by George West
The bartender smirked. “Sorry, but I already have enough friends.”
“Well, you’re getting two more."
The bartender slapped her hand on top of the bar. “Get the fuck out of my bar!”
“Sorry Jessica, but we can’t do that," replied Adam as he took another long sip.
“Who are y’all? CIA? DHS?”
“Now that hurts, Jessica. Just think of us as a couple of concerned citizens.”
Jessica looked around the bar to see if anyone was watching their conversation. Then she rubbed the side of her head for a moment. “Fine. What do you want?”
“We are looking for a hacker. A really good one. Someone that knows more about computers than anyone else around these parts.”
Jessica Boudreaux looked up and scanned all the faces sitting in the bar. “I may know a guy. I assume you are in contact with our mutual friends,” she said as she wiped down the bar. “They will know how to contact me.”
Adam Dawkins finished chugging his beer and slammed the glass back on the table. “Great. Can we get another round of beers? Possibly on the house to celebrate our new friendship?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
Adam and John smiled at one another.
Two guys sitting at a nearby table approached the bar. “Hey Jess, are these guys bothering you?” asked one of the men.
Jessica locked eyes with Adam. “No, they were just leaving.”
“Hey, how about you two fuck off. I’m trying to drink my beer before it gets warm,” interjected John.
Adam looked towards his brother shaking his head, knowing what he was trying to start. The two corn-fed men wore camo shorts and one had a necklace full of gator teeth. Several other men in the room stood up after John’s comment. There were at least five guys now approaching the bar.
“Come on, John. Really?”
“Where’s your sense of fun, brother?”
The group of men were directly behind Adam and John now.
Jessica looked straight at Adam. “Don’t kill them. They aren’t Global Alliance.”
Jessica poured a shot of bourbon and put it in front of Adam. The team leader raised the glass up to Jessica and took the shot of whiskey. Seconds later, one of the men took a swing at Adam, but John blocked the man’s punch and threw an uppercut. After the man hit the ground, the rest of his group attacked. Adam still remained on his barstool when another man took a swing at him. He deflected the punch, stood up and returned a fist at the man’s stomach. As all the air left the man’s body, Adam kicked the inside of the man’s knee outward and tore the man’s ACL. The team leader grabbed the back of the man’s head and slammed it against the bar top. As Adam turned around, he felt the impact of another fist hit the side of his head. The team leader caught himself on a barstool and proceeded to swipe the legs of another attacker. As the man fell to the ground, Adam struck the man in the throat. The attacker could barely breathe now.
Jessica Boudreaux remained behind the bar watching with amazement as Adam and his brother took out every attacker. Adam turned around to help his brother, but John had a man over his shoulders and proceeded to slam him on top of a table. Adam spotted one of the attackers getting back up from the ground with a knife in his hands. As the attacker tried to jab John with a knife, the team leader disarmed the man and stabbed him in the side of the leg with the guy's own blade. As the man fell to the ground, Adam caught him and put the man in a chokehold. The burly man began to struggle, but Adam put the attacker to sleep within seconds.
Hunter and the other guys in the Tahoe heard the fighting going on in the bar. As they began to exit the car with their M4s and body armor, they spotted two MPs approach the bar. “Shit, they must have heard the noise. We need to take them out,” said Staff Sergeant Byron. “Easy, brother. I trust my teammates on this one,” replied Hunter.
Hunter and Sergeant Byron witnessed the two MPs enter the bar. Then, they witnessed the G.A. soldiers being pulled inside. A minute later, Adam and John Dawkins strolled out of the bar with the MPs’ pistols in their hands. They both started to disassemble the weapons and tossed them to the side. The brothers jumped back in the Tahoe.
“We need to get the fuck out of here!” announced Adam.
Chapter 6
The Tahoe sped up the hill back to the Special Forces FOB. Major Gandler was sitting on the porch waiting for the team’s return. He rocked back and forth in a chair concerned about the mess he may have to clean up. “How did the meet go with Ms. Boudreaux?”
