by Mark Goodwin
“We don’t know that,” said Mackenzie. “Where are your papers?”
“Papers? We don’t have any papers. Everything is in the computer. Just scan our hands. That will prove who we are.” The man held out his right hand revealing the red dragon tattoo.
Emilio drew his pistol. “Just do as you’ve been told and get below deck.”
The man Emilio assumed was the captain said, “Wait a minute. You guys are part of the attack.”
Four cracks, like the sound of a staple gun, popped from behind Emilio. The four men dropped to the deck of the boat. Emilio turned to see Michelle holding her suppressed pistol. “What did you do that for?”
“Because it had to be done. Hinkle told me you might have a problem with it, so he put me in charge of making sure we left no witnesses.”
“Even so, you could have waited until we got them below deck! Now we’ve got a mess all over the place.” Emilio wrinkled his brow.
“We can toss them down in the hold,” she said.
“We needed those yellow suits,” Emilio snarled. “Now they’re covered in blood.”
Mackenzie stepped in to calm the situation. “We could get by with two suits. We can dip them in the water to rinse them off.”
Emilio growled and started the engine. “Okay, strip the suits and toss the bodies in the fish hold. Michelle, you and Billy can do that. Mackenzie, untie the bowline.”
They were away from the docks seconds later. Emilio let the engine run just above idle so the others could use the hooks to rinse the yellow hazmat suits. “Are they clean?”
“Clean enough,” said Michelle.
“Good. You and Billy can put them on and take us out to the platform.” Emilio grabbed his duffle and Billy’s to carry them below deck.
“Why am I being punished?” Billy asked.
Emilio didn’t turn around. “I’m sure you were in on the conversation between Hinkle and Michelle.”
Mackenzie followed him down the stairs. “Don’t be so hard on them. Even Michelle was just following orders. And those guys all had the mark. Letting them live would’ve only served to put off the inevitable.”
Emilio unzipped his bag and began removing the blocks of composition explosive material. He inserted the contacts of the detonation devices. “I just don’t like the way it went down.” He turned the blocks over where the adhesive strips were ready to be exposed.
“If you were in Hinkle’s shoes, how would you have handled it?” Mackenzie unzipped the other bag and began prepping the rest of the materials.
“If I couldn’t trust someone to do a job, I wouldn’t put them on the mission.” Emilio arranged the bombs with the coordinating detonators.
“What about seven months ago? Before the rapture?”
Emilio huffed. After a short pause, he said, “I guess I would have done exactly what Hinkle did.”
“Then give the guy a break.” Mackenzie stacked her explosives to carry back upstairs when the time was right.
“We’re coming up on the platform,” said Billy.
Emilio stuck his head out just far enough to see what was happening. “The tide is low enough, we should be able to fit right underneath. Stop at the first support pilling.”
Michelle killed the engine and Billy grabbed the support to stop the small fishing vessel. Emilio hurried out, pulled the backing off of the adhesive, and slapped the bomb to the heavy piling. “Okay, one more. Try to push us off toward the next support. Don’t gun the engine any more than you have to.”
Michelle bumped the throttle ever so slightly then pulled it back to neutral. The boat floated right up to the next piling. Emilio placed the next charge on the steel leg of the platform. “Okay, let’s get around to the backside of the cargo ship.”
Michelle steered the boat from under the platform. Just then, a blinding floodlight shone down on the boat. A voice called out over the loudspeaker. “What are you doing down there?”
Billy yelled up toward the guard on the platform. “Cleaning the gunk off your station.”
The loud voice replied, “All Global Order facilities in the New York area are currently under lockdown.”
Billy replied, “My radio is out. I didn’t get that. What’s going on?”
“Never mind what’s going on. Report back to the port immediately. And why aren’t your running lights on?”
Billy cupped his hands over his mouth to call out his answer. “I just realized they were out. We must be having electrical problems. That’s probably why the radio is out. It’s all this salt air. Terrible for electronics.”
