It was not because she was beautiful, rich, or deadly. She was truly all of those! They did it because she was walking a path with only one goal.
To save the earth.
She was doing whatever it took to make that happen and would accept no excuses.
There was a knock on the door and his aide poked his head in, “Robert McCarty here to see you, sir.”
Kevin looked up from the large table that had designs and maps covering the entire surface. “Thanks, show him in please.”
Robert stepped through the door and whistled, “Holy crap, Kevin. Did someone bomb the place and all the paper end up on this table?”
Kevin smiled and shook his hand, then ran a hand through his hair and glanced around. “No, at least I don’t think so.” He pulled out a map of the base. “Here, this is what I’m going to want you to focus on.”
Robert came around the table to look at the document in Kevin’s hand. “Yeah, the old Hangar 18 area. Shit, we’ve got a ton of stuff going on over there.”
“Don’t I know it.” Kevin replied, “You see the emplacements that we originally had?”
Robert pointed them out, “Yeah! Here, two there and one back up over here. Not sure how we’ll be running cable yet ….”
“Don’t.” Robert looked at Kevin as he continued, “Don’t worry about running cable. I’ve been informed of some pretty damned hush hush technology.”
Robert elbowed Kevin, “Hey, fess up now. What are we doing?”
Kevin thought about explaining it all to Robert. But despite how long Kevin had known Robert, they weren’t best buds who would go drinking together. Dammit he thought, he would have to institute some sort of secondary security review for his higher up people. “Well, some things I can’t go into at the moment. I’ll setup a process to get you read into the whole thing later. For now, I want you to look at this map and tell me how many emplacements with the gun specifications we talked about earlier you would want if power wasn’t a problem?”
Robert looked down at the topographical map. “What type of attacks?”
“Assume all. Air / land. People trying to sneak in. Stupid photographers to spies to mercenaries. I want to be able to respond to any and all incursions.”
Robert eyed his boss, “Not asking for much, are you? What are you expecting to protect, gold?”
Kevin pursed his lips, “What if the R & D from this facility came up with a wonder drug that could heal anything. Who would want that?”
Robert shrugged, “You name it. Individuals, corporate spies, governments - whoever had the money or was desperate enough to believe they could change their lives if they got it.”
“Ok, here’s another concept. What if there was a terrible war going on and this was the most secure location?”
“Shit! We’d be swamped. It would be rats running to high ground when the water is rising.”
“Good, and now you know my two worst fears. So, what is your answer?” The phone rang behind Kevin. He turned and stabbed the answer button, “Go ahead.”
A younger male voice came from the speaker, “Sir, this is Barrins at the main gate. I’ve got what looks like a metric fuck-ton of eighteen wheelers all lined up and the first guy is asking where to place his shipping container.”
Kevin was trying to figure out what was supposed to arrive, “I’m lost Barrins. What project is it allocated to?”
“Wait one, sir! I’ll check the manifest.” Kevin waited for possibly thirty seconds, “Says it is for ‘space allocation’ sir.”
Kevin heard Robert behind him, “Space allocation? We’ve got all the fucking space we need. Who the hell would want space?”
Roberts comment provided the clue Kevin needed, “I’m going to put you on hold, Barrins.” Kevin put that line on hold and hit the extension to call the group he figured were the culprits. The line picked up, “Bobcat here.”
“Bobcat, this is Kevin. I’ve got, and I quote, a ‘metric fuck-ton’ of semis at the front gates with shipping containers. Would your team know anything about that?”
Bobcat’s reply came back, “Yes, we would. Hold on.” Kevin heard Bobcat yell out, “Who the fuck ordered the shipping containers already? Did you William? No? How about you Marcus? No? Wait! Marcus, you are looking guilty as hell! Out with it. Uh, huh… Talked with TOM? No, I have no idea why talking with TOM would get us containers this fast. Hell if I know! We are now the proud owners of a ‘metric fuck-ton’ of the sons-of-bitches. No! Don’t ask TOM about it, help me figure out where to stick them so Kevin doesn’t move your personal quarters outside into one of them!”
The rustling of the phone announced Bobcat coming back online, “Kevin, sorry. Somehow our conversation went to someone who thought we needed the things right now. Is there someplace we can stick them?”
Kevin answered, “Not a problem, plenty of space at the moment. You don’t need them right now?”
“No! Not for at least a couple of months minimum I would think. Why, you have a use for them?”
“Maybe, for now I’ll put them someplace where we can get them back. However, I want a couple as payment for helping you out.”
Bobcat barked a laugh, “Sure, why not? What’s a cargo container or two among friends?”
Kevin replied, “Alright, how many are there.”
“I have no idea. We were talking fifty originally, so if it is close to that number it is probably ours. Still don’t have a clue who ordered them.”
