by C. G. Cooper
CAL: He does, but he still tries to play the part of Indian gigolo. I never know how many girlfriends the guy has. Let’s go introduce you to Neil.
Cal directed Brian to walk straight ahead toward a long corridor lit by fluorescent track lighting. He could see some kind of room at the very end. They neared the room at the opposite end of the hallway and Brian inhaled sharply at the size of the place. It looked like a huge cavern.
BRIAN: What the hell is this place?
CAL: I told you, it’s the Bat Cave. Head over to the left and that bunch of tables.
Brian did as instructed. A slim man in glasses looked up from his work. This had to be Neil. He stood about six feet tall, slim, and looked like he could’ve been an actor in Bollywood. He was not the nerdy developer Brian had expected.
Neil took off his glasses and walked over to Cal, bent down to wheelchair level and hugged his friend.
NEIL: I’m so sorry Cal.
CAL: Thanks.
NEIL: Is there anything I can do?
CAL: We’ll get to that in a minute. First, I want you to meet my new friend.
Neil nodded and stood back up. He looked over at Brian and extended his hand.
NEIL: Hey, Doc, I’m Neil Patel. Welcome to the Bat Cave.
Brian tried to hide his surprise as he shook the man’s hand.
BRIAN: Good to meet you Neil.
Neil smiled conspiratorially and explained.
NEIL: Travis sent over your file before you got here. I know all about you.
Brian looked a bit uncomfortable with the lopsided conversation but kept his mouth shut.
Cal stepped in before Neil could make Brian feel even more awkward.
CAL: What are you working on?
Neil gestured grandly to the nearest table.
NEIL (in a mock British accent): My new toys are waiting for your inspection, good sir.
Cal shook his head and rolled himself over to the table.
CAL: What is that? One of those remote control helicopters from the mall?
Neil made a face of mock indignation and continued in his English accent.
NEIL: How dare you accuse me of such a thing, sir? What you see is the latest in nano-drone technology. Courtesy of yours truly.
Cal picked up the small helicopter-looking device. The thing fit in the palm of his hand and couldn’t have been more than the size of a silver dollar in diameter.
CAL: Where’s the remote?
Neil pulled off a pair of sunglasses from around his neck.
NEIL: Right here.
And handed the black shades to Cal.
CAL: If this was someone else I’d think they were pulling my leg. But with you I’m pretty sure you’re not bullshitting me.
NEIL: Nope. Those sunglasses control the drone. Put ‘em on.
C al did as he was told and put the glasses on. They looked and felt like a normal pair of sunglasses.
CAL: You gonna tell me how this thing works?
NEIL: Push the emblem on the right side of the frame.
Cal did so and immediately the left hand lens lit up. It looked like a freaking video game! He also jumped back as the tiny blades on the drone kicked on and set it into a hover.
CAL: You could’ve warned me about that!
NEIL: But then I couldn’t have seen the silly look on your face.
CAL: OK. So what do I do now?
NEIL: You see the screen on the left.
CAL: Yeah.
NEIL: Use your eye and tell the drone where to go.
CAL: Dude. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
NEIL: Just turn your head and look at something you want the drone to go to.
Cal was still confused but once again did as instructed. As he turned his head, he could feel the drone lifting higher. That’s when he noticed that the view in the left lens had changed. He was now seeing from the point of view of the drone.
CAL: Holy shit!
NEIL (beaming): I know, right?
Cal directed the drone to a nearby set of cabinets. He realized that as he focused on an object, the drone would move closer.
CAL: How do I keep this thing from running into stuff?
NEIL: That’s all built in. It has a proximity detector. With stationary objects, it’s flawless. I’m still working out the kinks on non-stationary objects in the drone’s environment.
Brian’s curiosity was peaked.
BRIAN: What do you mean non-stationary?
NEIL: You know, like people running around on the battlefield, cars, animals…anything that moves.
BRIAN (incredulous): You can do that?
NEIL: Yep. Pretty easy actually. Hey, Cal. The technology in this thing is probably gonna make us all a lot more money. We’re thinking we can equip cars with it. Imagine: no more traffics accidents!
