AL:ICE-9

by Charles Lamb

  Jake could see the woman suffered from survivor’s guilt besides the trauma of the experience itself. He would get with Chris later to see if they could do something that would help her overcome her experience. With the display laid out on the table in front of them Jake asked, “If I show you a floor plan, can you trace the route you took?”

  Jake could see the confusion on the woman’s face, so he activated the display he had brought along, the stadium floor plan now visible to all. Jake continued to walk her through the sequence she described, being careful not to use any words that might trigger a withdrawal on Lisa’s part.

  He pointed out each point along the way and even provided the earlier video from ALICE to display what she might have seen going in. For the interior, they viewed the ALICE provided artificial imagery based on the floor plan and Lisa’s descriptions. ALICE had been looped into the entire conversation via both helmet transceivers.

  Finally, Jake was able to locate the sump wells in the basement as Lisa described. With the entire event diagramed, Jake had formulated a plan to get Sara back. All he needed now was a delivery from ALICE to complete the equation.

  Chapter 11

  Sara sat at the bottom of the hole, for the most part happy to be left on her own, but wondering what the hell, Jake was doing to get her out of there. She had climbed the ladder a few times, testing the grating above, however each trip yielded the same answer. Locked tight and securely fixed to the frame, it was going nowhere.

  Early in her incarceration, she heard frequent movement from above, even some singing at one point. However, as the evening led into night, she hadn’t heard a peep in hours. Resigned to spending the night, she finally settled into a corner of the well, with the water chest high on her. After about 20 minutes, she fell into a fitful sleep.

  ----*----

  Jake stood in the deep shadows, at the tree line just off the parking lot to the north of the stadium. While not a moonless night, it was the typical Southern California evening, mixed cloud cover with a partial moon on the sky. He had hoped for more clouds providing for the darkest night, as there were no longer city lights to contend with reflections off the clouds. Classic quotes notwithstanding, Jake had waited until 1am for the deepest part of the night. He wanted it as dark as possible before beginning his mission for cover and other reasons.

  The delivery he had requested from ALICE hadn’t arrived until after sunset, the small helicopter providing more than enough space for his pick list. Any additional materials delivered were part of the first of Chris’ supplies, but only added in this run because some of Jake’s needs were in route from various locations and thus delayed the entire delivery.

  Once the kit he required arrived, with two additional two-person combat sniper teams, he swapped out his gear. ALICE had provided Jake with a new combat suit, lovingly called a chameleon suit. Unlike the traditional combat BDU’s they all usually wore, which matched the color of camouflage pattern to the existing terrain, this suit matched whatever it was adjacent to. If you stood by a brick wall, the suit took on both the color and pattern. By placing yourself on the ground, you were rocks, dirt, and gravel.

  For weapons, she delivered the latest in subsonic armament. All the munitions contained a heaver projectile with internal slow burn solid rocket motor, providing the same range as a traditional round, but not the supersonic snap. The silencers for both pistol and submachine gun, both 10mm, contained integrated barrels that incorporated both sound absorbing and sound canceling technology. The unit actually generated a sound wave of equal but opposite force to cancel that sound which was not absorbed. Jake test fired a round from his pistol into the ground, and all he heard was the round hitting the loose dirt. The intention of both these weapons was for close in work, perfect for Jake’s plans.

  The rest of the equipment’s capabilities were standard for all combat suits, with the night vision and infrared abilities. Sound enhancement, tactical display, and communications were also standard. ALICE had also provided a separate small satchel filled with explosive charges.

  ALICE outfitted both two-man teams identical to Jake with the exception of the additional sniper rifle, fitted in 7.62mm with the same technology for silent sniping and a 7.62mm assault rifle with fully automatic functionality for the spotter.

  Should things go sideways, these acted as a one-man crew serve machinegun. Similar to the 5.56mm assault rifle they all usually carried, the longer barrel accommodated a 300 round stick magazine, and it had an integrated bi-pod. They reminded Jake of the M-60 he was familiar with without the belt or expended brass to deal with. There was also a third sniper rifle, intended for Abby’s sharp shooter on the overlook.

  Just before midnight, Jake had all four members of B Troop reform their rides for the additional passengers and had them transport the two teams to their drop zones. They each had 20 minutes to get to their hides and settle in before Jake was ready to go himself. The drop zones were 120 degrees either side of Abby’s position, all surrounding the stadium. From there they had interlocking fields of fire forming a triangle around the target.

  While changing, Jake had also hit himself with a local anesthetic, numbing his ribs to remove any possible distractions. He was sure the Doc’s would be mad as hell later, but he was taking no chances with this mission.

  At 10 after midnight, Jake grabbed the third sniper rifle and jumped on his hover cycle, Abby’s observation post as his goal. Chris and a few others were there to see him off and wished him luck. Lisa made no comment, but Jake could see she wanted to see him successful.

  He raised the hover cycle straight up into the night air, but only high enough to clear the walls and then, using his night vision, he made his way between the taller buildings. In short order he had landed his ride on her hill top hide, instructed Abby’s shooter on the role she played with Abby as spotter, and made his way to his current position, all in time for his 1am jump off.