“More eventful than I had originally planned,” replied Adam.
“I got something to show you, Dawkins.”
The team walked into the TOC. There were new pictures pinned to the board.
“Some of my men recently took these on a reconnaissance mission.”
Major Gandler then pointed to several pictures depicting naval ships and planes.
“As you can see, there has been an increase in G.A. personnel into the port. They’ve also begun constructing a new airstrip next to the harbor.”
“What are we thinking? Another advancement on the front lines?” asked Adam.
“I think so. It looks like they are preparing the area for more supply drops.”
“Thanks for showing us this new intel but that’s not our mission right now. Jessica Boudreaux said you would know how to reach her?”
“Yes. We conduct our intel drops in a swamp 10 klicks south of this FOB. She’s too scared of being spotted meeting here.”
“All right, let’s set up the meeting.”
A couple of hours later, Reaper team flew through the swamp on an airboat. It was nightfall, and the only visible light came from the spotlight on the bow.
“Shit. I wish we had one of these when we first got here,” said Hunter.
Sergeant Byron was driving the boat. The fan at the rear allowed the team to glide over the shallow water and algae. A normal boat with propeller blades would not survive the adverse conditions. John posted up at the front scanning for debris to avoid. The team eventually spotted a faint light in the distance. The staff sergeant steered the airboat towards the faint glow. As the team approached the light, they noticed an old gas lantern attached to the bow of another airboat.
“Ms. Boudreaux, it’s good to see you again.”
“Staff sergeant, how many times do I have to tell you. Just call me Jess.”
“Sorry ma’am, it’s how I was raised.”
Jessica shook her head as the staff sergeant called her ma’am, since they were close to the same age.
“It’s good to see you too, Jessica,” interjected Adam.
“No, it isn’t. You and your friend messed up my bar.”
“Actually, I’m his brother. And we did not mess up your bar,” John Dawkins pointed out. “We were only defending ourselves,” he added.
“Uh huh, sure.”
“We need a location on a hacker. You mentioned that you had a possible ID on his whereabouts."
“No. I said I may know a hacker, but I don’t know where the hell he is.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, can you tell us his name?”
“Thomas Landry. The guy knows computers better than anyone else around here. And I can tell you that for sure because I know everyone. I went to high school with this guy. He used to hack into all the computers at school and post nude photos of students.”
“He sounds like a stand-up guy,” said John.
“Could he be working with the Global Alliance?” asked Adam.
“I don’t think so. He hates the government, including the U.S. He’s a member of one of those right-wing militias.”
“Does this militia have a name?”
“The Southern Louisiana Minutemen; I think. They own a piece of land just outside of town. It’s basically a bunch of men running around playing pretend soldiers. Kinda like how you are doing.”
Now, Adam wanted to leap across the water and smack her. John noticed that his brother wasn't lau
ghing and decided to change the subject. "Where can we find these ‘minutemen’?"
Adam's eyes widened as he witnessed a red dot appear on Jessica Boudreaux’s chest. He spotted it before the rest of his team. “Get down!”
Adam leapt off his boat and tackled Jessica to the floor of her airboat. Gunfire erupted throughout the swamp. Muzzle flashes could be seen through the darkness. John and Hunter returned fire with their M4s. The airboats had now floated away from each other. Adam and Jessica couldn’t jump back onto the other boat.
“Let’s get out of here! Link back up at the rendezvous point!” screamed Adam.
Jessica jumped to her seat and started the fan to the airboat; moments later, the two were headed away from the gunfire.
Jessica and Adam followed their friends through the swamp, but they witnessed several lights pursuing them in their wake. Adam started firing rounds into the darkness behind him but all he could see were the headlights of the boats. As their pursuers returned fire, Adam took aim at the muzzle flashes, hoping a bullet might hit one of the shooters. The erupting gunfire made Jessica lose focus from steering the boat. She caught herself just in-time and swerved out of the path of a tree, but the metal hull still brushed up against the tree and almost flipped the airboat.