“I might have a clue, but I’ll have to talk with Lance.” They said their goodbyes and Kevin clicked back over to his other line. “Barrins, I’m going to give you over to Robert here in a second. He will direct you and your team to tell these guys where to put their loads. Be certain you double check every one of those before you let them through the gate! We are thinking there should be about fifty of them. Let me know if we are short by tomorrow but if you exceed 50 I want you to contact me immediately.” Robert stepped closer as Kevin handed him the phone. “I want you to put forty-eight wherever you can store them, but leave two and let’s drop them back behind Devil’s Ridge.”
Robert took the offered phone, “Devil’s Ridge? Why the hell, no - scratch that. How the hell are we going to do that?”
“I’ll get the guys who created the issue for the how, and the why is I want to make it look like that is our power generation area. That way targeting that area will be a requirement for a first strike.”
“If they don’t hit it with a missile, that’s going to be a bitch to get to.”
Kevin smiled, “That, my good man, is exactly what I’m counting on.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Northern Libya, twenty miles from the coast
Aabis Mahmood walked out of the large tent that he was sharing with twelve others because he needed to go to the latrine. He looked up into the sky and from the location of the moon he felt it was probably a couple of hours past midnight. If he had grabbed his cell phone he wouldn’t have had to depend on his admittedly shoddy ‘moon reckoning’ skills to figure out what time it was.
He walked past four other large tents just like his. He had arrived three days ago along with a truck full of other believers ready to fight the infidels.
There were three sentries in and around the camp. One of them had stopped for a smoke and Aabis waved to him as he walked over to the latrine area. He was standing there doing his business when he noticed a pair of eyes staring at him from the underbrush 30 feet away. He leaned forward just a bit, attempting to identify the animal in the dark, it looked like possibly one of the golden wolves. That was when the eyes moved up, and up… and up! Taller than any wolf he had ever seen. He quickly zipped up his pants, deciding that anything else he needed to do he could finish later. That was the last thing on his mind before a knife came around his neck and quickly pulled back, cutting his throat, and Aabis Mahmood’s life blood ran down his chest. A hand had cupped his mouth, not allowing him to scream out.
It turns out that Aa
bis Mahmood was unique. He was the first man the Queen’s Guardians had dispatched at her command.
He would soon be joined by dozens more.
Pete Silvers put away his knife and nodded to Tim. Tim had chuffed earlier letting Pete know there was someone coming out of the camp. Pete and Todd Jenkins had discussed the best method to take care of the people in the camp and ensuring there would be no survivors. Todd placed two of his snipers up in Pods silently hovering two hundred feet up in the air in case someone ran from the fight.
Right now there was another camp just two miles away in the low hills. Pete and Todd hoped they would be able to take care of this camp without an alarm being sent to the other. But, if a message got out the marines had an answer for that as well. Right now, it was the Guardians who had the lead. There was a total of six tents and they happily had six Guardians. Five of the tents were for the new recruits. The other tent included areas for the trainers and the communications tent.
Pete and Todd had that one as their target. Todd placed his remaining team on the outside of the camp to make sure they didn’t allow any of the terrorists to ‘opt out’ of the coming discussion and to be in position to interdict an attack coming from the other camp.
Pete listened closely as the three sentries quietly met their deaths. Matthew, Joseph and Joel each had a guy to take out. Pete didn’t trust Rickie to keep his mouth shut when he killed his sentry.
There was never a truer saying for Rickie than his mouth had a ‘mind of its own’.
Pete started stalking towards the largest tent. This tent was the location where they might possibly retrieve actionable intelligence. Dan had been very specific that he wanted anything they could grab. If nothing else, he would pass the information to those who cared back in the states. No reason to let good intel go to waste. These shit-heads weren’t going to need any of it ever again.
When Pete was within thirty feet of the tent, Todd came out of the brush pretty quietly for a human. The hope was to keep gunshots to a minimum and then go take out the second camp. The suppressed M4 Todd had slung in front of him was chambered for 300 Blackout and loaded with 200 grain FMJ subsonic rounds. If shots were required they imagined that screams from the dying would be louder than the weapon’s report.
Todd reached for the door handle but waited for Pete. Pete smiled and then took off his black shirt and dropped it off to the side. He pulled his knife which he handed to Todd who winked at him.
Then Pete thought about his sister from another mister. The blood that had been all over her when he had seen her life draining down her neck in a valley in Turkey.
The night turned bright! Todd looked shorter as Pete grew to dwarf the man in front of him. Todd never looked away and never looked concerned. As far as Todd was concerned, he would stick his head in those massive jaws before trusting any other person with his life. He trusted Pete Silvers with his life, his wife, and his knife. Well, since his divorce papers were signed Pete could fuck her all he wanted! However, he would suggest Pete find someone better than that two-timing bitch.
Pete rolled and popped his shoulders and stared back over his left shoulder to where his men were ready to go into each tent.
His voice, deep and guttural carried to their ears easily.
