The Peacekeepers. Books 7 - 9 (The Peacekeepers Boxset Book 3)

by Ricky Sides

  “I’d like that, sir. I left so I could get my mom and dad in the Ark program. They were old, and wouldn’t have stood a chance on their own.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Jim said. “You get well so you can help us punish those responsible.”

  “You can count on that,” the man said fiercely, and then he lay his head down on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

  Jim left the infirmary and went straight to the control room where he sent messages to Ramon and to the Peacekeeper. He warned Ramon that they now had evidence indicating an attack on Cuba was planned soon and that he should be vigilant. Next, Jim updated Tim and Pol as to what he had learned from Jeremy Sidel.

  With the serious business out of the way, Jim told Tim how beautiful his granddaughter was and that he’d gotten to hold her. He told Pol that he had explained the acceleration beds to Lisa and that they were being installed in the Athens and passed along her thanks. Then he asked if there was anything new that he needed to know.

  “Patricia wanted to know if you are still interested in keeping tabs on that set of houses you were tracking from Reager Industries. She said that they had moved a bit each night until three days ago. Now they seem to have found a place to stay put for a while.”

  “We’re all but certain that’s a dead end, but I’ll go through the motions of having it checked out anyway. Give me the coordinates. I can send Evan there in the morning. That’ll be an easy run for a captain with a new baby aboard.”

  Tim gave him the coordinates to the location and said, “That’s four hundred miles to the southeast of the spot where the Valiant was first attacked by the air raiders. Maybe I’d better go check that out.”

  “You can’t. You’ve got to get Pol to Base 1 to tie in the power relays on the Michigan. You know he doesn’t permit his assistants to do that. Besides, there’s no reason to suspect that this is anything but a coincidence. It’s not as if they were in the same area.”

  “You’re right. I almost forgot about the Michigan.”

  ***

  “Get these houses moving, now!” shouted Edward Giovanni angrily. He had just been given a scathing rebuke by the Warlord for falling so far behind on the delivery of the houses to the base. It wasn’t his fault that Bruno had lied and told him that the boss wanted him and his people to participate in the raid on the settlement in Tennessee. But Bruno had delivered a lot of slaves to the Warlord and was consequently in the man’s good graces.

  “I’m gonna kill Bruno when I get the chance,” Edward muttered to himself.

  “How far are we traveling tonight?” one of the men asked.

  “We’re not stopping until we get the houses to the base.”

  “That’s going to take too long. Besides, most of the RVs will never make it to the base if we don’t refuel soon,” replied the man who was in charge of securing the RVs and getting them to the base.

  “Then we’ll separate here. That will save us a lot of time anyway. Our air vehicles can travel much faster than the RVs.”

  “Without your help, finding more gas is gonna be a bitch,” the man carped.

  “That’s not my problem. The Warlord just informed me that if I don’t show up at the base tomorrow with the houses he is going to come to see me about why I’m late. You know what he means when he says stuff like that.”

  “Yeah, man. I had no idea your life was on the line. You guys go ahead. I’m not late. In fact, you’ve been rushing me so much that we are a few days ahead of schedule.”

  ***

  “I said I want another drink, damnit!” John Harrelson stated loudly.

  “Come on John. You know they have a two drink limit,” one of his friends said. Looking at the waitress, he added, “He’s had a really bad day. His girl was taken captive by some raiders.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. No problem, boys. You all have a good night,” the lady said and then she turned to walk away.

  However, John’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “What about my drink?” he asked.

  “Let go of me now,” the woman said in a low tone of voice. She sympathized with his situation, and didn’t want to get the young man in trouble. However, she knew the moment security saw his behavior, he would be tossed out of the club, and if he didn’t leave peacefully, he’d get a rougher treatment and end up in the brig.

  “I said I want a damned drink!” John yelled loudly.

  This time, Irene knew he’d drawn the attention of the security people, because she saw several of the men making their way around the crowded dance floor and converging on the table.

  “Let her go, John,” said one of the man’s two friends who had accompanied him into the bar.

  “Not till she says she’ll get me a drink,” John retorted angrily.

  “That’s enough,” said the security man who reached the table first. “Let go of Irene,” he said in a no nonsense tone of voice. When John ignored him, he added, “Now, son.”

  John released the woman’s arm and concentrated on the security man who turned to Irene and said, “What’s the problem?”

  “He wants a third drink. Maybe he just doesn’t understand the rules here,” she said helpfully, hoping that John would follow up on that reason and leave peacefully.

  “We’ll take him back to the ship, buddy. We’re sorry about the problem,” John’s friend stated.

  “Okay, I guess it’s time for you boys to get back to your ship then,” the security man said.

  John surged to his feet and said, “Are you gonna kick me out?”

  “Boy, you are just plain stupid aren’t you? Look around you. If you keep running your mouth, you’ll end up in the brig for the night. Now, I suggest you leave quietly while you still can.”

  John’s companions noted that they were now surrounded by five large security men, but John was so angry he wasn’t thinking. “Come on, John. It’s time to get back to the ship,” one of his friends said in a reasoning tone of voice. For a moment, he was afraid that John would start a fight, but then Evan walked into the bar with Ralph at his side.