John Dawkins searched the darkness behind him but didn’t see his brother or Jessica. “Where the fuck are they?”
Staff Sergeant Byron got on his radio. “Bravo 1, come in. This is Bravo 2. Need immediate fire support at Charlie Echo Mike.”
The staff sergeant only heard static on the other end.
“Fuck this swamp. Can’t establish comms with the FOB.”
Adam and Jessica continued to outrun their attackers, but Adam was on his last mag. Ahead of them, the swamp was turning into thick brush.
“I got an idea!” announced Jessica.
Then, the lights to the airboat disappeared.
***
The rest of Reaper team continued to fire back at the boats pursuing them. Clark Stevenson crouched underneath his seat praying that he wouldn’t die. He heard bullets whiz pass his head while ejected shell casings from John and Hunter's weapons rolled around the metal floor of the airboat.
“I’m out!” announced John.
Hunter immediately tossed his teammate an extra mag.
“We need to get these guys broadside so we can take them out!”
“We are almost to the rendezvous point. We can take cover once we reach dry land!” screamed Sergeant Byron over the bursts of gunfire.
Their boat was now within one hundred meters from the edge of the swamp. The gunfire continued as bullets whizzed pass John and Hunters’ heads. As the team approached dry land, gunfire erupted now from another direction. Hundreds of rounds passed over the team’s heads. John witnessed muzzle flashes coming from several separate locations. Within moments, the attackers had been neutralized. Members of the special force’s unit moved from behind cover and approached the airboat.
***
The other boat of attackers slowed down to an idle speed to navigate the thick brush that now covered the surface. The men searched their surroundings with spotlights for the other boat that seemed to have disappeared. Jessica Boudreaux watched as her attackers floated closer to her position. Her attackers were so close now that she could see four distinct silhouettes holding rifles. The spotlight came back around, and Jessica knew they would soon find her. Jessica's heart started to beat faster as her attackers' spotlights moved across the surface next to her hiding place.
A moment later, Adam slowly emerged from the water against the attackers' boat. Dawkins held onto the side of the airboat and pulled the pin to a frag grenade. The explosive rolled around the aluminum hull as he dived back under the water. The shooters then heard the splash and fired blindly at the water. Dawkins made his way under the attackers’ boat and seconds later, the aluminum hull erupted. Adam felt the underwater impact from the vibrations of the explosion. He continued to swim towards Jessica while navigating around the bodies that floated on top of the water. Jessica held a pump shotgun in one hand as she helped Adam into the boat.
“Thanks for taking your sweet time tossing that grenade.”
“Well, I wanted to see you panic for a little bit. It’s entertaining.”
As Jessica helped Adam out of the water, blood started to drip onto the floor of her boat.
“Are you bleeding?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. I just have some stomach pains.”
Jessica shined her flashlight down at Adam. A piece of metal had impaled the flesh of his stomach.
“Shit! You caught some shrapnel.”
Catching sight of his blood, Adam pressed his hand against the wound. However, within seconds, his eyes closed, and he rolled onto the floor of the boat.
“Adam. Adam!”
Blood continued to flow from Dawkins's stomach. Jessica threw off her shirt and pressed it against his wound.
“Adam, wake up. Come on! Wake up!”
Chapter 7
The ship moved through the sea cutting through the waves. The container ship was nearing the halfway point of its journey. A skeleton crew manned the vessel while men in plain clothes carrying automatic weapons patrolled the deck. The freighter appeared to be carrying fruit and other staples from Haiti, but beneath the deck told a different story. The ship housed several prisoner cells. Katherine Shaw lay unconscious in one of these cells.
