“I thought—” Angela started.
“Yeah, she knew it was going downhill, but when she found out all this, she knew the scientists were grasping at straws. They had one test subject that was showing signs of hostility toward blues and were fixing to advance the training. Going through the reports, it only showed hostility toward midlevel infected: joggers.”
“Holy shit. We have to stop them,” Angela said.
“Don’t worry; the test subject is dead. Sandy killed the subject and wiped their computer system,” Stephanie said.
“Sandy!?” Bruce yelled out.
“Quit yelling,” Stephanie barked. “Yes, she saw where that was going and how easily it was going to turn against them. You don’t give your enemy knowledge to wipe out itself; you do it. She’s having a real hard time dealing with that.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Bruce promised.
“How many scientists are there?” Angela asked.
“Hundreds,” Stephanie replied.
“Do you think they will try that again?” Bruce asked.
“Oh, I’m sure they will if they haven’t already,” Stephanie said.
“We have to stop them,” Angela said.
“Absolutely. We are going to bomb them out,” Bruce replied, and they just looked at him. “What? I’m not driving up there and taking that base, nor am I waiting till this little war with the government is over. The idea of blues shooting at me terrifies me to no end. It scares me so much it inverts my penis.”
“Not all the scientists up there are doing that, Bruce. Some are doing real work we really need,” Stephanie said.
Bruce let out a sigh. “Stephanie, I know, and it’s a shitty thing to do, but we have no choice. I hate to condemn them all to death for the actions of a few, but teaching blues is way over the line.”
“Can’t we at least give them the option to stop?” she asked.
“No, baby. I’m sorry; they might just move and keep on training them,” Bruce answered as tears ran down her face.
“Stephanie, we can’t let them continue. You know that,” Angela said, putting her hand on Stephanie’s.
“I know, but this is not fair. Most of those scientists just want to help,” she whined.
“I know, baby, and some of the hostages we’ve killed just wanted to live, but we had no choice. This is threatening humanity, baby,” Bruce said.
“Part of me wishes I never said anything, and the other part wants to help load the bombs,” Stephanie said, crying.
“We would have found out soon enough. The spooks are hacking their system,” Bruce said.
Wiping her face with the back of her hand, Stephanie pleaded, “Let me tell Sandy.”
“Okay, baby.”
“I’ll come with you,” Angela said, hugging her.
“Thank you,” Stephanie said.
Bruce’s cellphone rang, scaring him. After so long without it, he was still getting used to it. “Hello,” he answered.
“Hey Bruce,” Mike said.
“Hey Mike, how goes the home front?” Bruce asked.
“Really well so far. The command group is here waiting on y’all to discuss what you three were just talking about,” Mike said.
Confused, Bruce yelled, “What?”
“Bruce, that is a command area, and it’s being monitored.”
“All right. Let’s get something straight here and now. The next command area that is ‘monitored’ without the commander’s permission, all responsible will be put on shit detail for one month. That does include the two lords of Oz. I don’t mind piece of mind for the clan, but eavesdropping on me pisses me off!”
“Bruce, you told them they could,” Mike reminded him.
“Well, I’m rescinding that order right now!” Bruce screamed.
“Okay, Bruce, don’t be mad at me, but Jake and Matt found out the same thing, and they have restarted trying to train blues,” Mike said.
“Tell Mack to get the F-15s loaded to wipe the site clean.”
“Already started that, Bruce. We will be here waiting.”
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, Mike, but this was a private moment.”
“I know, Bruce. That’s why I called in case it became more private.”
“I have crew members and kids here. It wasn’t going to get more private,” Bruce assured him.
“Whatever, dude. See you in twenty minutes,” Mike said, hanging up.
Bruce looked at the two. “Did y’all know we were being broadcast?” he asked.
“Yes, we are in a clan command center. The clan can see what goes on here,” Stephanie said, wiping the tear streaks off her face.
“They do but after we know it. I will not let bogus information and half-truths spread fear through the clan,” Bruce said.
