Into the Bayou

by George West

  Odin lifted Katherine's head up so she could witness the drill boring into to the side of her head. But Odin released his finger from the trigger just as the tip cut the flesh.

  Odin went ballistic. "Who dares interrupt me again!"

  "It's me. I am sorry to bother you again," announced the captain.

  ***

  A massive supply of lights from the naval fleet lit the port against the night sky. Even though the port was heavily guarded by G.A. troops, the shipping yard did not have the same standard of security measures in place—officially, there wasn't a presence of G.A. personnel in the civilian shipping yard. The approach to the container ship would still prove difficult. Dawkins had to get creative. Leading to the entrance of the shipping yard, Adam lay prone on the side of the street. He could see the fleet of enemy ships at the opposite end of the harbor, and he thanked God that he wasn't attempting to infiltrate one of those ships.

  Adam continued to lie in the shadows in a muddy drainage ditch until he spotted his ride. A small gas tanker rolled down the street toward the guarded entrance of the shipping yard. As the truck passed by his position, Adam rushed to hitch a ride. Reaper 1 leaped at the truck, leaving his feet off the ground. He barely touched the speeding vehicle and grabbed onto a handle at the rear. Adam attempted to gain a better hold on the truck but failed. The vehicle was moving too fast, and he was forced to hang on and let his feet drag against the pavement. Adam's leather boots eventually gave into the intense friction and burned a hole in one of his shoes. Adam felt flesh from his toe scrape against the pavement. He couldn't let go or he would fall in sight of the guards that awaited the truck's arrival. Adam gritted his teeth resisting to scream out in pain until the truck finally halted. He could hear the soldiers talking at the checkpoint, and he knew he had to hide. He quickly climbed up the ladder at the rear of the tanker and laid flat as possible on top of the truck. He pressed his stomach against the metal tank trying to make himself as small as possible as the guards started to inspect the truck.

  A handful of soldiers stood guard at the entrance. Soldiers smoked cigarettes and held assault rifles as they walked around the truck. One guard had a mirror attached to a pole and inspected the bottom of the tank while another inspected the driver's credentials. Adam was outnumbered five to one, and he knew he would surely lose in a gunfight. He just hugged the top of the cold metal that encased the gasoline. After several minutes of inspecting the oil tanker, the guards waved the driver through and the gates opened to the shipping yard.

  The truck crossed the threshold to the shipping yard and continued down a street toward one of the container ships in need of refueling. Adam searched and finally found his exit. He got up into a crouched position and waited until the timing was right. He leaped as far as he could off the top of the truck and grabbed hold of the edge of a shipping container. Adam grunted as he hoisted himself up on top of the steel container and watched as the truck continued its path towards one of the other ships. Adam pulled out his night vision optics from his pack and scanned the shipping yard until he spotted the clandestine container ship. He performed one last gear check before his final approach. Adam was disappointed that he had to leave his M4 behind in the ditch before jumping on to the oil tanker, but at least he had a sidearm. He attached a suppressor to his Colt 1911 and pulled back the receiver to engage the firing pin. Dawkins made his way toward the ship, systematically hiding among the shadows.

  Once Adam was within a hundred yards of the ship, he found his point of insertion. Adam started his ascent up the shipping crane. He could feel the slight breeze from the bay as he reached the top. He was nearly sixty feet in the air now and had to crawl across the arm of the crane. After crawling to the end, Adam scanned the ship for hostiles. He observed several guards at the bow of the boat patrolling between containers along with several men standing inside the bridge of the ship where the controls were located. There was one door located between the containers and the bridge—this was his point of entry. Only one man stood watch leaning up against a wall smoking a cig. Dawkins threw on a pair of rappelling gloves and slowly made his way down the steel cable attached to the crane.

  Adam wrapped his hands and legs around the steel cable as he slid down towards the deck. He felt the full effect of the sea breeze and worried that the guards may notice the swinging cable. Adam's boots hit the deck and he instinctively pulled out his pistol. He glanced around in all directions, making sure that he didn't alarm any of the armed guards. Adam made his way to the side of a large steel container and peeked around the corner.

