by George West
Adam Dawkins and Hunter moved low towards the main cabin while John Dawkins took aim at a guard. The militia member was at least two hundred yards away, standing post near the rear of the cabin. John aimed center mass and exhaled before firing a single shot at the man’s chest. The guard immediately collapsed, and the other militia members didn’t hear the shot. The constant bursts of gunfire from the other militia members hid the sound of John's sniper rifle. John immediately zeroed in on another guard that scrambled aimlessly on the roof of the cabin. Soon, two bullets pierced the man’s chest followed by his corpse rolling off the cabin.
Adam and Hunter were now within fifty yards of the main cabin. Hunter took cover behind the ammunitions shed while Adam continued to approach the cabin. Several members of the militia were positioned behind one of the sandbag fortifications. The guards soon spotted a dark figure in the woods. As the militia men raised their rifles, Adam and Hunter fired several rounds, simultaneously, taking them both out.
“Reaper 2, this is Reaper 1. I am approaching the rear of the target location,” announced Adam with his radio.
After five minutes of endless gunfire, members of the militia seized fire. The men scanned their surroundings, constantly jerking their heads in every direction. The militia men squinted their eyes and shined flashlights to assess the situation. As they turned around, the men witnessed several of their friends lying dead on the ground.
"God damnit! What the fuck!" The remaining guards sprinted towards the cabin with their fingers on the triggers.
“Reaper 1, you have multiple tangos approaching your position,” said John. He proceeded to fire at the pack of men that rushed towards the rear of the cabin. The militia members didn’t know where the gunfire was coming from and randomly sprayed another barrage of bullets into the woods. This time, though, several rounds managed to hit the dead log in front of John and Clark's position. John grabbed the back of Clark's neck and drove his body into the dirt as bullets continued to whizz over their heads.
"Fuck this! Fuck this!" yelled Clark as his mouth was pressed into the dirt.
To draw fire away from his teammates, Hunter pulled the pin of one of his grenades and rolled it into the munitions shed. He sprinted towards the tree line, but he couldn't outrun the force of the explosion. Reaper 3 felt an invisible force hammer him in the back and knocked him to the ground. Hunter was unconscious for a moment but eventually started to crawl towards the woods for cover. At the same time, bullets started to explode in every direction. The grenade had set off the black powder of ammo cartridges in the shed. The exploding bullets acted like shrapnel and hit some of the militia members. The remaining men grew bewildered: they had no idea where the attackers were shooting from and the size of the enemy force. They continued to fire aimlessly in all directions while John took his time eliminating the last standing militia men.
While John and Hunter continued to ambush the rest of the militia, Adam prepared to breach the rear door to the cabin. Adam pulled out a short 12-gauge shotgun slung behind his back. He fired three separate shots at the hinges to the door and then kicked it down. Adam switched to his sidearm for close quarter battle. He entered a small hallway lined with packages of MREs. He continued down the hallway checking each room. Adam finally approached the entrance to the meeting area where the militia congregated. As he entered the main room, a man started to raise a shotgun, but he was too slow—Adam fired several rounds into the man’s chest. Dawkins stepped towards the guy he had just shot while continuing to scan the rest of the room. A burst of gunfire erupted in the room, and Adam fell to the ground.
Several minutes later, John and Hunter entered the room with their weapons raised.
“Shit, Adam’s hit!”
They kneeled on the ground checking for a pulse. Suddenly, Adam's mouth popped open followed by his eyes. Adam started to gasp for air while John and Hunter jumped back after witnessing their team leader come back from the dead. Adam slowly got up on his knees and pulled off his vest.
“What the fuck happened, chief?”
Adam didn't immediately respond to the question as he continued to gasp for air. “Bullet caught the vest."
Adam's brother switched on his flashlight attached to his M4. He swung his weapon around the room illuminating the darkness surrounding them. “Shooter's gone."
Adam raised his finger and pointed towards a dark corner as he got his breathing under control. All three members of Reaper team approached the corner of the room with their weapons raised. As they crept closer to the corner, something caught their eye: a steel door built into the floor. John grabbed one of the handles and used all his strength to lift the steel barrier, but it wouldn’t budge.
"Of course these assholes have a doomsday bunker!"
Adam received a radio transmission. “Reaper 1, this is Bravo. We have reports of a G.A. platoon headed towards your location. Suggest you exfil immediately.”
“Damnit, they must have heard the firefight. Boys, we got 10 minutes max until they reach this place,” announced Adam.
“Wait, I have an idea!” declared John as he sprinted out of the room.
“What the hell is my brother doing? Reaper 3, go grab Clark Stevenson and bring him in here,” ordered Adam.
Sixty seconds later John rushed back into the room with something in his hands. “I found this behind the sandbag fortifications.”
“No way. We are not doing this,” asserted Adam.
“We have a platoon of Global Alliance soldiers headed this way and we need to get into that bunker. Now, I'm all ears for another way,” replied John.
Adam stared at his brother for a moment.
Seconds later, John hit the bottom of the mortar round against the corner of a table. The two brothers sprinted towards the window and dove through the glass as the room exploded.
