After class, I went home to celebrate Christmas break. We did the usual: opened presents on Christmas morning, had the family over for dinner, complete with ham, and other things. During break, I went over Sarah’s house for a New Year’s Eve party. It was just the six of us friends hanging out and partying.
During the party, Max pulled me to one of the bedrooms to talk more about what happened in Quetta.
“Okay, did you find anything new?” he asked.
“Nothing much. The intelligence division is still trying to find other places where Mikhail could be,” I said.
“I bet he has some kind of safe house somewhere,” he said.
“I don’t know. But when we find him, I’m going in alone,” I said.
“Why?” he asked.
“Reduce the chance of more casualties,” I said.
“What if you get outnumbered?” he asked.
“Don’t worry. I’m expertly trained in tactics. With the right equipment and enough planning, I could hold off a small army,” I said.
Sarah came into the bedroom.
“Guys, the countdown is starting soon,” she said.
We went back downstairs and got out some noise-makers. Everyone wore New Year’s hats or glasses. The TV showed the ball drop at Times Square. When the ball started descending, we all started counting down from ten. When the timer hit zero, we all shouted and cheered.
Everything seemed fine, until Max and Mark started shouting, which started to remind me of the screaming marines in the Quetta mission. Katie set off a party popper, and the feeling got worse.
Suddenly, I felt like I was back in the war.
Everything came rushing in from the bathroom attack, to the fight with 89, to Quetta. I was losing my breath. It felt like all of the oxygen in the room got sucked out, and I desperately tried to cling on to the last breath of air in the room. I tried doing my breathing techniques to ease the anxiety. It only helped temporarily. I also started to feel warm. Melissa snapped me out of it temporarily by kissing me. It helped me a little, but I still felt like I wasn’t there mentally.
Chapter Twenty-Two
With winter break over, I went back to school. I needed to stay focused on my school life, as well as my operative life, so I had to break up with Melissa. But I didn’t know how to break up with someone, so I decided to talk to Mark after class. I met up with him by his locker after class and told him about what I wanted to do.
“I have a question: Do you know how to break up with someone?” I asked.
“Yeah, just walk up to her and say, ‘I’m breaking up with you.’ Why?” he said sarcastically while pulling books out of his locker.
“It’s just that I don’t want to hurt her feelings, you know. Also, I just don’t have room in my life for a relationship right now,” I replied as he closed his locker, and we started walking to class.
“Well, if you need to break up with her that badly, just do it. Do what makes you feel good. I mean, if you don’t have room for a relationship right now, then why have one?” he said.
“True. I just need some time to straighten things out,” I said.
“Even if you break up, it’s not the end of the world. We got lots of time to find the perfect one,” he said as he patted my shoulder and walked off.
After lunch that day, I told Melissa to meet me after school behind the building to talk about our relationship.
“Melissa, we need to talk about something,” I said.
“I know. I have an idea for the coming home dance. I would go in all red, and you would go in something white so we could coordinate. Oh, and…” she said before I interrupted her.
“I’m breaking up with you,” I said.
“What?” she said.
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that I just don’t have any room in my life for a relationship right now,” I said.
“Why?” she asked.
“It’s just that I live a complicated life. It’s hard to explain, and I wish I could, but I can’t,” I said as I walked off, hoping that I didn’t hurt her.
I walked off as fast as I could. At the same time, I felt a wave of relief washing over me, knowing that I was no longer dating her.
Later at academic team, we met back up to discuss the tournament. We sat at a table in the library once again with our notebooks scattered about the table.
“Okay guys, the decathlon is in two months. We will be competing against Gleenview High School on a Sunday, so we need to get our stuff straight until then,” Mr. Hiller said.
“We need to go over our subjects to make sure we get everything. Last year, they beat us,” Kristen said.
“Yes, but they won’t beat us this year,” Matthew said.
“Yeah, well, we were beaten because of you,” Kristen said.
“Shut up,” Matthew said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Matthew guessed the wrong answer, and we lost by one point,” Kristen said.
“Come on, guys. Let’s stay focused,” Mr. Hiller said.
We continued to quiz each other on what we know to get ready. Everyone seemed to get all their answers correct. I had a hard time trying to stay focused. I started thinking about the mission in Quetta. As I sat there, I could feel the heat and humidity from there. I could still hear the shooting, explosions, and soldiers screaming in pain, and I just could not let it go. My hands started twitching, and I didn’t blink once. As I sat there, Matthew tried asking me a question but had trouble getting my attention.
“Alex!” he shouted.
I quickly snapped out of it.
“Oh, uh, could you repeat the question?” I asked.
He sighed and rolled his eyes.
“How long does it take for the body to digest food?” Matthew asked.
“Roughly six to eight hours,” I replied.
“Correct,” he replied.
After the meeting, I met up with Max as we walked to the parking lot.