  He observed the guard leaning his back against the wall of the ship. The guard was a young man, maybe even younger than Adam. His mustache wasn't even thick. The boy continued to smoke his cigarette while cradling his AK-47 by his side. Adam contemplated his next move. If he went for a headshot, then the bullet may pass through his head and impact the side of the steel wall. He couldn't risk alerting the guards with any shots. He decided to wait for the boy to finish his cigarette and grab another smoke. Adam pulled back the receiver to his pistol and ejected a shell casing. As the guard pulled out a crumbled pack of cigs from his pocket, Adam crept out from behind the container.

  Dawkins tossed the shell casing towards the opposite side of the deck, and the guard immediately looked up. Adam crept faster as the guard stared in the other direction. Once Adam got within ten feet from the guard, he pulled out his K-bar. The guard heard several faint creaks behind him and flicked off the safety to his weapon, but before the young guy had the chance to swing his gun around, Adam stabbed him in the lower back. The guard attempted to scream out in pain, but Adam covered the young man's mouth. Adam continued to jab his blade in the guard's spine until he collapsed to the ground. He proceeded to drag the boy's lifeless body through the door that led inside the ship.

  Adam took a breather as he stood over the dead corpse. His heart was pounding from sliding down the crane's cable and ending the guard's life. Reaper 1 wiped the blade on his pants to brush the blood off. He drew his pistol from his thigh-holster and descended down the stairs. Adam raised his weapon and peered down the corridor at the bottom of the stairwell. He didn't see any hostiles, but he had no idea where they would be holding Kat. Fortunately, the ship's hull wasn't as large as a naval ship, so he didn't have many rooms to check. Adam crept farther down the stairwell, peeking into each room he passed, just barely cracking open each door. He peeked into a room where several men slept on their bunk, and he immediately closed the door before one of them woke up. Adam spotted movement at the other end of the corridor; he threw himself into a vacant room to avoid being seen. He peeked out of the room and noticed a short, small man walking towards him.

  Seconds later, Adam reached his arm out and ripped the small man into the room. The man fell to the ground and Adam stuck the pistol in his face. The man was trembling as he stared into the barrel of Adam's pistol.

  "Where is she?"

  Chapter 16

  "How dare you interrupt me!" screamed Odin as he marched towards the door to speak with the ship's captain.

  Odin jerked opened the door and peered down at the captain. Odin saw the fear in his eyes, and Adam shoved the captain's body into Odin. Dawkins aimed his gun at the two men that had fallen on the ground and looked around the room. His eyes stopped and he froze as he gazed at the horrific site in front of him. The girl he loved dangled from the ceiling; scars and bruising covered her naked body.

  "Kat!"

  Adam rushed over to her body and tried to wake her up. He checked her pulse to see if she was even still alive. Katherine's eyes were still closed, but she managed to let out a groan. Adam looked around the room, frantically searching for a way to get her down from the ceiling. He finally found the yellow remote that dangled from the ceiling. He pressed the button and watched as Katherine's tortured body slowly fell to the ground.

  Odin started to move, but Adam spotted him. "I dare you to fucking move one more inch," said Dawkins as he
aimed his pistol at the man's head.

  Odin just kept silent and continued to raise his hands in the air. The captain's hands remained in the air; he sweated profusely as he stared down the barrel of Adam's pistol.

  Once Katherine's body was laid on the ground, Adam realized he couldn't take the chains off. He looked at Odin.

  "Keys!"

  Odin remained silent and just shook his head.

  Adam marched over to Odin who sat on the floor. He raised his weapon and pressed the barrel against the tormentor's forehead. "I'm not fucking playing around! Where are the keys?"

  Odin pointed over to a cabinet on the opposite side of the room. While Adam rushed to find the keys, Odin made his move. He leaped towards a table covered with medical equipment. The torturer grabbed a scalpel and flung it towards Dawkins. Adam immediately felt the sting as the scalpel entered his shoulder blade. Odin picked up a bone saw and rushed toward Adam. He slashed downward at Adam's face, but Dawkins managed to dodge the bone saw. Odin went for another strike, but Adam closed the distance. He grabbed hold of Odin's arm and twisted his wrist. Adam elbowed his attacker in the face, knocking Odin to the ground, but he had forced his adversary to land next to his gun. Dawkins dove on top of Odin as they both struggled for the pistol. Rounds started flying during the struggle. One of the bullets hit the captain in the head and immediately ended his life.