  After receiving confirmations from all positions and giving the go signal, Jake checked both his overhead and infrared for heat blooms indicating guards. For this mission, the riskiest part was at the very beginning. He needed to cover the open area from the wood line to the edge of the fencing without drawing attention to himself. As it was the remnants of an old asphalt parking area, there wasn’t a spot of cover.

  The good part was, these guys were so poorly led and organized that the guards were far apart and few in number. They likely had never been challenged here on their home turf, so they didn’t put a lot of efforts in their guard duties. The bad part was they were so poorly trained and led there wasn’t any set schedule for the guard rotation or routine.

  Jake figured his main goal was to keep the ones up high from seeing any movement below and the one's below wouldn’t survive an encounter if they got too close to him anyway. By the time anyone missed a change of guards, he would either be finished with his mission or in a major firefight. The satchel he carried along contained parting gifts for the occupants in either event.

  Finished with the infrared sweep, he tagged the closet threats in the display everyone was sharing and asked for a go from his spotters. He at least wanted those guards closet to be looking in some other direction when he moved. His route had him clearing this major open area first, then he would move from cluster to cluster of growth, all plant life broken through the asphalt over the many years since anyone actually parked a car here.

  With the all clear given, he did a silent sprint to the outgrowth at the far side of the open parking lot. He then hunkered down to wait and see if he’d been spotted. Normally done in a low and slow fashion, he was now relying on the newly acquired speed and agility the radiation bath provided. He completed that sprint in half the time he previously would have needed to cover the same distance.

  Again, the all clear came from his spotters, so Jake began the process of moving from cover to cover until he was at the fence line near the opening in the stadium he targeted as his entry point. Pulling the wire cut
ters out of a pocket, he clipped just enough of the fence to get through, and then began checking the infrared for heat at his next waypoint. Sure enough, just inside the stadium opening, where he planned to enter the interior, there were two hot spots, indicating bodies.

  Due to the position and heat concentration, either they were really short, fat guys, or they were sitting on something. Moving from infrared to night vision with magnification, he could see sure enough, they were both sitting on chairs on either side of the opening.

  The one on the right had his feet up on a second folding chair, with his head back and was sound asleep. The other guy on the left was propped up in a corner where the two walls intersected, was leaning back, and smoking a cigarette. Unfortunately, he was also facing directly in Jake’s direction.

  Going back to infrared, he verified there were no other bodies nearby, and then returning to night vision, he checked the distance at 78 feet. Close enough. He lifted the submachine gun and set it to semi auto. Then he lined up the first target for a headshot and gently squeezed off a single round.

  Jake felt the slight recoil, but heard no sound but the impact with the targets forehead. He could see the blood splatter on the wall behind and saw his head come to rest, tilted back, as if he had fallen asleep. From there, Jake slipped through the fence and darted to the right of the opening, drawing his knife from his belt as he closed.

  Turning the corner to the right and into the opening, he clamped one hand over the sleeping man’s mouth while driving the knife into his heart and held him there until he died. Sheathing his knife, he continued into the structure. With another right, he took one of the charges from the satchel and placed it high on the wall.

  He then swung the submachine gun, on its strap, around from behind until he held it comfortably in front. While switching between thermal and night vision, he made his way down the corridor, placing charges in select locations along the path he had worked out from Lisa’s descriptions.

  Lighting was sporadic inside, mostly consisting of the infrequent burning oil lamp. His night vision compensated accordingly. In several rooms along his route, he passed sleeping men. While tempted to shoot them where they lay, they weren’t as big a risk in comparison to possible discovery, so he just passed them by.

  When he reached a room that looked to be the armory, Jake took careful note of all the military weaponry. Evidently, they had breached a military weapons store somewhere along the way and had raided the place. No wonder they had little fear of attack, anything short of a fully functioning army would be no threat. That is, anyone but Jake’s team. These were probably from a National Guard Armory. Good, current for the time of the NeHaw attack, but not ALICE grade weapons.

  He placed two charges in here. Then, slipping back into the hallway, he moved farther down the hall and down more stairs, until he passed the room Lisa described seeing Maria abused in. The hook shaped rod coming down from the ceiling was a unique, telling feature. He placed a charge in here. Although it was a complete waste, he felt it was a good idea nonetheless.

  Moving on, he knew he was getting close to the Sump Well location in the plans. Ahead he noticed the flickering shadows from an open flame on the wall, so he slowly approached a turn in the hallway. Peering around the corner, he spotted two men standing over one of the grates in the floor, with one of them holding a lamp. The other held a bottle similar to the one he saw stolen in front of Chris’s compound. The man with the lamp was talking to him.

  “Cal, we should wait until morning. It’s really late and if she is one of them flying assholes from the farm raids last year, we should take our time.”

  The one called Cal replied, “I ain’t tired. I know this bitch is one of them and I want to see her burn tonight. We lost a lot of good men last year and today. They deserve revenge. We haven’t had a good haul since then.”

  “Maybe we should try to trade her then? You know, from the others at the compound.”

  “No, this one we burn, the others will get theirs later,” Cal said.