  “Captain on the deck,” one of John’s friends said and jumped to his feet to stand at attention. Around the room, every man and woman who served on a ship did the same, regardless of whether or not they served under his command.

  “At ease,” Evan stated with a nod of his head to the people in the room. “All crewmembers of the Athens, now hear this. We leave at first light for a mission. Finish your drinks, but then get back to the ship.”

  Several crewmembers at other tables downed their drinks in a gulp and hastily departed. Noting the security personnel that had surrounded John’s table, Evan and Ralph moved in their direction. “Report to the ship, John. Your liberty is over,” Evan stated.

  “We were just about to toss him out, Captain,” the security man stated.

  “I see. Well, with your permission, we’ll take it from here, gentlemen,” Evan stated.

  “Of course, Captain,” the security officer stated. He knew that by rights Evan didn’t need to make the request at all. In the peacekeeper chain of command, the captains had the authority to take possession of their crewmen, unless they had committed a serious crime.

  The security personnel backed away from the table and Evan stepped forward to address John. “Get back to the ship, John. I won’t tell you again.”

  For a moment, it looked as though John would take a swing at the captain. Evan noted the tensing of his muscles and relaxed his own in preparation for blocking the attack he felt certain the irate man was about to launch.

  “Don’t be stupid, Harrelson. Getting your ass thrown in the brig won’t save Karen. At least with us, you’ll have a chance to be there, if we find their base,” Ralph said in quiet tones.

  Evan turned and walked away when he saw John relax his tensed muscles but John called after him, saying, “We will find them, won’t we, Captain?”

  “If we don’t, it won’t be for lack of trying. Yes, I think we will locate
them. It may not be us who actually finds them, but I have every intention of putting the Athens in the middle of any battle with the raiders. I could use you on my strike team in any potential rescue mission, but Sergeant Maroney is in charge of that detail.”

  “I’ll be in on that, won’t I, Sergeant?” asked John.

  “If you have your head together, hell yes, you’ll be in on the mission. But if you don’t, and I get the feeling you’d be a liability to the mission, then you’ll be left aboard the ship. It’s all up to you.”

  Without another word, John walked out of the bar and headed for the nearest exit to the flight deck. “You two make certain he doesn’t get lost, or fall off the ship,” Ralph ordered John’s friends.

  He fell in beside Evan, and they walked out of the bar together. “Thank you, Captain,” he said. “I appreciate you taking the time away from Lisa and Beth to help deal with this.”

  “He’s my crewman. An old friend tipped me off, so I called you to join me. But, now it’s time for me to get back to the infirmary. I want to hold Beth again. She smells so good.”

  “What’s it like? I mean having a child.”

  “I’m not sure I can describe it. It’s different from any other experience I’ve ever had with the exception of being married to Lisa. It’s sort of like that,” Evan explained as they walked down the corridor. “I hate being away from her, and can’t wait to spend time with my daughter.”

  “I’m happy for you, my friend. I know you guys never thought you’d be able to have kids, so this has to be really special for you.”

  “It is. It really is. If I had to list the four greatest events in my life, they would be the birth of my daughter, marrying Lisa, my adoption by Dad, and making captain of my own ship.”

  “If you rate it higher than marrying Lisa, it must be something really special. I didn’t think anything could ever bump that.”

  “I didn’t either,” Evan admitted.

  “I’ll see you aboard ship in the morning,” Ralph stated, and then they parted ways as he turned to go to the nearest exit that would lead him to the flight deck, while Evan continued to walk back toward the infirmary.

  Chapter 13

  Ramon stood on the deck in the control room of the Havana and stared out into the night sky. He had been standing there lost in thought for several minutes.

  The control room crew knew that their captain had been deeply disturbed by the call he had taken from Admiral Wilison. They correctly assumed that he was thinking of all of the various options and formulating a course of action. Therefore, they weren’t surprised when Ramon turned and said, “Drone operators, launch your drones. I want a reconnaissance of the isle in the Dry Tortugas where we picked up the vaccine. I have a feeling that there is an enemy presence there.”

  “Captain, we’ll need to move the Havana closer to the fort if we are to fly the drones there. We are out of reliable operating range, and could lose our drones,” one of the drone pilots said.

  “Helm, move us to a point sixty miles north of Havana.”

  “Thank you, sir. That will work splendidly,” the drone operator said.

  “Communications, put me in the fighter channel.”

  “Transferred to your chair, Captain,” reported the communications officer.

  Ramon sat in his chair and activated the switch. “All fighters, you are ordered to execute defensive strategy Alpha. Good luck to you all, and stay sharp.”

  Ramon listened intently as one by one the squadron leaders reported in that they were leading their squadrons to their designated areas. The plan called for a third of the fighters to hover in a defensive ring around the city of Havana and the peacekeeper base El Morro. Ten more would hover at sea two miles out to act as a first warning system and engage the enemy. They were spread out across a loose formation. The remaining ten fighters were held in reserve with the Havana and they were now flying above and behind the patrol ship.