“Bruce, they helped build it and do supply us,” Angela said.
“Well, if they want to know what’s going on at the front, I suggest they grab a weapon and join,” Bruce said.
“Bruce, they like seeing you fight the blues. It gives them peace,” Angela said.
“That’s fine, but I speak my thoughts and ask others for information to make my decisions. I don’t want that broadcast from the front.”
“That’s fine, Bruce. It will stop,” Angela said, seeing Bruce was really pissed off.
They rode in silence the rest of the trip back. The command vehicle pulled up to the gate, and Bruce, followed by the duo, climbed out carrying sleeping kids. It was 2100 hours as they walked inside the house and laid the kids on the floor in the living room. Jake and Matt came in carrying the twins, also asleep, and laid them by the boys.
After covering the kids up, Bruce walked down to command bunker. When he walked through the door, Jake ran over to his spot and looked at his dad. “Dad, you told us we could do that. I didn’t think it was that good of an idea, but I asked you, and you said, ‘I don’t care.’”
“You weren’t with me or here. How in the hell could you know about this?” Bruce yelled.
Jake lifted up his cellphone. “My minions called me,” he said.
“Well, son, I will take that one, but from now on all cameras are out of command areas. I’m not hiding information, but I want all the information before I let others know.”
“Hey, you aren’t telling me anything. The people of the clan are smart, but I want them to know facts, and I really don’t ever want them to see you scared,” Jake replied.
“Whoa, Bruce scared? When did that happen?” Carl asked, sitting down.
“When he heard that someone was trying to teach blues to shoot,” Matt said.
“WHAT!!!” Ted, Carl, Willie, and Adam all yelled.
Bruce held up his hands for quiet and, to his surprise, got it. “Son, how—” Bruce started but stopped as Jake held up his hand.
“Dad, just because Matt and I are out in the field, don’t think the minions aren’t working keeping us up to date. We have conferences with them twice a day and more when they need it.”
“How much did those little nerds tell you out there that you didn’t tell me?” Bruce snapped.
“They aren’t nerds. They are warriors of Oz, our minions,” Jake popped off.
“Boy, if I come down there, I will put you through a wall,” Bruce growled, narrowing his eyes.
“Dad, they broke into the underground research database site yesterday. They started forwarding us stuff, and one of them saw a video feed from a cell with a blue and someone trying to teach it to pick up a gun on a table. All the blue does is try to attack the glass to get to the human behind it,” Jake said. “There is a lot of information on their database, so we are downloading it.”
“And you tell me this now?” Bruce asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, fighting the headache.
“I always brief you when I have the
information. If I start halfway, all you say is go find out more,” Jake snapped.
“This is kinda important,” Bruce said, squeezing his eyes closed and massaging the bridge of his nose.
“Oh, then I guess I should tell you three months ago, a nuclear submarine tried to launch a missile to hit a mega horde on the west coast, but the rocket failed. We wiped all the rocket boards months ago. There is another government group at Groom Lake or Area 51, but they aren’t talking to anyone. They tried to hack us is the only reason we found them in April. We let them hack the computer over the fort that watches the camera over the driveway then took their system. They have several hundred people there, but they aren’t doing anything. They quit talking to the President and made them think they were overrun. Let’s not forget the group in Tennessee in a nuclear bunker. We still don’t know what branch of the government they’re from, but there is close to eight thousand of them. Then there is a huge military group in Pennsylvania, close to sixteen thousand, and they have a valley locked down. We hacked their system three weeks ago, and some general is running it like regime. We find out so much shit from UAVs, satellites, hacking, and radio transmissions I can’t tell you everything, so I tell you what the current threats are!” Jake screamed at the top of his lungs.
Bruce stood up and started unbuckling his vest, and Angela and Stephanie jumped up, dropping their vests. Stephanie yelled at Bruce, “Move one inch toward him, and I will monkey stomp your ass!”