“I heard about you and Melissa,” he said.
“Yeah, we needed to break up. It started to overwhelm me,” I replied.
“Yeah, and she kept making you wear those ridiculous clothes,” he said.
“I know. You guys didn’t tell her, did you?”
“No. No one else knows except me and Sarah,” he said.
“Look, I need to tell you something. I’m thinking about leaving the academic team,” I said.
“Why?” he replied.
“It’s just that I need some time to get some things straight you know,” I said.
“Are you sure? I mean, the decathlon is coming up in two months,” he said.
“I’m positive,” I replied.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
“Look, I am fine, okay? I just need some time, all right?” I said.
Max’s mom’s car pulled up.
“Well, I got to go. I’ll talk to you later,” he said as he got into his mom’s car.
After Max’s car left, Emily approached me. She just got off of cheerleading practice, judging by her bag and how she wore a T-shirt and shorts.
“So, I heard you broke up with Melissa,” she said.
“What do you care?” I asked.
“I don’t. I just heard,” she replied.
“What do you want?” I asked.
Emily took a deep breath and turned toward me.
“I never thanked you for saving me and Derek during the attack on the square,” she said.
I turned toward Emily.
“Like I told Derek, I just did what I had to do.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t tell anyone you were there,” she said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Look. I know you think I’m just a soulless bitch well, everyone does. But sometimes I try not to be, and it’s hard. Besides, if whoever did this attack shows up again, I’d feel a lot safer if you were here,” she said right before her ride picked her up.
My mother arrived
and picked me up. I got home and did some homework until Sarah called me.
“Hey Alex. I heard about what happened with you and Melissa,” she said.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“No. She spent an hour over the phone talking about it, and she sounded really upset. She said that you didn’t have room in your life for her,” she replied.
“No. I said that I didn’t have room for a relationship in general for anyone right now,” I replied.
“Well, that’s what she told me. She was probably too upset about the breakup, so she may have misheard you. Not to mention that she doesn’t know about the real you and what you do,” she said.
“True. Living a life like mine is not as awesome as some guys my age would think,” I said.
“Yeah. How’s that been going lately?” she asked.
“Rough. Sometimes it feels like I’m still there, even when I’m not,” I said.
“Yeah, I wondered about that, because I noticed you acting weird at our New Year’s Eve party. Are you okay?” she said.
“It’s nothing. I can manage it,” I said.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yeah. I just drift off sometimes. It’s nothing,” I said.
“Did you tell anyone about it?”
“No, it’s no big deal. I guess it just happens, you know?”
“Okay, you’re starting to scare me. Maybe you should talk to someone.”
“Look, I told you I’m fine, okay?”
Sarah sighed.
“Okay, fine, whatever. Just don’t let that stuff get to you, okay? I got to go. I’ve got homework to do. I’ll see you later,” she said as she hung up.
The next day at lunch, I went to sit down when I realized that all I would be doing is sitting there and not saying a word, so I sat alone. Not to mention Melissa sat with them, and it would have been awkward.
During lunch, I just sat there thinking about all the fighting I have been through lately. It felt like it still went on, and I couldn’t stop thinking about all the fighting.
I barely touched my food. I just pushed it around with my fork during the entire lunch period. When one kid threw their tray on the table, I quickly lifted my head up to make sure it wasn’t gunfire. In fact, I constantly checked the place like someone was about to ambush me. When I was not distracted by outside sounds, I thought about what would happen when I got Mikhail.
Will I finally find some answers on what exactly happened to the Omega Project? I don’t know. But, in the meantime, I had to do a book report on a play by Shakespeare. I picked Macbeth. I read the book during lunch, but I had a difficult time trying to stay focused. The cafeteria was too loud and distracting for me, so I finished it at home.
After I finished reading Macbeth, Mark called.
“Hey Alex, I heard you broke up with Melissa,” he said.
“Yeah. I just need some time alone,” I said.
“Is that why you were sitting alone at lunch today?” he asked.
“Yes. I just need some time to think things through,” I said.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine; I just need time,” I said.
“Um, okay. If you need anything, just give us a call, okay?” he said as he hung up.
I found myself, once again, right back where I started from the beginning of the year, with no group to fit in. For some reason, it didn’t really bother me that much. In fact, nothing else bothered me much lately.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After I talked to Mark, I got a call from the Mathis regarding Mikhail’s location.
“Good news, Alex. We found the son of a bitch hiding in Venezuela. We need you to come in now,” he said.
I went downstairs, gave my parents the same excuse as last time, and left.
When I arrived at HQ, we learned that Mikhail had a safe house in Venezuela.
“The safe house is lightly guarded by several inept guards, and we figured that you and a team of four navy seals could clear the area,” Mathis said.
“Could I do this mission alone?” I asked.
“And why is that?” he replied.