Cal just shook his head. This little toy was too much fun.
CAL: How do I get it to fly back?
NEIL: Just click that button on the side again and it’ll go back to its charging dock over there on that desk.
He pointed to what looked like a miniature landing pad on one of the desks.
Cal pressed the button on the sunglasses again. Sure enough, the little drone found its way home without guidance.
CAL (while removing the glasses): How the hell did you come up with that?
NEIL: Actually some of the technology’s already been around for a while. Apache pilots have been able to control some of their weapons systems with monocles for years. I just made the system better.
BRIAN: Who are you building it for?
NEIL: No one yet. All the small spy drones right now are way bigger than this little guy. I know there are some other companies in the hunt, but I think ours will be the best. Pretty sure it’ll be an easy sell.
CAL: I would’ve loved one of these over in the desert. Would’ve made fighting house to house a lot safer if I could send this guy in first.
NEIL: That’s our target market for this thing. I want to give the troops something that’s cost effective and easy to use. A whole freakin’ platoon could have one of these things. Trav is talking to a couple of commanders out in the field right now that are gonna try it out for us free of charge.
CAL: You got one that I can borrow?
Neil cocked his head, making sure his friend wasn’t messing with him.
NEIL: We’ve got a few almost ready. You can take that one if you want.
Cal nodded and changed the subject.
CAL: What are you doing for lunch?
Neil pointed to a nearby fridge.
NEIL: What I always do. Work.
CAL: How about you join Brian and me over at The Lodge around noon?
NEIL: Sounds good. Should I wear my drinking boots?
CAL: Yes.
With that, they left the Bat Cave to get cleaned up.
Chapter 10
Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN
Cal took a long hot shower, methodically washing all his wounds. The damned things still hurt like a champ, but the hot water helped to soothe the pain. He had to stay out of that fucking wheelchair. His whole body was stiff. It’d be good to move around more. Plus, he had work to do.
TRAVIS: You in there, Cal?
CAL: Give me a minute, Trav.
Cal shut off the water and wrapped himself in a big towel. He walked into the master bedroom and found Travis, scotch glass in hand, standing next to Andy.
TRAVIS: Take a look at who the front gate guards found begging to come in.
ANDY: Very funny, Trav. How you doing, Cal?
CAL: Better. It’s great to see you, brother.
Andy walked over and gave Cal a hug.
ANDY: I had over sixty days of leave time stocked up, so I thought I’d come visit the Music City, maybe hit a couple honky tonks.
CAL: Seriously, man, what are you doing here?
ANDY: If I know you at all, I know that you’re planning something.
CAL: I don’t know what you’re talking
about.
ANDY: You’re planning to go after this Dante guy.
CAL: Why the fuck do you care?
ANDY: Do you even have to ask?
CAL: So what? Are you here to stop me?
ANDY: Do you not know me at all, Cal? I’m here to help, you idiot.
Cal looked from his former platoon commander over to his cousin.
CAL: You don’t look too surprised.
TRAVIS: I AM your cousin, Cal. Plus, you know how we take care of family around here. Your dad started that.
CAL (softly): Yeah.
TRAVIS: So what’s the plan, cuz? What do you need from the company?
CAL: Trav, I really don’t want to involve the company. Could you imagine what would happen if the media finds out I’m involved? There’ll be a real shitstorm.
TRAVIS: You think this is our first rodeo, Cal? Look, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt because you’ve been off serving in the Corps for a while, but SSI has evolved. We’ve taken what your sad started to a whole new level.
CAL: What are you talking about?
TRAVIS: Corps Justice.
Now Cal was really confused. He knew the company had gone off the reservation select times in the past, but now it sounded like there’d been a lot more happening than he’d known.
CAL: You wanna explain or do I have to pry it out of you?
TRAVIS: We’ve been doing a lot more work under the radar in recent years. Mostly domestic stuff against terrorist cells and organized crime, but the calls keep coming. The shitheads are coming out of the woodwork.
CAL: The calls keep coming from who?
TRAVIS: You name it. Your dad had a whole network of contacts I didn’t even know about until they started calling me after your parents were killed.
CAL: I’m still confused. Who are these people?