  Odin landed several hard punches on Adam and crawled towards the pile of power tools. Adam chased after him, but Odin swung around with a nail gun. Dawkins tackled his adversary, but Odin managed to fire several nails into Adam's stomach. He yelled out in pain, but Odin didn't let up. The skilled torturer picked up his power drill and went straight for Adam's heart. Adam looked into the psycho's eyes and saw the joy and excitement in his dilated pupils. Dawkins had neither the strength nor the leverage to hold off his attacker. The tip of the drill started to shred the surface of his chest. Suddenly, several more gunshots rang throughout the room, and Odin fell to the ground. Adam turned and witnessed Katherine holding a pistol with chains wrapped around her wrists

  Adam crawled over to her as she sat on the ground still staring at her captor. Adam grabbed the drill and used it to remove her chains. He pulled off his body armor and shirt. She remained silent and didn't acknowledge Adam's presence. Adam threw his shirt and the Kevlar vest over her naked body and ran out to the corridor. He knew the guards must have heard the gunshots, and it was only a matter of time until they found them. Adam pulled the Claymore out of his pack and faced it down the hallway. As he finished setting up the tripwire, he heard screams coming from inside the room.

  Katherine Shaw stood over Odin's wounded body, pressing the jumper cables against his chest. Katherine didn't say a word as Odin pleaded for her to stop. She turned the dial to its maximum voltage. She saw the tears pouring from Odin's eyes and pressed the jumper cables against his lower extremities. Odin's body shook uncontrollably, and Katherine continued to stare into his eyes.

  A moment later, his head exploded from a gunshot. Katherine turned around and saw Adam with his hand on the trigger. She jumped up from the ground and started hitting him.

  "No! I wasn't finished!" screamed Kat.

  Adam picked her up and ran out of the room towards the ship's deck.

  Chapter 17

  Dawkins drove fast down the empty highway with Kat holding on to his waist. The couple didn't say a word; they just allowed the wind to blow in their faces as they remained in silence. Adam didn't know what to say to her. Katherine had been held captive and tortured for several weeks, and he wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea where to start. His mind continued to replay the image of Katherine picking up the jumper cables and torturing that man; the satisfaction and smile painted on her face was frightening even for him.

  He recognized that same anger before in his own eyes. He knew that she wasn't the same Kat anymore.

  ***

  Clark jumped up from the table and walked over to his computer. He stood for a moment and gazed at the image on his screen. The camera on the Icarus satellite peered down towards Earth. He felt the power surge through his veins. At a push of a keystroke, he could launch a nuclear weapon towards planet earth and kill millions. After having that morbid thought, he slammed the monitor shut. He had looked at the image for far too long. Clark walked over to the other communication systems and began to disassemble them.

  "What's going on?" asked Jessica.

  "We need to dismantle the TOC and prepare to evacuate this compound when our guys get back. Our mission is over, and Central Command wants us to get the hell out of dodge before the G.A. finds this place."

  "Okay. What can I do to help?

  “Jessica, you've gone above and beyond for this country. You should go home. I don't want you to get caught in the fallout."

  "No way. I am staying until I get you and your men safely out of my neck of the woods. What do you need me to do?"

  Clark smiled and then glanced around the TOC for anything Jessica could do, but there was only sophisticated communications equipment scattered around the room.

  Jessica could tell that she wouldn't be of much help here. "You know what? I’ll just go help the soldier outside with the cleanup."

  Clark gave a small nod and went back to work, packing up the equipment.

  Jessica walked outside where the SF soldier was hard at work loading up the truck with crates of weapons and explosives.

  "Hey sergeant, I was told to give you some help."

  The soldier looked up at Jessica. His undershirt was drenched in sweat even though the sun wasn't up yet. "I'll take all the help I can get, ma’am."

  Jessica grabbed onto the other end of one of the crates and helped toss the crate of weapons onto the bed of a pick-up truck. Jessica and the soldier continued to load the truck up with weapons and explosives for over an hour. Periodically, Jessica would glance over at the window looking into the TOC. She saw Clark hard at work packing up all the sensitive equipment.

