Laura 02 The God Code

by Anton Swanepoel

  The General sits down on the edge of the table, next to the monitor before replying. “Men, this order comes directly from the President. He has declared war on drugs and women trafficking.”

  “Yeah, right, we’ve heard that one before. This is probably some media stunt to show the people he cares, just to get some votes.” Tipper snorts as he speaks.

  Slowly the General stands up and punches some keys on the keyboard by the monitor. Suddenly a movie clip starts playing, showing the front view of a missile with cross hairs in the middle of the screen, indicating its target, with speed and altitude displayed on the bottom right. It is the recorded live feed via satellite from a long-range missile approaching its target. All the men sit in silence as the movie plays.

  At first, there are only clouds in view, and then suddenly they can make out the ground and what looks like the jungle. Then it becomes clear that there is a military base with a large amount of people, including tanks and other armored vehicles. The cross hairs stay in the middle of the camp, now getting closer very fast. They can see men scattering in all directions, some shooting at the missile. All the men in the room know it is pointless. Suddenly the video feed ends and the view changes to a satellite image, showing a massive explosion, wiping out all the men, and then the movie stops.

  “Where was that Sir?” Ernest touches his wallet with the picture of Shayna in, as he speaks.

  “That was Columbia, close to the Peruvian border. A local drug lord and women trafficker that is believed to have actually controlled most of the drug trade in the world, was mysteriously killed there in the last month. His son, Marcos took over the family business and decided to amass an army, with the intention of taking over Columbia. His intention was to make it a haven for scum with him as President. He was planning on attacking the capital tomorrow morning, however our President decided otherwise. Apparently, many of the local young women were smuggled into America by Marcos to be sold throughout the world as sex girls, partly funding his business. We currently know where some of them are, and these are the girls you will rescue.

  “To answer your second question, currently you have no support. That is why it is a stealth mission. We will parachute drop you over the city, where you will land two blocks from the building in an abandoned stadium. You will then make your way to the building and extract the women. As soon as you find the women, signal for a pickup and armored trucks will be sent to meet you at an extraction point that will be decided on at the time.”

  “Sir, that area is full of civilians, how are we to approach them?”

  “Ernest, they are drug dealers, pimps, and traffickers, if they carry a gun you consider them hostile. However, only engage when needed, understood?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Right, expect heavy resistance and the possibility that you may be trapped for some time until we can gather forces to assist you. Your job is to keep the women alive, understood?”

  “Yes Sir!” the men answer in unison.

  “Sir, no disrespect to the women, but what makes them so important? I mean, women trafficking is happening all over the world, but why risk so much to rescue them in such a hurry?” Tipper has a confused look on his face as he speaks, but he asked the question that all the men have in the back of their minds.

  “Our mission is not to ask why. This order comes directly from the President, thus there may be a lot more to the story than we know. However, all you need to know is that your orders are to rescue these women, understood?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Very well, take anything you want from the tables at the back, you have 10 minutes, then get on that airplane over there.” General Franklin points to the C130, now ready for takeoff.

  “It’s like candy land!” Tipper yells as he walks towards the tables.

  “Hands off the .50-cal, it’s mine!” Sam makes a beeline for the Beretta XM500 .50-caliber sniper rifle as he speaks. It is a modified version of the original rifle and has a shorter fixed barrel, which increases accuracy and range.

  “Listen up everyone. I want you all to take full body armor and insert front and back steel plates, in addition to taking ballistic helmets, is that understood?” Ernest has a serious look on his face.

  He knows that some of the weapons used by the drug dealers are made to penetrate standard bulletproof vests.

  “Aaah come on commander, those things weigh a ton.” Tipper is picking up a modified XM214 Microgun, also called a GE Six-pack, as he replies. At 6 foot 7 and 230 pounds of muscle, even the 85 pounds six barrel gun looks small on him. He smiles as he strokes the barrels, knowing they can spew out 4000 rounds a minute at their target.