“There may be bio-weapons in the area, and we can’t afford to lose anymore men. I need to do this alone,” I replied.
“Look, you may be a one-man killing machine, but you need to learn that there are risks in these operations and that trying to play the lone wolf will get you killed.”
“Trust me. I can do this,” I replied.
“Why do you want to do this alone?”
“I told you: to minimize casualties.”
“I’m going to ask you again. Why do you want to do this alone?”
“Okay, fine. I really want to find Mikhail and figure out where Jackson is.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” he said.
“Why not?” I asked, raising my voice.
“Look, you may know more about combat than me, but I don’t feel comfortable sending you in there alone. Besides, it violates a ton of rules. Also, you don’t have enough experience in the field yet,” he said.
“Look, I know what I’m doing, okay? Please. I promise I can do this,” I said.
“We will find Jackson eventually, and when we do, you can rip his spine out of his ass, okay? Now, if you really believe that you can do this alone and you fuck up? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
John accepted and let me go in alone.
I traveled to the safe house in a plane. When I arrived, I parachuted out into what looked like a small rural area with at least five or six farm houses. After I got my parachute off, I took cover behind some bushes, took out some binoculars, and scouted the area. It was dark and humid outside. The area was lightly guarded, with two searchlight towers scouting the area.
The safe house was the biggest house and had a barn next to it. There were trucks parked around the house, probably containing weapons and other equipment.
I started by first killing one of the guards by kicking him in the calf, knocking him to his knees, and then cutting his neck with my knife.
I moved closer to the safe house where I took cover behind a bush. There were two guards walking side by side. I took out my silenced pistol and shot them both in the back. Three more guards saw me and started shooting. I quickly shot them with my rifle and shot two more guards coming from the left.
Once I got into the safe house, I found Mikhail. He stood in front of a window looking out of it with his back toward me. He turned toward me slowly, putting his cigar down.
“Alex Connors, we meet at last. I have to admit Jackson was right about you. You’re a talented person. It’s a shame that you did not join us because you would have been a perfect soldier for the Union. Maybe if you were to join us, we could give you some information on what happened to the Omega project,” he said.
“Yeah, I know the Union murdered everyone, stole all the research, and used the kids as test subjects for your bio-weapons.”
“Seems I underestimated you, but there’s still some information you left out.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“It’s a long story for another time.”
“Okay, then let me ask you this. Why are you using bio-weapons?” I asked.
“Take a wild guess,” he replied.
“You don’t seem like the kind of person who would join the Union for money or power. I think you joined for a different reason,” I said.
He started to walk toward his desk and leaned on it.
“And what reason is that?” he asked.
“Well, let’s think about this for a second. For years now, most of the Middle East has been a war zone. People forced to flee their homes and into foreign countries to escape the fighting. Not to mention all the people who died. I think you’re trying to fight islamophobia,” I said.
“You’re indeed a smart kid. My homeland invaded, my people were brutally killed for practically no reason, and our cities were bombed
. The survivors were forced to travel to countries where people disrespect them and call them vile things like suicide bombers! What would you have done?” he shouted.
“All this for revenge,” I said.
“Precisely. But let’s forget the past and focus on the now. I mean, look at what you did to those guards. They were some of my best combat veterans,” he said.
“They were poorly trained. Anyone could have made short work of them. Besides if those men were your best. I can’t wait to see what a mall cop could do to them,” I replied.
“Those are my men you’re talking about. Watch your words!”
“Or what?”
“You’re a confident person. But unfortunately, I’m running late, and I must be going,” he said as he turned toward the table behind him.
“The only place you’re going is with me,” I said as I walked toward him.
He turned around with some kind of gas gun. He shot it, and a small cloud of smoke erupted in my face. I started to get sleepy. I had trouble standing up. I then collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness.
“I must run. I’ve got a lot of things to do and little time to do them,” he said as I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I heard my contact back at the STR trying to call me over the earpiece connected to my radio.
“Connors, come in. Connors, respond,” he said.
“I’m here. What is it?” I asked.
“Connors be advised. We’re unable to make it to the extraction zone due to extreme enemy activity heading your way. You will have to hold out until we can arrive. ETA seven hours.”
“What kind of contact?” I asked.
“Intel is picking up tanks, choppers, trucks with mounted guns, and at least fifty well-armed ground troops. Their ETA is six hours and thirty minutes,” he replied.
“Copy,” I said.
Once I got my strength back, I went outside to gather up any weapons I could find. As I searched, I found that the barn was repurposed into a weapons cache. In the garden shed next to the barn, I found necessary materials to plant traps. The shed had everything I needed, from nails, spare car batteries, paint remover, empty jars, and full gas cans, which I could use to make improvised explosives. The shed also had bags of fertilizer, which contained potassium nitrate, which could help me make other chemicals like nitric acid.
The Omega Archives Page 14