  “Get me the El Morro base commander,” Ramon ordered.

  It took five minutes to get that man on the radio. “Commander, I want to warn you that a band of air pirates will strike within the next few days. They have stolen several peacekeeper fighters, but the majority of their aircraft will be stolen flying vehicles of all types.”

  “Will our defenses take out these people?” asked the commander.

  “No, my friend. I’m afraid they probably won’t. We are moving to intercept positions to defend Havana and El Morro, but I need your help.”

  “What can we do to help, Captain?”

  “Make our task easier. Turn off all exterior lighting, and contact the Havana government and ask them to do the same. This will cause confusion among the raiders who won’t know where to strike. Otherwise, they will know to strike the brightest areas.”

  “I can promise to kill our lighting, but Havana is not under my control.”

  “I know, but they respect you. If you advise it and they balk, tell them to look to El Morro. When they don’t see the lighthouse light, they will understand that this is a serious matter and that may convince them of the danger. Tell them it is just for a few nights.”

  “I’ll do what I can, and I’ll triple the guards on the defenses.”

  “No, Commander. Don’t do that. These people are coming in with lasers, such as the ones our drones use in addition to the fighters they have stolen. The men would be cut to ribbons. The safest place for them is in the below ground bunkers. Leave the defenses to us. We are best suited to protect Cuba from this threat.”

  “Ramon, this doesn’t sound like a raider attack to me. It sounds as if the American peacekeepers are raiding us.”

  “I assure you, this is not the case. These air raiders have been attacking peacekeepers. They massacred dozens of men and women at a peacekeeper settlement and took dozens more into captivity. The America peacekeepers are making every effort to locate them before they attack other settlements.”

  “Then explain to me how these people got the laser weapons,” demanded the commander.

  Ramon explained the chain of events that led to the looting of Washington State Base. “Unfortunately, the schematics for the weapon were in a computer that the enemy took from the base. With those engineering schematics, the Warlord found someone who could build the lasers. They have already attacked the Valiant with one of those lasers.”

  “Very well, Captain. I’ll do this your way. Good luck to you and the others.”

  “Thank you, Commander. Good luck to you.”

  Twenty minutes later, one of the drone pilots said, “Captain, I am approaching the fort.”

  Ramon got up and walked over to observe the pilot’s monitor. “Slow your approach,” he ordered the two drone pilots. “Hover above the outer wall and see if you can see any enemy aircraft on the ground inside the fort.”

  “I see no aircraft, Captain, but someone has been here. I see many small fires. Look. There are still glowing embers in the fires.”

  “Recall your drones immediately. Communications, notify the fighters to look sharp. I think the enemy recently left Fort Jefferson, and may be en route for Havana. Then notify the base at El Morro to expect trouble tonight.”

  “How did you know, sir?” Ramon’s strike team leader asked as they waited for the drones to close enough so that the drone operators wouldn’t lose the invaluable assets when they turned and flew toward Havana.

  “Something about the loss of the computer at the peacekeeper base bothered me, but I couldn’t quite understand why. Aside from the loss of the schematic for the laser, the rest of the computer contents were primarily of historical value, thus no big threat. For example, many of the battles that we have waged were chronicled on it for the sake of keeping a record for future generations. During several of those battles, Fort Jefferson has been used. It finally occurred to me that the enemy just may have studied those battle records and that they could be using that knowledge against us.”

  “It appears that you were right. Would anyt
hing tell them how to attack us?”

  “Yes, yes it would! Remember the flight Phoenix and Cowboy made over the bay and El Morro?”

  “No, Captain. I’m afraid I know nothing about that flight. That was before I became a peacekeeper.”

  “Well, I do.” Turning to the communications officer, the captain said, “Contact the Damroyal. Request the flight path made by the reconnaissance team when they flew to El Morro and the bay, prior to the battle with the drug cartel, and ask them if that information would have been in the lost computer from the Washington State Base.”

  Minutes later, the captain was staring at a map with the flight path denoted. That information had indeed been stored in the lost computer. Ramon called the strike team leader over to look at the map. He wanted to consult with the man because he wasn’t a pilot specialist with advanced navigational training. “If you were at Fort Jefferson, and wanted to use this flight path because it is already laid out, how would you do it?”

  “You know I can fly this ship. Not as well as the real pilot, but I can fly it. It’s the navigation that is truly complicated to me. So I would fly east to Key West. Even I could find that. Then it would be a simple matter of following the course you see on the map.”

  “Excellent. Thank you for your assistance.”

  “Helm, plot an intercept course to this point along this heading,” Ramon said and handed the pilot his copy of the map.

  “Do you want to assume we are south of them, head due east to the closest point to the flight path and then proceed northeast?” the pilot asked.

  “Yes. That will do.”

  “Communications, notify the two mile line of fighters to move to the mouth of the bay and then proceed northeast along the flight path the Damroyal just gave you.”

  “Captain, the flight leaders report confirmation of your orders,” the communications specialist reported within moments.

  “Captain, we altered course to intercept the Havana along your new course. I see three fighters on a southwesterly bearing,” a drone pilot reported. “They are not sending transponder signals, sir.”