“Turn around immediately.”
“Sure thing,” said Billy.
“This guy isn’t going to like it when we go to the ship,” said Mackenzie.
“I’m going to take him out if he ever turns that light away.” Emilio stood just inside the stairway with his rifle ready. “Billy, ask him to point the light toward the inlet so you can see where you’re going since you’re having electrical trouble.”
Billy relayed the request.
The voice sounded angry. “Okay, but you need to get out of here right now.”
Emilio raised the barrel of the rifle. He saw a man turn the light. Three more were standing nearby with guns ready. He took the shot. Billy drew his pistol and entered the fight. Mackenzie also charged the deck and started shooting. They killed two of the guards before they knew what was happening. The other two guards began returning fire over the rail of the platform. One of them redirected the spotlight to the boat.
Emilio let off a volley of rounds, knocking out the giant floodlight. The men above could no longer see them. However, Emilio’s team had been relying on the ambient light of the spot to target the guards on the platform. “Punch it!” Emilio called out to Michelle.
The bow of the vessel pitched up as the boat began to speed away from the platform. Once they were away from the structure, machine-gun fire rained down from above. Mackenzie scrambled to get the detonators from Emilio’s duffle. “We have to blow it now!”
“No! We’ll jeopardize Dom’s part of the mission.” Emilio took the detonators.
Mackenzie grasped the trigger mechanism to regain control. “If we don’t blow it now, we won’t be able to sink the ship.”
Emilio looked back toward shore, hoping that Dom’s team already had their charges in place. Suddenly, a colossal explosion came from the direction of the port’s crane. A roaring ball of fire billowed toward the sky.
“He obviously wasn’t worried about waiting for you,” said Mackenzie.
Bullets zipped by Emilio’s ear. He pressed the red buttons on the two detonators. BOOOOM! A wave of heat and force slammed against the small boat.
The shock wave had knocked Michelle to the deck, and the boat was heading straight for the hull of the cargo ship. Emilio darted toward the wheel. He pulled the throttle back and cut the wheel sharp.
The high crane lurched sideways, crashing down against the giant cargo ship. The light from the burning fire of the toppled platform illuminated their position.
“Look down there!” A voice yelled from the deck of the cargo ship. As soon as the bow of the fishing boat was pointed away from the ship, Emilio shoved the throttle forward and trimmed the engine. More gunfire soon erupted from the deck of the ship. Mackenzie returned fire with her rifle while Billy helped Michelle up.
Emilio looked back at her. “Is she okay?”
Billy looked into her eyes. “I think so. She’s got a nasty gash on her forehead.”
Michelle looked disoriented. She was unable to stand without Billy’s assistance. Emilio raced around the aft of the humongous ship. “Take her below deck then get back up here. We need cover fire if we’re going to get the rest of these charges attached.”
“I’ll pull alongside of each section where we have to put a bomb. Mackenzie, you slap them on there. Billy, pepper that deck as soon as they spot us.” Emilio slowed when they came to the dark side of the cargo ship. Mackenzie pulled
the backing off of the adhesive, reached down into the water, and pressed it against the hull of the boat. “Set!”
Emilio pressed the throttle all the way forward once more. He raced several hundred feet forward then stopped the boat once more. Mackenzie applied another bomb. “Set!”
Just then, light shone down on them from above. “There they are! Kill ‘em!”
A barrage of machine-gun fire splashed all around them. Billy shot back, but his was one rifle among many. Mackenzie abandoned her explosives and took up one of the M-4s to assist Billy with returning fire.
“One more charge,” said Emilio. “The hull is compartmentalized. It might not sink if we don’t blow at least three of the chambers.”
“Then get us all the way to the front,” said Mackenzie. “If we can outrun the gunmen on the deck, we might have a chance.”
Emilio looked at the bow of the huge ship more than a hundred yards away. “Have the explosives ready. I’m going to try to stop this thing on a dime!”