Startled, Bruce stumbled back with shock and fear spread over his face. “What?” he mumbled.
“You heard her, bitch! Take a step toward Jake; I dare ya. Fuck no, I double dare ya!” Angela yelled, moving toward Bruce.
“Have you two lost your damn minds?” Bruce yelled.
“You move toward him, and I’ll shoot you in the knees and let Angela choke you out,” Stephanie snarled, holding a pistol in her hand.
Visibly shaken, Bruce just stared at the two as Mike eased over, not getting between them. “Hey guys, let’s all calm down,” he begged as Angela crouched, ready to attack Bruce.
“Mike, butt out. If he touches those kids for doing what he asked and trying their best to please him, he will hobble with a cane. We’ll take care of him, but he will lose one kneecap,” Stephanie warned.
Seeing the look on her face, Mike turned to Bruce. “You’re on your own, dude. I’m keeping my knees,” he said, heading back to his chair.
With her face twitching trying not to grin, Carroll eased out of her chair. “Now, that be enough, all of ya, sit down,” she snapped.
“Carroll, I love you with all my heart, but you will shut up and leave this to us,” Angela popped off, never taking her eyes off of Bruce. Carroll smiled and sat back down.
Seeing the two ready to attack, Bruce took a step back only to see the two reposition themselves. Holding up his hands, he said, “Okay, you win.”
“Oh, there is no win. You were wrong, buster, and taking it out on the kids. We will protect them with our life even from a spanking that wasn’t warranted,” Angela said.
“Bruce, you are wrong and made a mistake. Jake and Matt are doing everything you asked and told them to do just like all of our kids. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at us. Angela and I could have gone over the information they gathered and brought it to you. Even though we are over ten other projects, it is more our responsibility than theirs,” Stephanie said.
Looking at them, Bruce sighed. “I’m sorry, Jake. You’re right. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I was wrong, son. I’m very proud of you.”
With his eyes bulging, Jake along with the rest of the kids looked at Bruce in something close to amazement. “Wow,” was all Jake could manage.
Though Bruce really wanted to go to bed, he turned to look at Jake and saw the other kids with the same expression. “I’ve admitted when I’m wrong and apologized before to you,” he said.
“Yeah, days later. Never at the moment,” Danny said.
“Well, I’m fixing to get shot and choked out,” Bruce said, looking at Angela and Stephanie.
“Hey, you earned it,” Stephanie snapped.
Nodding and shrugging, he admitted, “Yes, I did.” He turned to the group. “Everyone, I’m sorry.” Angela and Stephanie just moved back to their chairs and sat down as Bruce watched them. When they sat, Bruce turned to them. “When I got too big for my britches, Debbie never got ready to shoot me,” Bruce said.
“We know. She told us we would never be good enough to fight you to keep your attention. She told us when you got out of hand with the kids to shoot you in the leg and stomp on you,” Stephanie said.
Feeling lightheaded Bruce grabbed the table as his knees got weak. “She what?!”
Angela shook her head. “Yeah, Bruce, she trained with you for over two decades so she could keep your attention when she fought you. Sorry, but we won’t be that good for years if ever. So Debbie just told us to threaten you and if you didn’t listen to shoot you in the knee. She did say only one in case we had to give you another lesson we had one more knee to shoot out.”
Feeling lightheaded and somewhat fearful, he asked, “You were really going to shoot me?”
“I’ll leave that up to you, Bruce,” Stephanie said. “I promised the kids would be taken care of, and so would you. You can use a cane to get up and down the stairs,” Stephanie said, grinning at him.
Bruce collapsed in his chair and noticed Mike and Nancy laughing silently. Looking at Marcus and Carroll, he saw the same thing. “Damn,” was all he could say. “I’m really sorry. They’re right; I was mad at myself and taking it out on others,” he said.
“See, that is so much easier than yelling,” Angela said.
Looking down the table at Jake, Bruce smiled. “There is no denying they belong to this family, is there?” he asked.