  “That is an order. I am not bringing your body back because you did not wear armor.”

  “Yes Sir!” comes Tippers reply, as he throws the gun over his shoulder and picks up six more 500-round cartridges for the gun.

  The men are ready in eight minutes and silently board the airplane, where each one inspects the other’s parachute and gear for readiness to jump before taking their seats.

  ***

  As the C-130 with Ernest and his team takes off, Victor and Laura walk to General Conzales’s personal jet, on their way to the Vatican. Victor carries two tog bags containing equipment that he sourced from Jose’s men.

  “What is in the bags Victor?”

  “Ever done sky diving?”

  “No.”

  “Soon you will.”

  Laura goes white when she realizes he is carrying two parachutes in the bags.

  “Why can we not just land and drive to the Vatican?”

  “Because they will immediately recognize us the moment we land at the airport, and even if we make it through, the security is too tight for both of us to slip into the Vatican. We will parachute in at night. I know a place where we can land that they will not detect us. The Vatican security does not expect aerial assaults,”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Used it before, last time to stop an assassination of the previous Pope. Now to have a chat with the current Pope.”

  “Maybe he will listen.”

  “Maybe. Come, we need to go.”

  They enter the airplane and take their seats. The door closes behind them, and they can feel the airplane moving backwards to get into position for takeoff. A chill runs down Laura’s back as she thinks of the airplane that exploded, with the little girl in. She hopes that there are not any more men around to blow them up. Suddenly the airplane starts to vibrate as the pilot spins the engines up for takeoff. The airplane shudders lightly as they are pressed into their seats from the jet launching forward, taking off. The climb is fast, and minutes later they are at cruising altitude. Victor immediately opens the bags and starts getting ready, even though it will be hours before they will be at their target. To avoid looking suspicious, they will also not fly directly to the Vatican, but make a detour flight to Rome.

  Chapter 5

  “Five minutes.” The Captain’s voice over the intercom starts a buzz of activity as 13 highly trained Seals prepare to be parachute dropped. Standing in line, each man checks the gear of the man in front of him and then turns around to check the man behind him. When the rear of the airplane slowly opens, each man clips his parachute line onto a main line leading to the door, forming a single line.

  Ernest is in front and looks out into the night. It is a new moon and he can faintly make out the clouds below. Somewhere below the clouds are people depending on him and his team to rescue them, as well as men waiting to kill anyone who tries to do so. Will this be my day to die? The red light overhead turns green, clearing him for the jump, and pulls Ernest’s thoughts to his mission. There is a tap on his shoulder as the jump master indicates for him to jump. Ernest rushes forward, half running out of the airplane.

  Suddenly he is free, weightless, and the sound from the airplane engines rapidly fades, being replaced by the sound of wind rushing past him. The clouds start to rapidly grow bigger, and Ernest
gives a quick look up, checking that his parachute is okay and noting if all his team members jumped. They are all there, behind him like a deadly snake, making its way silently towards its prey, Ernest the head of the snake. Ernest gives a quick glance to a small satnav screen on his left forearm, showing his position and the position of his landing zone.

  Gently, he pulls on the parachute’s two handles and guides himself towards his target. Looking down, the city lights greet him, very few burn in this part of the city. The ground is approaching fast and Ernest scans the area for his landing zone. There, got it. Ernest steers himself towards the empty sports field of a local school.

  Expertly, he drops down in the open field and quickly brings his parachute down, starting to pack it away. The rest of the team is directly behind him and within minutes, they are all down and ready to move out. They are two city blocks from their target, and Ernest checks the small display on his forearm, showing streets and buildings and possible routes to take. Signaling to the team, he takes the lead and moves to the edge of the field.

