DARK TITAN
Journey
Book 1
By Thomas A. Watson
DARK TITAN
Copyright 2014
Thomas A. Watson
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real persons, events, or places are purely coincidental; any references to actual places, people, or brands are fictitious. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements
To James Mason a chance meeting led to finding a talented artist, and friend. Thank you for sharing your artistic talent and then allowing me to place them on the cover for the world to see.
You amaze me with your talent and I hope this gets you recognized.
Thank you to my readers. To all those who provided support, read, wrote and
offered comments. I would not be where I am today without all of you.
To my family: Thank you all for giving me the courage and strength to pursue my dreams. I love you very much. Nick, Khristian, and Phillip, you three make my days brighter.
To Monique Happy: Thank you. You have been a pleasure to work with, and your work is amazing. Thanks for the recommendation, Shawn Chesser, she truly is the best.
And finally to my wife, Tina. Thank you for putting up with me and keeping my side
of the bed warm on the long nights I was clicking away at the keyboard, for all
your insightful input, and for just being there for me. I would have never made it
this far without all your help and encouragement.
Chapter 1
Struggling out of deep sleep, Nathan thought he heard an alarm. As his brain slowly came back online, he heard a very annoying ‘ting-aling-aling.’ Slowly cracking his eyes and looking over at the hotel nightstand, he saw the light going off on the phone as it rang. Dragging his body over to the side of the bed, Nathan fumbled with the receiver, pulling it to his face. Looking at the clock on the nightstand he saw it was 4:11 a.m.
Before the receiver was even to his mouth, Nathan blurted out, “The damn building better be on fire.”
“Dude, what are you still doing there? You told me you were leaving!” a male voice shouted.
Nathan sat up, blinking sleep out of his eyes as his brain notified him that it was not operational yet and needed more time. “Tim?” he asked into the phone.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Looking back at the clock to confirm he saw the right time, Nathan asked, “You do know what time it is here right?” He glanced over as the blanket moved on the other side of the bed.
“Yeah, it’s just after one a.m. here, but back to the question: I thought you were leaving,” Tim said.
Letting out a yawn, Nathan stretched out. “I’m leaving today, Tim, but I got in contact with the man who owns the gun store and he’s going to meet me there at six a.m.”
“You have enough shit now, just leave, Nathan. If you don’t have it, one of the others do, and if they don’t, we don’t need it,” Tim snapped.
“Dude, you’re worse than a wife,” Nathan popped off.
“Something is wrong, Nathan, and you’re too far away from home,” Tim told him.
“Tim, I talked to the owner of the store yesterday after I talked to you. I really want to see what he has. It’s one of the biggest gun stores in the south,” Nathan replied, wanting Tim to understand.
Tim let out a sigh. “How long do you think it will take you there?” he asked.
The bed shook as the blankets moved again on the other side of the bed. “It shouldn’t take long, Tim,” Nathan told him.
“I know you when you get in any mega store, but a gun store? You could be there all day. You really need to head back home,” Tim replied, almost whining.
“What has got you so riled up?” Nathan asked, pulling the blankets off the other side of the bed to reveal his German Shepherd, Ares. Ares lifted his head up, looked at him, then laid back down.
“I didn’t want to say much on the cellphone yesterday, but we’re seeing weird shit on the web. The government has called an alert for all forces for this weekend, even those overseas,” Tim told him.
Nathan reached over and rubbed Ares’ head. “Oh damn, the world is ending now,” he replied sarcastically.
Tim groaned. “I really don’t like talking to you when you first wake up. You’re worse than Sherry.”
“Don’t you even compare me to your wife,” Nathan shot back.
Laughing at that, Tim said, “Hey she’s worried as well, and if you don’t start heading home I’m going to let her hound you.”
“They’ve been running alerts for a long time, Tim, so no need to get your panties in a wad,” Nathan said as he pulled the pillow out from under Ares’ head. Letting out a moan, Ares put his paws over his muzzle.
“Not all branches. The Reserve, DHS, FBI, BATFE and all the other alphabet soup agencies. Those stationed overseas are to move toward a disembarkation point for the exercise. The White House said they want to know how long it would take to move these forces,” Tim replied.
Hearing the panic in Tim’s voice, Nathan started laughing. “Your tinfoil hat is on too tight,” he replied.
“Hey, Rusty is calling an alert for the group!” Tim barked.
“Tim, Rusty wanted to call an alert for the group when Twinkies weren’t on the market anymore. He was certain it was a plot,” Nathan replied.