After the smoke cleared, Adam and John crawled around the dirt, waiting for the fuzziness in their vision to clear.
“What the fuck just happened? I was gone for like 30 seconds!” screamed Hunter.
“This crazy piece of shit detonated a mortar round,” said Adam as he continued to cough up dirt and debris.
Reaper team headed back into what was left of the building. Part of the roof had collapsed into the meeting room. The team began to pull pieces of wood and other debris out of the way to reach the steel door. The team members began to bang the butts of their rifles against the steel door until it finally busted inward.
A ladder appeared underneath the entrance followed by a tunnel, twenty feet underground. Adam removed two flashbangs from his vest and pulled the pins. He dropped both concussion grenades down the tunnel. After the minor explosion, Adam and his brother slid down the ladder and proceeded to scan the room with their flashlights. The bunker appeared to be the width and length of a cargo container.
“Get the fuck back!” screamed a man at the end of the bunker. He had a pistol to another person's head. Adam and John approached the two men.
“Easy. We’re here for Landry. Just let him go," explained Adam.
“I told you to get back. I swear to God I will blow his brains out,” pleaded the man.
“Jeremiah. That's your name, right? No one else has to die today, just hand us over Landry,” said Adam.
Hunter started to yell down the tunnel from above ground. “What’s going on down there?”
“Well, our HVT is currently being used as a meat shield,” replied John.
Thomas Landry continued to shake as the muzzle from Jeremiah’s pistol pressed harder against his temple. “Please, just do what he says. Leave.”
“Here, let's just talk this through,” explained Adam.
Both brothers started to holster their weapons. As they raised their hands in the air, the militia leader and Landry started laughing.
“You stupid motherfuckers.”
The militia leader turned the gun and pointed it straight at Adam's chest. Just before he could pull the trigger, John pulled out his dagger and
slung it. The knife impaled the militia leader’s stomach. Thomas Landry rushed to pick up his friend’s weapon, but Adam grabbed him by the back of the head and kneed him in the face.
“Hello, Landry."
Chapter 10
“How’s it going, buddy?”
Adam Dawkins ripped the burlap sack off Thomas Landry’s head. Landry struggled to see as his vision adjusted to the light that poured into his eye sockets. The hacker stared down at his hands and legs, which were zip tied to a chair. Once the realization of his situation kicked in, he began to struggle and scream.
“Calm down, my friend. You are wasting your breath,” explained Adam. Landry was tied up in the same room that Adam and his team were held when they first arrived at the FOB.
“I’m a prisoner of war. I can only give you my name and rank,” announced Landry.
John Dawkins laughed as he stood in the corner of the room. “You are not a prisoner of war. You aren’t even a soldier.”
“I am Private First Class Landry of the Southern Louisiana Minutemen Militia.”
“Oh, the Minutemen Militia. Why didn’t you just say so? Guys, we have to treat this brave soldier in accord with the Geneva Convention,” laughed John.
“Well, Private Landry, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Minutemen no longer exist. They’re all dead,” interjected Adam.
“You are wasting your time. I am not saying a damn thing."
“Project Icarus,” demanded Adam.
Landry's face froze for a brief moment. “Never heard of it.”
“Stop wasting our time. We know you gained control of it.”
“I know nothing about the nukes.”
Landry spit on Adam’s boots. Seconds later, Adam pulled out his sidearm and fired a round into the hacker’s knee.
“Ahhhh, no. Fuck!” screamed Landry.
Everyone in the room was taken off guard. Even the special forces guys were in awe after Adam discharged his weapon during the interrogation. Other men heard the gun shots and rushed into the room, including Major Gandler.
“What the fuck are you doing, Dawkins? This interrogation is over!” declared the major.
Thomas Landry was still screaming as everyone exited the room.
“Do you know how many laws you just broke? I will have you court martialed for this!”
“Major, I am not a member of the United States Military which means I don’t have to abide by your rules. Also, I’ve been given authorization from Central Command to get the job done by any means necessary."
“Landry needs to believe that I will do whatever I want and that no one will stop me. He needs to think that I am a monster,” explained Adam. “Now I am going back in there, alone. No matter what happens, no one will enter that room."
The team leader reached for the doorknob when Major Gandler grabbed his arm.
“You better know what the fuck you are doing.”
Adam re-entered the room and shut the door, shoving a chair up against the doorknob.
"Finally, we can have some alone time."
“Please, I need a doctor. I’m going to bleed out,” pleaded Landry.
“Let’s try this again. Project Icarus.”
“Please, I need a doctor.”
Adam pulled out his pistol from its holster again.
“Wait, wait. Stop. Yes, I know about Project Icarus.”
“How did you gain control of the satellite?"
“I hacked it!”
Adam cocked back the firing pen. “How?”
“Okay, okay. After the initial invasion, some of those militia guys broke into an Airforce Base that was abandoned. They found a bunch of weapons and ammunition, including the hard drives. They needed me to figure out the coding. I accessed the satellite and Jerimiah wanted to fire one of the nukes at Central Command, but it was harder than I thought to use the guidance system.”