  Stealthily they make their way to their target, moving from cover to cover, using a scrub here, a parked car there, trees and fences, all become part of their cover. Suddenly Ernest brings his right fist up and drops to the ground on his left knee. All the men immediately drop down, weapons ready. Slowly he scans the area. Everything is quiet, too quiet for his liking. They are on a side street that links up to the main road. On the other side of the main road is a six-story building, an abandoned hotel that went bankrupt.

  Ernest looks over his shoulder and signals for Sam to approach him. Sam is one of two snipers in the team, Ernest being the second.

  “Do you see anything?” Ernest asks as soon as he hears Sam kneel next to him.

  “Nothing, no movement. There should be guards on patrol.”

  “That’s what’s bugging me.”

  Ernest gives one last look at his men then gives the signal to move out. One by one they make it to the side of the building, hugging the wall and forming two lines, one on each side of the main door. Ernest tries the door. It is unlocked. Signaling to Sam, he opens the door and let’s Sam enters the building, moving to the right of the door. Immediately Ernest follows, moving to the left of the door. The rest of the men follow, splitting evenly to both sides of the door.

  They are in the main lobby, dusty and with no furniture. To the left is an old reception counter, about 30 feet long. There is a stairway leading to the second level at the back of the room. Two large doors to the right of the room lead to the main dining room. The building is built all around the main lobby, with the rooms all along the side. From each floor, one can stand on the walkway and look down into the lobby over the waist high security wall.

  The team moves forward, flanking both sides of the room, making their way to the stairs. As soon as the right flank reaches the doors leading to the dining area, all stop and wait for Sam to gently push a small camera attached to a monitor in his hand, under the door. Gently, he moves the camera from left to right, scanning the room. He is about to give the all clear sign when something moves at the edge of the camera’s view. Carefully, he lifts his right hand up, indicating for the other men to be ready. Ernest looks on from across the room, waiting, holding his breath, what did Sam see? Ernest is right by the reception desk, at the furthest end from the door.

  The sound of something dropping on the wooden floor next to him rips his attention back. Looking at the ground next to him, his blood runs cold.

  “Grenade!” Seven more hand grenades drop from the second floor as he shouts the warning, while willing his body to move, to find shelter behind the desk. Just as he goes over the edge of the counter, the hand grenade explodes, sending shrapnel hurling through the air, seeking flesh to tear up. A piece of shrapnel catches Ernest in the right side, burrowing itself in his sidearm, rendering it useless. Mark is directly behind Ernest and is just about to jump over the counter when the hand grenade explodes. Shrapnel catches him full in the chest, stopped by the steel armor plate and bulletproof vest. The shock from the explosion hurls him backwards, into Roland behind him, knocking both semi-conscious.

  Sam on the other side of the room, jumps through the doors leading to the dining area and runs directly into a hail of fire, and he hits the deck hard. Percy, right behind Sam, takes a bullet to the right leg and four in the chest. Virgil following Percy into the room, takes six bullets to the chest, one to the left arm and one to the head. The bullets to the chest and head are stopped by his vest and tactical helmet, yet the shock still knocks him out.

  From across the dining room, two men are firing at Sam and Percy from behind a pile of old chairs. Sam fires off a grenade into the pile, sending splinters of wood flying all over the room. A leg from a chair goes through one of the men’s head, while the second shooter takes some shrapnel in the left shoulder.

  He pulls a hand grenade from his jacket, leaving the safety pin attached to his jacket, and is about to throw the grenade when Percy shoots him in the right wrist, causing him to drop the hand grenade. He tries to get away, but stumbles over the pieces of broken chairs, and comes to land with his head inches from the grenade. Just as he looks up, the grenade explodes, blowing his head off.

  Inside the main lobby, it is a death trap as 20 men on different floors start shooting down into the lobby at the trapped Seal team. Glen drags Gordon into the dining room, walking backwards while firing at the same time. Jake follows, but take two bullets to the face just as he reaches the door. He is dead before his body hits the ground.