“Ah, duh. That’s why Mom brought them into this family,” Jake said, grinning.
Looking around the table, Bruce announced, “Okay, from now on, 1000 every morning, a security briefing by Jake followed by everyone else over your areas. We are just too big to do this once every week or two weeks now. And the cameras in here and other command areas are off and are only turned on when the command person in charge gives the approval,” Bruce added.
“Ah, Dad, can I say something without you going postal again?” Jake asked.
“You can ask, Jake. He may go postal, but he won’t get near any of you unless you earn it,” Angela said like a royal decree.
Jake laughed along with everyone else. “Dad, I don’t want any cameras down here or in any command area. Just in case someone hacks our system.”
Stunned, Bruce replied, “You said they couldn’t.”
“With me and Matt here, I don’t think they can, but since we are back in the fight, I really don’t want to take the chance. I don’t care what the clan thinks; it’s a chance I don’t like taking.”
“Fair enough,” Bruce said, looking down. “Jake and Matt, after the battle with the government, one of you are to stay in garrison at all times. You can decide amongst each other each time, but one of you will stay over the Land of Oz.”
“We can monitor Oz from the command vehicle, Dad,” Jake said.
“Jake.”
“Oh, alright. We will play rock, paper, scissors,” Jake said.
“Thank you. Now, what have you found out?” Bruce asked.
“Well, we are still downloading, and the stuff we are downloading is mostly scientific research, which I hate to say the minions, Matt, and I are having a hard time deciphering what it is. Like I said, we saw them physically trying to teach a blue to use a weapon. That is the only reason we know that.”
“What kind of facility are they in?” Bruce asked, and Jake pulled out his laptop.
Typing away, Jake looked up at the monitor on the wall as a diagram came up looking li
ke four boxes staked on top of each other. “This is their site. It’s buried forty feet underground to the first level with the last level a hundred and twenty feet down. They have power, running water, and enough food for two more years.”
“What is their power source?” Mike asked.
Looking up, Matt answered, “Not sure yet, but I really think it’s nuclear.”
“What?” Stephanie asked.
“Well, when I had one of the minions try to go into that file, it was blocked with an Atomic Research warning,” Matt said.
“Well, that puts a damper on just bombing them,” Mack said.
“How so?” Bruce asked.
“Bruce, if there is an atomic reactor there, we really don’t want to drop a bomb on them,” Mack replied.
“Afraid it would kill them too fast or something?” Bruce asked.
“No, leaking radioactive waste into the ground,” Mack said.
“I don’t care. The thought of armed blues is too much of a risk,” Bruce said.
Sandy leaned over the table to look at Bruce. “Bruce, please don’t get mad at me, but a lot of those scientists don’t even know about that research. The only reason I did was because I hacked into the mainframe. I killed their star infected that took them five months to teach her to just pick up a gun. Believe me, I know the danger they are playing with, and it is the Homeland and military liaison who are running that program.”
“I’m not going to get mad, but what are you doing here?” he asked.
Mike cleared his throat. “I, ah, asked her here, Bruce, to tell the minions what they were downloading. I didn’t think much of it was English, but Sandy assured me it is.”
“That’s acceptable. So Mack, you don’t think we should just bomb them because it might hit a reactor that we don’t even know is there. Sandy, you think we shouldn’t because not many of the scientists know about this research,” Bruce stated.
They both nodded in agreement as Angela spoke. “Bruce, since we can watch them, how about waiting and forming a plan?” she asked.
“Guys, what if someone could have stopped Hitler, Tojo, Mussolini, or Stalin from killing millions when they were just kids? Those alone are responsible for killing over hundreds of millions of people. Let me tell you I would have blown up each one’s kindergarten class to stop them. They make the cluster fuck we are in look like a second grade class trip. If this group teaches a blue how to shoot, humans are dead. Even if they can’t hit a target ten feet away, we lose our only edge: engaging at a distance. I’m talking about our survival period,” Bruce laid out the scenario.
Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) Page 12