  Jake had heard enough to confirm this was the group that they were looking for. The group that had raided the farms of Sara, Sandy and the others, killed their families, and had forever altered their lives. He was sure that Sara was in the hole they were standing over and he had enough of the entire thing.

  Moving out from the shadows, with the machinegun leveled at the two, he stepped forward as they both turned to look in his direction. Unmistakably drunk, it took them both a few second to realize Jake was real and as both started to move. He placed two clean shots into both of them, dropping them on either side of the grate. The oil lamp broke as it hit the ground, engulfing the man in flames. As he was dead before he hit the ground, it only added to the ambient light.

  Slipping the submachine gun along his side and out of the way, he squatted down and unlatched the grating, quietly lifting it and flipping it on its back without a sound. Although unnecessary he grabbed a light from his belt and, pointing it down the hole, he lit it up.

  He then quietly asked, “Are you ready to come home?”

  He watched as Sara looked up, confused at first, and then she quickly scrambled up the ladder and grabbed Jake in a hug that made him glad he had taken the anesthetic earlier. She started to talk, but he silenced her. Once she let him go, he gave her the once over, turning her completely around, looking for the charge they had planted on her earlier.

  Once he was sure she was free of it, he had ALICE reinstate her transmit and receive capabilities.

  “OK, you are back online, no one can hear us. Are you alright?” Jake asked.

  “Oh my god, it’s so good to hear you again, what happened, why did my radio go out?” Sara asked.

  “The charge they had taped to your helmet had a wireless detonate function though I doubt they knew that. ALICE shut you down to prevent an accidental detonation until we could rescue you. Look, we can catch up later. Here.” Jake said as he handed her his pistol.

  “It's silenced, but we are still in the vipers nest. Follow my lead.” With that, Jake turned to leave, but not before dropping a charge in the hole Sara had just vacated.

  He knew she had questions, but she was disciplined enough not to ask. He could also tell she recognized both Cal and the burning man, dead at the opening of the grate. He was sure that had been way too good a way to die for the both of them.

  Falling in behind Jake and reverting to her training, she covered their six on the way out. As Jake led the way, she ensured no one came at them from behind. Before long, they reached the opening where Jake had dispatched the two sitting men. Indicating for her to wait there, Jake moved on the opposite way, pulling out charges from his satchel and placing them at irregular intervals.

  Once the bag was empty, he dropped it and returned to the waiting Sara, her body language betraying her impatience. He could hardly blame her. As they prepared to leave, Jake gave the command. “All positions, you are a go!”

  With that, he simply stepped out and started walking back to the opening in the fence he had created earlier. Sara followed, confused at first, until a loud thud sounded from behind, startling her. Turning, she was just in time to see a second body fall from the upper elevations. Then another one dropped.

  Finally she asked, “Jake what the hell is happening?”

  Jake simply replied, “Sniper practice,” and kept walking.

  Once they were both through the fence, two of the A Troop flyers landed and Jake jumped on one while pointing to the other for Sara. After they were clear of the area and all safely huddled with Abby’s troopers, Jake ordered the retrieval of the two support teams by B Troop.

  Before one of the B Troopers made his pickup, he dropped off a special passenger. Removing his helmet, and indicating for Sara to do the same, he motioned the two to come closer.

  “Lisa, this is Sara. You just saved her life,” then Jake handed her a box. It was somewhat sappy, but Jake had asked ALICE for a switch detonator for this mission. Old fash
ion and totally unnecessary as he could have just done it from his helmet, he armed it and handed it to Lisa.

  “Would you please do the honors?”

  Confused at first, she looked down at the box, the red safety cover was up, and the toggle switch exposed below. The Jake pointed at the stadium and then the switch, giving her the thumbs up.

  Not even looking at the box, and completely focused on the structure below, she flipped the switch. Even Jake was impressed. The charges ALICE had provided, though small, shot off a wall of flame, rubble and sound that threatened to knock them all off their feet.

  The initial flash blinded Jake for a moment and he began regretting removing his helmet. Made mostly of concrete, there was not a lot to burn, but what could, did. The rest was a pulverized mess. At one point there was a particularly deep depression, Jake suspected that once had been a sump well.

  After a moment, Lisa turned to Jake and gave him a very long hug. Once she released him, she looked up and simply said, “Maria thanks you,” then handed him the detonator, turned and walked away.

  Chapter 12

  Brian had been running drills their entire trip to the edge of the solar system. As it was with most new crews, it was a good policy to practice, practice, and more practice. He and his XO had established a training schedule that permitted a good amount of experience for each duty shift. The object of it all was to gain familiarity with their responsibilities and to work closely with those around them.

  They actually moved a few personnel around to differing shifts. This allowed them to combine individuals with personalities that were more compatible. Not that there were any personality problems per se, it was just that some people worked better together.

  Brian found his XO actually had good insight into people. She just didn’t have that touch to communicate with a positive message. The woman made “good morning” sound insulting.

  Once they reached the edge of the solar system, they had a series of pre-programmed faster than light runs to make, provided it worked at all with Jake’s additions to the ship. He hoped it all panned out as the removal of the added firepower had demoralized some of the crew. No one liked leaving guns behind in a firefight.