  Mark is lying on the ground next to Roland, both semi-conscious when Mark was thrown into Roland from the shock of the hand grenade exploding so close to him. Ernest jumps over the counter and picks Mark up, who is coming around. He rolls Mark over the counter just as Roland also gets up, and both men sail over the counter as bullets rip into the wooden counter.

  “Wow, that was close Roland.” Ernest looks around when Roland does not respond. Roland lays dead on the floor. A bullet went through his neck as he went over the counter. Ernest quickly takes stock of the situation. Jake is lying just outside the dining room door, missing his helmet and most of his head. Glen and Gordon are just inside the dining room on the floor. Gordon has massive damage to his lower body from a hand grenade. Both Jake and Gordon are lost. Jake’s body is being riddled with bullets, destroying their field radio.

  Mark, Nelson, Tipper, Edmund and Lester are behind the counter with him, including Roland’s body. He cannot see Sam, Virgil or Percy.

  While firing over the counter at some of the men above, killing two, Ernest gives an order to his team by pressing the microphone strapped around his throat and speaking. “Team, check in, status.”

  “Tango One, Sam and Glen okay. Percy and Virgil light injuries. Gordon and Jake KIA.” comes Sam’s voice over the radio.

  “Tango Two, Ernest, Tipper, Nelson okay. Mark light injuries. Roland KIA, status Edmund and Lester unknown.”

  “Edmund and Lester, check in,” Ernest commands.

  “Edmund, Lester, okay. Location back of the room at stairs,” comes Edmund’s voice over the radio.

  All six of the attackers on the lower three floors are dead, but the men higher up are almost impossible to get at.

  “Sam, you have to take them out. We are wasting ammo.”

  “Cover me,” Sam responds as he unslings the Beretta .50 caliber sniper rifle from his back and crawls to the dining room door.

  “I have something special for them,” Sam comments as he opens a pouch on his right side and pulls out four explosive rounds. The rounds are incendiary rounds and specially fabricated with a microchip controlling the explosives in the bullet.

  The bullet is designed to be fired through a window where attackers are.

  The electronics calculate the distance to the target and detonate the explosives just as the round enters the room a few feet, incinerating the men.

  Three men are standing together behind the fou
rth floor’s walkway wall. Sam looks across the room to Ernest, who nods at Sam to proceed. Ernest and Tipper jump up and fire at the men, while Glen and Percy target some of the other shooters, causing a distraction.

  Sam fires just as the three men duck down, taking cover. The round clears the wall and explodes just two feet farther on its path, killing the three men.

  Ernest uses the distraction of the explosion and fires off two grenades, one at the fifth and one at the sixth floor. Both grenades bounce against the wall and come to land on the walkway before exploding. The first grenade kills two men, the second grenade kills three.

  The remaining six men, scattered around all the floors, get frightened from their friends being taken out so easily, and run to the emergency fire escape exits on the floors they are on. Both Sam and Ernest fire again, at different exits, managing to kill three more men. Only three manage to escape. Noting that the men are fleeing, Ernest orders, “Secure the area.”

  Moments later Sam’s voice comes over the radio. “Dining room clear.”

  Ernest scans the walkways while sliding over the counter. “Main lobby clear,” comes his response as he signals to Sam to keep scanning the walkways.

  He signals to Tipper to cover the door they came through, and for Edmund to check on each team member.

  Edmund is their medic and quickly confirms that Roland, Gordon and Jake are KIA, or killed in action as will be told to their families. Edmund then quickly gives Percy and Virgil a field dressing on their wounds. Both wounds are flesh wounds, through and through.

  Edmund, Virgil, Percy and Glen slowly come out of the dining room. Ernest signals for Glen, Edmund, Lester and Nelson to check the floors above, in two teams of two. He then indicates for Tipper to cover the front door while Sam, Virgil, Percy and Mark cover the walkways and the two team’s backs while they search the rooms.

  “This is a mess Commander. It smells like an ambush,” Sam comments.

  “Sure does Sam, but how did they know we would be coming?”