  "Hey, we've been at this for a while now. How about I go grab us a couple of cold ones?" insisted Jessica.

  "You read my mind," replied the soldier.

  Jessica walked over by the fire and grabbed two bottles of Budweiser from the cooler. She grabbed the fire poker and moved a few of the logs around to stir up the fire. She peered at the pile of ashes at the base of the flames. The ashes continued to pile up even further.

  "Hey, I need a beer ASAP. I'm dying over here," announced the soldier as he continued to lug the crates of ammo onto the truck.

  A few seconds later, Jessica placed an opened bottle on the hood of the truck. The soldier picked up the beer and took a long gulp. He had a big smile on his face as he turned around to chat with Jessica, but he felt a jolt of pain in his neck. The soldier grabbed his neck with both hands and felt his flesh burning. The soldier tried to call out for help but couldn’t, and he collapsed to the ground. Blood continued to pour out of an artery in his neck as he lay on the cold ground. He looked up and witnessed Jessica pressing the fire poker further into his flesh.

  Jessica just stood next to the dying soldier and watched as the last sparks of life left the man. She bent over the dead corpse, grabbed the pistol from the soldier's holster and stuffed it in her waistband against her lower back. Jessica picked up her beer and finished it before walking back towards the house.

  "What's up, Jessica? Are you and the sergeant already done with the cleanup outside?" asked Clark.

  "Yeah, the sergeant is done," replied Jessica as she stood standing in the threshold of the backdoor, scanning the room.

  Clark stared at her with a puzzled look. "Can I help you with something? Are you trying to find another task to do?"

  Jessica snapped out of it and looked at Clark. "Oh, no, um, but I wonder if I could see the footage from the Icarus satellite. I think that stuff is really cool, and I would love to get one more look at it before y'all take it back to Central Command," explained Jessica.

  "Y
eah, of course. It's the least I could do for all the help you've provided my team. Here. Give me a sec."

  Clark opened his laptop to run the Icarus software program. Before the computer screen emitted any light, Clark saw a reflection and immediately dove to the floor. Jessica fired several gunshots at Clark. The computer specialist began to crawl behind the boxes of packed communications equipment as Jessica continued to unload bullets in his direction. Clark felt a shortness of breath and closed his eyes in hopes of relieving his panic attack.

  "Just give me the software to Icarus. I promise I won't hurt you," announced Jessica.

  "What the fuck is wrong with you?" replied Clark.

  Jessica heard the sound of Clark's voice and fired several more shots at the crate he hid behind.

  "Come on, Clark. Just hand over the hard drive. No one has to get hurt," said Jessica.

  "Is that what you said to the sergeant before you killed him?" replied Clark.

  "I'm going to give you until the count of three or I'm going to drag you out from behind those boxes."

  Clark remained silent.

  "1,2..." continued Jessica.

  "Okay, okay," replied Clark.

  Clark slid the hard drive across the room and Jessica chased it. The computer specialist darted towards the hallway away from his attacker. Jessica spotted the movement in her peripheral vision and fired two more rounds until her pistol's magazine was empty. She threw the empty pistol to the ground and picked up the hard drive. After seconds of examining the drive, Jessica screamed and slammed the drive on the ground and chased after Clark. The smashed hard drive had a piece of tape labeled with two words: Fuck You.

  Clark frantically searched for anything he could use to protect himself. However, most of the gear and equipment had already been packed. He felt a jolt of pain in his stomach and looked down. Blood seeped through the lower half of his shirt and he immediately realized it was a gunshot wound. As he heard footsteps coming from the hallway, Clark picked up a shovel. He hid behind the door and tightly gripped the handle as he raised it above his head. Soon, Clark witnessed two hands holding a pistol passing the threshold. He swung the shovel with all his strength and nailed Jessica's hands. Jessica screamed out in pain as the gun fell on to the floor. The shovel cut a large gash in one of her hands and she stumbled into the armory. Clark continued his attack and struck a blow to Jessica's head. Her body hit the floor hard and almost knocked her unconscious.