Mackenzie dropped her rifle once they were out of range. She readied the charge, pulling away the tape from the adhesive. Emilio waited until the last second, then pulled the throttle all the way backward so that the engine was running in reverse.
Mackenzie slapped the charge just under the giant anchor chain, below the waterline. “Go!”
Emilio punched the throttle once more. The engine stalled.
“Go, go, go!” yelled Billy. “They’re coming!”
“I’m trying!” Emilio heard the shooting begin. He felt helpless—dead in the water.
He looked heavenward. “God please! Help us get out of here.” He felt a wave of peace come over him. In the calm, he had clarity.
Mackenzie yelled out, “Hang on to your hats, I’m going to blow the aft!”
Emilio put the throttle in neutral and turned the key off then back on. The engine started. Emilio slowly pushed the throttle.
BOOOOM! A wave of water lifted the small boat and propelled it forward. The guards on the deck were still shooting at them, but the engine was running and the boat was quickly moving out of harm’s way.
“You’re hit!” Mackenzie screamed.
Emilio turned to see Billy’s leg bleeding badly. “I’ve got a blood stopper kit in my duffle. Put the tourniquet on him first. Place it above the wound.”
Mackenzie hustled to retrieve the kit. When she came back up, she turned to Emilio with a look of worry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is it Michelle?”
“She’s still dazed, but we’ve got bigger problems than that. They peppered the boat pretty badly. We’re taking on water. I’d say we have about six inches standing down there right now.”
Emilio gritted his teeth. “Take care of Billy’s leg first. We’ll figure it out.” He could feel the small craft struggling to maintain forward momentum.
Mackenzie placed the tourniquet on Billy’s leg and cut away the uniform from the wound. Next, she applied blood-clotting gauze to the injury, securing it in place with Coflex tape. Once Billy was cared for, she came to the wheel. “Why are we going so slow?”
“Because we’re sinking,” said Emilio. “You need to go downstairs and try to get Michelle on her feet. I think we can make it to the inlet, but we’ll never make it to the extraction point.”
“Okay.” Mackenzie didn’t question the directive but hurried down the stairs to help Michelle.
More peacekeepers came to the front of the ship. They began firing at the small boat. Emilio glanced over his shoulder to see that he was clear of the starboard side of the boat. He hit the triggers on the remaining detonators. The explosions rang out in unison, rocking the gargantuan vessel and causing those on board to focus on their own situation rather than shooting at Emilio’s team. Emilio saw Mackenzie emerge from below deck. Michelle was with her. “Are you okay?” Emilio asked.
“Yeah.” Michelle seemed a little confused, but she was walking.
“I’m going to beach the boat at the inlet. We’ll have to move on foot. Take only guns and ammo.” Emilio hoped the small craft would make it to land before completely going under. “Mackenzie, call Roy. Tell him we’re in a jam and that we need evac from the farthest point on the peninsula past the secondary pick-up location. Let him know we’ll be coming up the beach.”
Mackenzie placed the call over her radio, providing only the minimum information.
The boat continued sinking lower with the engine stalling out just as they reached the sand. Emilio jumped out into the knee-deep water. “Mackenzie and Michelle, each of you take one of Billy’s arms and carry him out of the boat. I’ll handle security. We’ve got about a mile to move.”
Emilio watched their surroundings while Billy hobbled along the beach on one leg between the girls. “Come on, come on!” Emilio yelled. “You guys have to get a system. We need to move faster!”
Billy began swinging his good leg forward, then standing on it while the girls advanced on each side of him. Emilio split his attention between the progress of the others and the burning fires of the collapsed platform and the sinking cargo ship. “Okay, I’ll carry Billy. You two watch for trouble.” Emilio slung his rifle around his back, bent down, and hoisted the injured man over his shoulder.