“Hey, he likes his Twinkies,” Tim answered.
“It’s just an exercise,” Nathan said as Ares sat up, looking at him. With the look on Ares’ face, Nathan knew Ares wanted to go back to sleep.
“Nathan, there’s more. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered all nuclear power plants to start the turn-off phase and have it completed by Sunday. Is that also part of an exercise?” Tim replied.
Shaking his head, Nathan said, “Tim, I think you’re just a little too paranoid.”
“This coming from the man who says the Bilderberg group is real,” Tim answered.
“Hey, they are real!” Nathan shouted, and Ares just plopped down on his stomach, making the bed bounce.
“Nathan, I have a bad gut feeling on this,” Tim said.
Letting out a long puff of air, Nathan said, “Okay Tim, I’ll be on the road today.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” Tim answered with relief.
Nathan smiled to himself. “If something happens, stay with the plans, alright? Why don’t you and Sherry stay at the house until this is over,” Nathan offered.
“Okay. We’ll move over and stay in the guest room. We have all our stuff packed already,” Tim told him. Nathan was shocked that Tim agreed so fast, and then the last sentence hit him.
“You’re packed?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah, Sherry packed up after I talked to you yesterday,” Tim said.
That alarmed Nathan some. Tim might be the husband in that marriage, but Sherry was the boss and she very rarely got shook up. You might say Tim wore the pants, but Sherry picked them out.
“Tim, it’s Friday. I will see you early Sunday morning,” Nathan replied.
“Thank you, Nathan, I’ll tell Sherry. She’s feeding the baby,” Tim told him.
“How is little Nolan doing?” Nathan asked.
“Great, all he does is yell, eat, pee, and poop,” Tim answered.
Laughing, Nathan answered, “That’s
what all babies do.”
“Yes, so everyone keeps telling me,” Tim answered.
“I’ll call you when I get on the road,” Nathan said, standing up.
“Cool, be careful,” Tim said.
“Will do.” Nathan hung up. Then he looked over at Ares. “Will you get up, lazy bones, we have to get ready,” he said.
Ares sat up on the bed. “Awwe-shhff,” he whined as he yawned, ending with a puff of air. Nathan gave him a hug and moved to the bathroom, knowing if he lay back down he wouldn’t wake back up in thirty minutes.
Nathan had met Tim when Nathan was an instructor at the police academy five years before, and Tim was going through P.O.S.T. (Police Officer Standards and Training) certification. They were both reserve officers for the Kooteai and Shoshone Sheriff departments in Idaho. For his primary job, Tim worked construction and logging, while his wife was studying to be an accountant. They both lived on Nathan’s farm outside of Coeur d’Alene in his guesthouse.
When Nathan met Tim, he’d instantly liked the kid, and to Nathan, Tim was a kid. Nathan was thirty-eight and Tim was twenty-five. Tim may have been young but was very mature for his age, besides being a good friend. What Nathan didn’t know was that Tim’s father and mother were drunks, and Tim was determined to make something of himself.
Three years ago, when Nathan had invited them out to his house to eat, he’d offered to let them stay in the two-bedroom guesthouse. They were living in some apartments in town, fighting to make ends meet. Tim at first refused, thinking it was a handout, but Nathan told him if they moved out there they had to help with the farm. The farm was only fifty acres but Nathan had chickens, rabbits, horses, cows, greenhouses, and gardens. It was a farm, albeit a small one, but with only Nathan running it, at the end of the day the farm felt like a plantation.
Tim finally agreed and to Nathan it was a match made in heaven. He no longer needed to pay someone to watch over the place as he traveled around the country taking classes or thirteen-week nursing contracts. Nurses made fair money but travel nurses made good money, and if you were single it was great money.
For the past year, Nathan had been a part-time ER nurse at the hospital in town. He didn’t make as much money, but that was okay. The farm had been paid off after Nathan’s parents died. Thinking about his parents, Nathan fought back the grief.
It had been over twenty years ago but it still hurt. He’d been two weeks from his eighteenth birthday and a senior in high school when a drunk driver hit them head on, killing both instantly. Thankfully a judge ruled Nathan competent and an adult so the state didn’t provide an administrator for the estate.
His dad had been a retired Special Forces sergeant major and Nathan received those benefits for ten more years. Nathan’s mother had been a nurse and her benefits were more than his dad’s. The insurance paid off the farm and all bills, leaving a lot left over.
