooden stool and positioned the legs within a foot of the cage. He then placed the bottle of bourbon and two glasses on top of the seat.
"Do you need liquid confidence to pull that trigger? I'm surprised." taunted Resnik.
Dawkins ignored Resnik and started to fill each glass with a shot.
"How did it feel to have that blade pressed against my jugular?"
Adam didn't respond and held out one of the glasses.
"Oh, for me? Whiskey is my favorite. It appears we share more than one thing in common."
Dawkins stepped towards the cage. His face pressed against the cold iron. "We have nothing in common. And we are nothing alike!"
"Keep telling yourself, but it won't change who you are."
Dawkins gulped down the liquid in his glass and poured himself another.
"You m
urdered innocent people." glared Adam.
"So have you! What—you think all those young sailors on that destroyer were monsters?"
"Not the same." Adam then threw back his glass and finished another shot.
"Listen, son. You and I are a different breed. War is peace for you and me. War is our only friend."
Then, the ceiling started to shake above them. The rhythmic vibrations continued with no indication of ending. Adam eventually recognized the faint sounds of AC/DC and laughing diffuse through the concrete above. Dawkins just listened for a minute as he stood in silence.
Then Adam smiled and pointed towards the ceiling. "You want to know what makes you and I different? Just listen."
Adam Dawkins left the room and headed upstairs to celebrate with his teammates.
The captain was left alone again. He pulled out a soggy cigar from his pocket and stuck it in his mouth. Resnik laid his back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.
"Until we meet again, son."
Chapter 21
“Eat shit. Ha, I’m the harbinger of death!”
“Fuck you. You’re not allowed to use the SCAR. We’ve already talked about this, bro.”
“I don’t remember this conversation, so it doesn’t count.”
Andrew threw his Xbox controller at the TV and jumped up from the couch. The room was a mess. Empty beer bottles and pizza boxes filled the windowless room.
“Dude, hit this bong with me,” said Robert.
The young 20-something wore a Hawaiian shirt and khakis. He looked like he was supposed to be lying on a beach somewhere.
“Are you kidding me? Aren’t you supposed to be developing the high frequency-space model for the conference next week?”
“I’m working on it, but I need to be in the right mind to do my work. And why do we even need to monitor movements in space? All the satellites are down, and I don’t see any extraterrestrials trying to invade our planet, so I think we’re all good with this stupid assignment, bro.”
The two analysts paced around their "office" bored out of their minds.
Computers and extra monitors hung from the walls while trash covered the floor. The only light source came from the screens of the computers and from the light source of the small fish tank that sat upon one of the desks. Several fish slowly moved around fake coral in the tank, swimming boring, slow lives.
“You know what? I’m going to join the military,” said Robert.
“What the fuck are you talking about? You’re not soldier material,” responded Andrew.
“Are you kidding me, bro? I would kick ass out there on the front lines. I would slay those Global Alliance soldiers. I’d be a hero and probably be awarded some medals.”
“I can’t believe you’re this delusional. Robert, you couldn’t even pass the physical fitness requirements. You’re at least thirty pounds overweight, and when was the last time you ever ran a mile?”
“Physical fitness doesn’t matter on the battlefield. I just need to learn how to shoot a gun.” said Robert.
“Oh, that’s all. Wow! You should definitely join up."
“Fuck you, bro. We’ve been stuck down in this basement for like six months now, doing nothing but looking into empty space. I’m bored as hell down here and I need to put my talents to use” said Robert.
“I’m sorry to break it to you, Rambo, but I don’t think they’re going to take someone who can’t even do a pull-up,” said Andrew. Robert flipped his colleague the bird and started to type away at his laptop.
“Hey, look at this.” One of the monitors had a digital radar pulled up on the screen.
“That must be a glitch in the radar system. That satellite has been inactive for over three years,” said Andrew.
“Okay, well let’s pull up the high-frequency scanner for further analysis,” said Robert.
The cold and desolate space above earth’s atmosphere was quiet and devoid of life, cluttered with hundreds of old beat-up satellites orbiting the planet, yet something was happening. One gigantic, decrepit-looking satellite began to mobilize. Its thrusters suddenly turned on and began rotating the multiple ton piece of equipment. The frozen ice that covered the surface of the satellite began to break off and the cylindrical body rotated to the position where the top of the satellite pointed toward planet earth.
“What the fuck is going on, Andrew?”
The two analysts were panicking while typing away at their computers trying to pull up any information about the mobilized satellite.
“I have no idea what or who’s satellite is mobilizing right now. We need to notify General Mayweather!” said Andrew.
“Dude, I just got the enhanced images of the unidentified satellite. You’re going to want to see this.” said Robert.
Andrew rolled his chair over to the monitor to analyze the enhanced images. Both guys appeared puzzled at the image of the satellite until Andrew spilled his coffee all over his lap.
“This can’t be happening. There’s no way I’m seeing this right now. Get the Joint Chiefs on the radio, right fucking now!”
The unknown satellite continued to engage its systems while the thrusters mobilized the equipment into position. The top of the cylindrical body was now opened, and several objects could be seen attached to the inside of the satellite. Suddenly, a red light started to blink. Soon, the thrusters stopped. Another engine started. Inside the satellite, one of the objects emitted red and yellow flames. Within seconds, a projectile 100 feet long ejected from the inside of the satellite.
“Incoming!”