“Where are the hard drives?”
“I destroyed them, but I have the code needed to access it remotely. It’s on my computer.”
“My analyst can’t get through your firewalls. I need the password.”
“Please man, I’m dying. I’ve told you everything you wanted to know.”
Adam raised his pistol and fired another round into Landry’s other knee cap. Landry started to scream and struggle to break free from his chair. After the second gunshot, the special forces guys tried to open the door, but it was locked. They began to knock and yell at Adam to open it. Landry began to sob.
“Please, stop. Please. I’ll give you the password. Just please stop. For God’s sake!”
Later, Clark Stevenson entered the room and set up his computer equipment while the SF medic bandaged Landry’s wounds. Clark felt queasy as he looked at the pool of blood underneath Landry’s chair.
“Um, all set,” announced Clark.
Adam stared into Landry’s eyes. He could see the fear. The toughness that Landry once felt earlier had now vanished.
“It’s 2379ACY1."
Clark gained access to Landry’s files and began to download the code.
“Hey, this may take a while,” advised Clark.
Adam decided to take a breather and left the room. Thomas Landry felt a sense of relief as his terrorizer closed the door on his way out.
As Dawkins entered the TOC, the room became quiet, and everyone stared at the team leader. Adam could see the look in all their eyes. He knew that they all thought he was a monster. Some of the SF guys looked genuinely afraid of him. His heart started to pound and abruptly left the house. He marched outside and plopped himself down next to the fire. Adam went straight for the bottle of whiskey laying in the grass.
“Hey, didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s bad luck to drink alone?” Adam looked up and smiled as he saw Jessica Boudreaux.
“I’ll take my chances,” replied Adam.
“Wow, you are drinking the hard stuff this time.”
Jessica sat down in the dirt next to Adam. "You wanna talk about it?"
Adam stared up at the night sky as he took another swig of whiskey. “Let’s just say that some people don’t agree with how I handle things."
“Did you get what you needed?”
Dawkins nodded as he gazed into Jessica's green eyes.
“Well, it sounds like you had to make the hard call again.”
“That seems to be the case,” replied Dawkins.
Jessica then swiped the bottle from Adam's hands and took a long sip. She scooted her butt closer to him and leaned back against his shoulder. For some time, the two just lay next to each other in silence, staring at the fire as the ashes continued to pile up even higher.
An hour later, Adam's brother walked outside on the porch. “Yo, our computer whiz just finished downloading the code.”
Adam rushed into the TOC where Clark finished attaching the TV monitors to his laptop. Everyone at the FOB was now gathered in the operations center waiting for something exciting. The room was filled with silence as Clark continued to type away at his computer.
“Hey, computer nerd, what’s taking so long?”
Clark flipped Hunter the bird while laughter erupted throughout the room.
"Now, this is the guy I've been waiting to meet," said John.
Clark stopped typing. His eyes widened while his jaw froze. “Holy shit!”
“What’s going on? Did you access Icarus?” asked Adam.
Clark's hands started to shake as he fumbled to insert the HDMI cord into the TV monitor. Seconds later, an image appeared on the big screen. The whole room remained in silence as everyone gazed through the eyes of the most powerful weapon on the planet. The video feed showed an awful view of Earth. The world looked so small as the satellite orbited Earth. The blue oceans. The white clouds. The tiny continents. The image was sublime as the world was captured by one satellite.
“It’s game over,” said Adam Dawkins.
"What the hell am I looking at, Dawkins?" asked Major Gandler.
“Sir, y
ou are looking through the eyes of Icarus: the weapon that will end this war once and for all.”
Adam picked up the radio.
“Dawkins is that you?”
“Reyes, we just gained control of Icarus. It's over."
Adam waited for Agent Reyes to explode in excitement, but static was the only thing that radiated from the phone.
"Reyes, are you there? What’s the ETA on the rest of my team? We need to exfil and get this software back to NORAD.”
“Um, Adam. I don’t know how to say this…”
“What’s up? We have the package. This war is over.”
“Adam... They have Katherine.”
"What? Reyes, you aren’t making any sense"
“She was abducted on her op. We lost contact with her.”
“When was she grabbed?”
“Three days ago.”
“And you are just telling me this now?! You piece of shit. I knew you were an asshole but this...you crossed the line this time.”
“Adam, I was ordered not to tell you. I was under strict orders from Central Command."
“That’s bullshit, Reyes. Where is she?”
“Louisiana.”
“What?”
“They want to make a trade. Icarus for Katherine”
Adam threw the radio against the wall. Blood pumped faster through his veins and he flipped the table in the middle of the ops center. He picked up a chair and smashed it against the wall. John tackled his brother.
“What the fuck is going on, brother?”
Adam was in a panic now. “They have Kat."
Adam jumped up from the ground and marched towards the interrogation room.
“Brother, what are you doing?”
Adam slammed opened the door and rushed towards Thomas Landry.
“It was you? You told the Global Alliance!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me!” screamed Adam.