“Engage!” Todd opened the door and Pete Silvers, the first Procilici in four hundred years, stepped out of the night and into each of these men’s personal nightmares.
Pete didn’t waste time or energy. Stepping into the darkened tent, the cot to his left was occupied. He took one step over and ripped out the man’s throat and then quickly grabbed his head and twisted it, breaking his neck. Pete’s madness at the evil these men had caused threatened to overtake him. He was clamping his jaws tight. He wanted to howl at the moon as he went from man to man, killing them quietly. By the time he went around the first room in the tent, four were dead by his hand. Todd had used Pete’s knife to kill the one to the right of the door.
The two men turned towards the canvas door at the back of the room to move into another section of the tent when a gunshot and a ‘you fucking prick!’ broke the stillness of the night.
Well, that blew it! Pete ran ahead and burst through the opening into the second section of the tent. There were three men in this area, two had jumped off their beds and one was trying to find his glasses.
Todd came in behind him. Pete howled, getting all of the men’s attention and a bullet for his efforts. Pete was reminded that these weren’t new recruits, but rather men who had fought in other wars and other battles. Pete looked down at the hole in his chest and then back at the bastard who was staring into death’s face.
Pete’s deep and malicious voice broke the stalemate. “You tea-bag repository! That fucking hurts!” Pete’s right arm shot out, grabbing the man who had been in his bed, trying to remain inconspicuous. Pete pulled him out of the bed by his head, his clawed hand easily engulfing the struggling man who was unsuccessfully trying to peel the claws digging into his eye off his face. Pete lifted him a foot off of the ground and used one of the clawed fingers on his left hand to slice his neck open. “Welcome to retribution. The Queen Bitch sends her regards!”
The dying man’s scream unfroze the man with the pistol and he shot Pete two more times before the back of his head sprayed brain matter when Todd’s shot took him between his eyes. Pete tossed his kill off to the side and slowly walked to the second man who had been trying to make it to the radio.
Todd spoke, “Touch it, and die.” The third man looked over at Todd’s gun aimed at him. He froze for just a second, a second he didn’t have when Pete’s huge hand grabbed him around the neck.
He struggled as this demon from hell grabbed him. He beat at the arm then reached down and grabbed for a knife, a knife he hadn’t been wearing while sleeping. His hand was caught by the monster’s left hand. He screamed in pain when the claws dug into his wrist, severing blood vessels and breaking his bones.
Pete, his right hand around this leader’s neck, his left holding the crushed and useless wrist and brought the man’s face to within inches of his own. “You and your fucking DILF riders have made us angry. How does it feel to have your life bleeding out of you? Are you ready for your afterlife, you cock-sucking cretin?” Pete’s voice was guttural and probably almost impossible for the man to understand, but his anger was speaking volumes into the man’s brain. Pete squeezed harder, the man still unsuccessfully beating at Pete’s arm as his life was draining away.
Todd watched in fascination as Pete’s body ejected two bullets at the same time as he was casually strangling the man. Pete looked around, then tossed the dead body on top of the one Todd had shot.
Pete was full of rage, the killing he had just accomplished wasn’t enough! He turned to look around when the other human stepped up and popped him on his chest, “Get ahold of yourself! We have a job to do and if you don’t pull yourself back together, I’m telling Bethany Anne!” Todd’s grin would have looked weird if someone hadn’t known the close friendship these two had. The tall monster looked down at the shorter human and growled, “Tattle-tellerrr!”
Todd shrugged as he pulled a backpack off of his shoulder and put it on the table with the communications equipment. “Tough shit, I had to get you to focus and while you’re scary-as-fuck my friend, you don’t hold a candle to Bethany Anne when she gets righteously pissed!”
Behind Todd, Pete’s normal human voice retorted, “You know, I’m not sure whether I should take that as a compliment or not.” Pete heard three more shots from the south side of the camp and then one round from one of the snipers above them. “Sounds like some of our guests were leaving the party.”
Todd retorted, “Isn’t this their home? Aren’t we the guests here?”
Pete came over and started grabbing papers and helping Todd stuff them into the pack, “Beats the fuck out of me. We weren’t invited so I don’t know how we could be considered guests.”
“True. Why don’t you check out who fire
d that first shot?” Todd said while he pulled out a box to check it, “Let them know they ruined a perfect record!”
Pete retrieved his knife from Todd then walked towards the door leading to the other room in the tent. “How can we have a perfect record? This is our first op!”
“That’s my point, we fucked up on our first op!” Todd’s humor confirmed Pete’s assumption that Todd wasn’t too upset. However, he did make a good point. They had gotten a little sloppy.
Todd’s voice followed him out into the night, “Ten bucks says it was Rickie!”
Pete chuckled, no way was he taking that bet.
—
Pete checked in with everyone. Sure enough, it was Rickie that had been shot. He was taking a pretty nasty ribbing from all of the guys. Pete walked up to the group. “Report.”
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