TRAVIS: Everyone from former presidents and CIA officials down to local law enforcement. Shit, I had to have Neil build me a whole new secure database so I could somehow track them all. And the list just keeps growing.
Andy was suddenly intrigued.
ANDY: Wait, so these contacts hire you to do wet work or something?
TRAVIS: They don’t hire us, per se. It’s more like they inform us of something they’ve caught wind of and let us do our thing.
ANDY: How the hell haven’t you been caught?
TRAVIS (laughing): Are you shitting me? I may be a SEAL, but I’m not an idiot. The team Cal’s dad built around here is more like family. Haven’t you noticed that most of us are second-chancers? I don’t know of any other corporation in the world that has employees who would literally lay down their lives for the team.
ANDY: Sounds like the Marine Corps.
TRAVIS: Exactly. Uncle Calvin took an interest in people and treated them right. He was always tough but always fair. The people he brought onboard knew he would give his own life for them. We’ve lived by the same rules since he left us. This company is as airtight as you can get.
CAL: So who pays for this secret work?
TRAVIS: It’s a complicated combination of systems. We pay for most of it, but we have other sources.
CAL (disbelieving): We pay for it?
TRAVIS: Cuz, your dad set up a whole other division within the company to do this stuff. With money coming in from our patents and fees, there’s more than enough.
CAL: So the company is still financially sound?
TRAVIS: Listen to you. You sound like you’re thinking about taking over.
CAL: Shut up, Trav. I’m just curious. Now than I’m officially out of the Corps, I’m gonna need something to do.
Travis thought about it for a minute, wondering what his cousin was thinking.
TRAVIS: What did you have in mind?
CAL: Well, I sure as hell don’t want YOUR job. You can keep that. I was thinking more along the lines of R&D, but this other stuff sounds like I could make a difference.
TRAVIS: Funny you should mention those two areas. I was talking with Neil the other day and we thought that’s what you might like. In fact, it works out perfectly. Our new division actually does a lot of the initial trial work for R&D’s creations. Neil’s even been known to get dressed up in black and join the teams.
CAL: You’ve gotta be shittin’ me! We can’t afford to lose him!
TRAVIS: Relax, Cal. Neil’s always hunkered down out of reach from the bad guys. We get him just close enough so he can monitor the use of the new gadgets and feel like he’s part of the crew. The field teams love him.
CAL: I’ll bet they do.
TRAVIS: So back to the original question: what do you need from the company?
Cal took a minute to think about it. Hell, before this enlightening conversation, he thought he’d have to “borrow” the tools he’d need.
CAL: I’d like access to some of Neil’s toys. Mainly surveillance stuff to start. This Dante guy is probably hunkered down somewhere and I’ve gotta dig him out.
TRAVIS: I think we can help with that. Neil has some hacking software we’ve used in the past. This one program actually infiltrates a cell phone and tracks all calls. Neil even figured out a way to listen to the calls remotely. The damned thing is almost flawless.
CAL: Is it something you have to load onto the cell phone?
TRAVIS: Not like you’d think. He actually accesses it with some kind of laser. Literally you can sit on a rooftop a mile away with this thing, paint the targeted cell phone, and then you’ve got it.
CAL: It doesn’t sound like you’re kidding.
TRAVIS: I’m not. Don’t ask me how the damn thing works. I just know it does.
CAL: Ok. I’ll take one of those please.
TRAVIS: All right. What else do you need?
+ + +
Dante’s calls to New Orleans had finally paid off. Earlier in the day, a car arrived with four mean looking bangers from down south. It was the first shipment of what would eventually be nine new men. They were some of his cousin’s top enforcers. He’d owe his cousin some serious cash after all was said and done, but he knew with the added firepower he’d take care of SSgt Cal Stokes.
Chapter 11
Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN
Brian entered Cal’s suite and glanced around at the new visitors. All held a rocks glass quarter full of what looked to be scotch. He recognized most of the attendees but didn’t know who the huge black guy or the crew cut Marine were. He made his way over to Cal.
BRIAN: How are you feeling, Cal?
CAL: I’m a little sore but better after that shower. Why didn’t you tell me I smelled that bad?