Emilio tried to run, but it was all he could do to walk fast with the extra weight and the soft sand beneath his feet. He gasped for air. “We need to get away from the water. Maybe the sand will be firmer.”
He kept moving as quickly as possible. His lungs were screaming for oxygen. He felt dizzy. Then, in the darkness, he saw movement. “Look alive! We’ve got company ahead!”
Mackenzie directed the beam of the flashlight attached to her rifle toward the movement. “It’s Roy!”
Roy waved, “Come on! Hurry!”
Emilio felt his knees getting weak, his thighs aching from fatigue. Just a few more yards. Then he saw the Dodge. He could barely speak. “Mackenzie…” He fought to breathe. “Ride in the back seat with Billy. Michelle, shotgun.” Emilio panted for air. “I’ll sit in the bed so I have room to maneuver if we pick up a tail.”
Emilio put Billy down gently inside the back door. Roy helped Mackenzie get him farther into the rear of the cab. Michelle still seemed disoriented but managed to get in the passenger’s seat. Emilio climbed into the bed of the truck and fell onto his back, trying to catch his breath. Roy slammed the door and raced through the demolished subdivision.
CHAPTER 22
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Psalm 91:13-16
Emilio lay in the back of the truck looking up at the dark sky above. He’d seen no signs of peacekeepers following them since they’d left the beach more than fifteen minutes prior. He let out a sigh of relief. It seemed as though they might be home free. He sat up and looked through the back window. Billy had his leg elevated and was still conscious. Mackenzie gave Emilio a thumbs-up through the window. He smiled and returned the gesture.
Emilio wondered how the other teams had fared. He turned on his radio to scan the frequencies used by the various assault teams, as well as the one assigned for communications between the units. He placed a call on the common channel. “This is Neptune calling any other units in the area. Anyone there?” He got no response. The truck was still too far away to connect with command back in Brooklyn.
Thirty minutes later, Emilio noticed that they were crossing into an area that had once been a more populated district. This must be Queens. I’ll try to reach command. We should be close enough. He pressed the talk key. “This is Neptune. We’re coming in with two injured. I’ve got one shot and another with a possible concussion. Command, do you copy?”
An incoherent reply came back. “...crrrsshh…moving out.” More static flowed from the speaker.
“You’re breaking up. Please repeat the last transmission.”
“Crsshhsshh… teams picked up a tail….crrrsshh…safe.”
Emilio knocked on the back window and signaled for Roy to go faster. He’d have to get closer to Brooklyn to get a clear signal. He waited five minutes and then placed another call. “This is Neptune, I need to speak to Hinkle.”
Seconds later, a voice replied. “Emilio, this is Jessica. We had to bug out. We got hit at the garage. Hinkle was shot.”
“Shot? How is he?”
“He’s gone. We lost a lot of people. Helicopters hit us soon after the preliminary assault teams returned. Everyone managed to carry out their intended missions, but things went pear-shaped on the retreat.”
“How did they find you?”
“I assume they had a drone follow one of the teams home.”
“Where are you now?”
“En route to the secondary rendezvous point.”
He recalled the alternate meeting location. Spruce Run Reservoir. “I have two injured. Billy was shot in the leg. He needs medical attention.”
“Then get him to the secondary. We’ll wait there as long as we can, a few hours maybe. But we’ll have to keep moving.”
“I understand,” said Emilio. “We’ll have to go through Brooklyn to get out. What was it like when you left?”
“Helicopters everywhere. We were taking fire when we came out of the Holland Tunnel. We had ten vehicles when we came through the tunnel. We scattered in different directions so they couldn’t kill all of us. We’re down to five vehicles. I still see searchlights in the rearview.”
“Are they patrolling the tunnel?”
“I don’t know,” said Jessica. “Keep your eyes open.”
“Is there another way out?”
“The I-278 Bridge out of Brooklyn has been repaired, but that’s the Global Order’s lifeline to the island. I’m sure they will have locked it down after something like this.”
“What about to the north?”