by George West
The man looked at Katherine and nodded as he assessed her health with his own eyes.
"So, I heard you still do tattoos for people in the compound."
"Yes, ma'am! You looking to get one?"
Katherine handed the man a piece of paper with an image.
He froze and his eyes widened as he gazed at the piece of paper. He stared at an image of the Grim Reaper. "Katherine, you do realize that this tattoo is used to identify members of Reaper team?"
***
"Sir, please remove anything from your pockets."
John Dawkins pulled out a pocketknife and placed it on the table before walking through the metal detector. The alarm and sirens lit up as John crossed the threshold. Two guards approached John and started to pat him down but immediately stopped once they felt an object near his waist.
"My apologies, boys. I forgot that was there."
"Sir, you must relinquish all weapons before entering the premises," announced one of the guards.
John pulled his weapon quickly and the guards immediately reached for their sidearms.
"Easy boys," said John with a smirk.
John released the magazine from his Glock and proceeded to eject the round from his chamber. He handed his weapon to one of the guards while the other chased the ejected round on the floor.
Adam shook his head as he stood on the other side of the metal detector waiting for his brother to finally make it through the checkpoint. The team had just landed on an airstrip outside the entrance. They marched into an unmarked building somewhere in the Midwestern United States.
"Let's go boys. We’re late," announced Agent Reyes.
Adam, John, and Hunter followed the senior DHS agent down the empty hallways of the conspicuous building. Reyes carried a silver briefcase in her hand with an armed guard next to her side. The group ended their stroll at the end of one of the corridors where two armed guards stood in front of the large steel doors. The armed men performed one last security check with handheld wands until finally pushing open the heavy steel doors.
Inside was a large room. People dressed in professional attire didn't remove their fingers from their keyboards while others scrambled around the floor of the high-tech space. Computer stations covered the layout of the room while several large monitors hung on the walls. Several men in official military uniforms approached Adam and the rest of the group.
"Gentlemen, welcome to Central Command. I am Brigadier General Bower. I apologize for the extensive security precautions, but you have just entered our SCIF."
Adam shook the general's hand. "I understand, sir. It's an honor to be here. I am Adam Dawkins, and these are some of the members of my team."
"It's an honor to meet all of you. You have done your nation a great service."
"General Bower, here are the remaining hard drives of the Icarus Satellite," interjected Reyes as she raised the briefcase.
"That is damn good to see, Agent Reyes. Our IT specialist will help you set up the satellite link."
Reyes walked over with the IT specialist to one of the computer stations. General Bower and the members of Reaper team stared silently as the hard drive was connected to the computer.
"General, unfortunately the hard drive was damaged during an explosion and the code to access the nuclear missiles is now inoperable. However, the advanced reconnaissance capabilities are still intact," explained Reyes.
The general nodded.
"Sir, this satellite will still provide us the capability to locate Global Alliance military installations around the globe. This will give us targeting capabilities that our enemy does not have," continued Reyes.
"Let's see it!"
Several minutes later an image from the Icarus Satellite appeared on the monitors at the front of the room. Everyone in the SCIF stopped what they were doing and became silent, admiring the view of planet Earth.
The general took a deep gulp. "Dear God."
Adam and the others smiled as they witnessed the surreal images.
"Jackpot."