After days of unconsciousness from the administered sedatives, Katherine started to awake. Her vision was blurry, and she had a severe hangover. She looked around at her surroundings. The only source of light in the windowless room came from a few holes in the wall. A stained mattress in the corner was the only piece of furniture in her 8x8 cell. She was stripped of her clothes. Katherine attempted to stand, but the sedatives made it a struggle. She began to crawl towards the door but felt like she was being magnetically pulled backwards. She peered back at her feet and realized that she was shackled to the floor. As the realization of her situation kicked in, Katherine began to panic.
“Help! Someone help!” Katherine attempted to scream but her mouth was too dry.
She spent hours pulling on her chains in attempt to free herself. She felt so weak and powerless. The sun dropped below the horizon and darkness soon covered the sea. Her only light source had disappeared. Katherine pounded at the wall of her cell until she lost all her strength. She crawled over to the corner of her cell and curled herself up. Katherine started to shiver from the drop-in temperature. As she started to cry, she heard the door to her cell being unlocked.
“Who’s there?”
As the door opened, light from the hallway flooded into her room. A man stood in the doorway for several minutes. Both parties were silent.
“Hello, Kat. I am excited to finally meet you.”
Two other figures appeared in the threshold and stepped into the cell. They unlocked Katherine's shackles and dragged her out.
Katherine’s vision was still blurry. The two men dragged her while allowing her toes to scrape the floor of the ship. Minutes later, she was in another room. The guards wrapped chains around her wrists as she laid on the floor. One of the men grabbed a remote control hanging from the ceiling. Within seconds, she felt her body being lifted into the air. Katherine’s arms were raised above her while her toes barely touched the ground. After the guards left, a man entered the room. She could barely make out the man’s face. He was tall with a heavy frame. The man approached Katherine within inches of her face.
“I apologize for this inconvenience. This may feel uncomfortable, but it’s quite necessary for the process.”
“Who are you?” murmured Katherine.
“You can call me Odin. I’m somewhat of a fact finder.”
The man strolled over to one of the tables in the room. There was an assortment of power tools. He picked up a syringe and a small bottle of liquid. After filling the syringe, the man examined the liquid in the tube. He flicke
d it a couple of times to eliminate any air bubbles.
“You must feel so fatigued from the trip. I understand, but I need you to stay awake.”
As the man approached Katherine, she started to struggle.
“Don’t worry, Kat. It’s not harmful. It’s just adrenaline.”
The man injected the syringe into Katherine’s carotid artery. After five minutes, Katherine felt her heart pumping faster and her vision became clearer. Her strength slowly came back, and she began to struggle hard to free herself from her chains.
“What are you doing, Kat? Struggling like that could hurt yourself. Try to relax.”
After attempting to free herself for several minutes, Katherine finally realized that it was pointless. The man just watched in amusement as his prisoner attempted to escape.
“Now that you got that out of your system. Let’s discuss Project Icarus.”
Katherine remained silent.
“Kat, please talk to me. I feel awkward when I’m the only person in the room saying something.”
Katherine spit saliva at her captor, but he was out of range. The man picked up a rag and cleaned her saliva off the ground.
“Kat, you are not behaving like yourself. I know you have better manners than this. You grew up in such a lovely home in Connecticut. I adore the lovely houses in Greenwich.”
Katherine froze.
“Let’s try this again. To what extent is your knowledge of Project Icarus?”
Katherine continued to remain silent.
Odin shook his head after Katherine’s lack of response. He proceeded to take his shirt off. His abdominal and pectoral muscles were defined while his body was covered in tattoos. Of particular note was a large cross tattooed across his chest. Odin picked up a white apron and tied it around his waist. He grabbed a pair of yellow rubber gloves. Odin walked over to the other end of the room where several buckets were filled with sea water. The man tossed a bucket of water on to Katherine. Katherine's naked body started to shiver as the cold sea water touched her skin. Odin rolled over a dolly with several car batteries strapped to it.