Nathan’s father had made him promise not to join the military and reluctantly Nathan had agreed. He was pretty sure if his father would’ve lived, he would have joined anyway, but since his death Nathan just couldn’t break that promise. That was why he became a nurse, to follow in his mother’s footsteps.
In all reality, he really liked being a nurse, but wanted to do more. When he was twenty-one he joined the Sheriff’s Department as a reserve deputy. Two years later, Nathan joined the Special Response Team (SRT), most commonly referred to as SWAT.
Nathan walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Walking back into the room, he saw Ares had burrowed back under the covers. In a moment of weakness, he left Ares alone. Since the death of his parents, Nathan had always had a German Shepherd. When they were five years old he would breed them and take the male pick of the litter so he would always have one in his life. Ares’ father, Apollo, was at the farm with Tim and Sherry.
Ares was two and a half and was massive for a German Shepherd, weighing one hundred and eighteen pounds of solid muscle. He was a certified police-trained attack dog like Apollo, but Ares had more personality and intelligence than any other dog Nathan had ever owned. Apollo would just do what he was told like his father before him, but Ares wanted to play, a lot. Not to say Ares was a bad dog, but he definitely had his own personality.
Nathan had been in Georgia for five days for a nursing conference to get his education points for the year. It was only March, but he wanted them out of the way now. After the conference, he had planned on visiting several large gun and surplus stores in the area, and since he had a Federal Firearms License (FFL), he wouldn’t have to wait for any guns he bought. Now, because of Tim’s tight tinfoil hat, he was just going to visit one and then head home.
After his shower, Nathan stood at the end of the bed and ripped off the blankets. “Get up, lazy bones,” Nathan said, looking down at Ares who was feigning sleep. “I know you’re awake, Ares, your eyes were just cracked,” he said. Ares rolled over on his stomach in a bowing position.
“No, begging won’t change that we have to get up,” Nathan told him, and Ares put his paws over his face. “You’re turning into a sissy,” Nathan said, turning around to get dressed. “If you don’t get up, you don’t eat.”
Hearing ‘eat,’ Ares jumped off the bed and headed to the door. “We have to get our stuff first, moron,” Nathan said, pulling on his shirt. Ares narrowed his eyes and lunged toward Nathan. Nathan, thinking Ares was fixing to tackle him, turned his body in a side stance.
Before reaching Nathan, Ares lowered his head down and grabbed one of his penny loafers and bounced onto the bed. “Those shoes cost two hundred dollars, buddy boy,” Nathan said, moving toward him. Reaching out to take the shoe out of Ares’ mouth, Nathan glared at him. Just as his hand touched the shoe, Ares bounced off the bed.
“Damn it, Ares, give that back!” Nathan snapped, jumping up and running across the bed. Ares took off around the room, playing ‘keep the shoe away from Daddy.’ Nathan spent the next five minutes retrieving his shoe before they were finally ready to hit the road.
Chapter 2
Nathan had arrived at the gun store (which had also been a police supply store) thirty minutes early to find the owner opening up. When Nathan walked inside, he’d felt like a kid in a candy shop. He’d wanted to stay for a long time and probably would’ve if Tim and Sherry hadn’t called him every thirty minutes.
Leaving Atlanta, Nathan looked in the rearview mirror to see Ares looking at him from the back of the Suburban, his head cocked. “No, you’re not getting another hamburger,” Nathan said, and Ares groaned, flopping down in the back seat. Nathan chuckled, then looked at the passenger seat where he’d placed the box for his new laser and flashlight for his M-4. The laser could fire green or IR (infrared) and the light was 500 lumens. Nathan reached over to open the box just as Ares barked at him, causing Nathan to jerk the steering wheel.
“Stop that, damn it, you scared the shit out of me!” Nathan snapped. Ares looked up at him with his head cocked to the side, as if he were saying, ‘Keep your eyes on the road idiot.’ Nathan smiled at Ares, then glanced at the bags of clothes he had bought. They were the new MultiCam pants and shirts with the knee and elbow pads built in. He had wanted some for a long time, but before he spent two hundred dollars on a pair of pants he wanted to try them on. Sure, the khakis he had on now were that much, but he’d tried them on first.
After trying on the new uniform, Nathan bought three sets of them. Then he picked up some more boots, another tactical flashlight, a switchblade, a case of MREs, a new custom 1911 high capacity, and a few other things. He just loved .45 caliber handguns. The owner of the store was a little sad to see Nathan leave after seeing him drop over six grand on his credit card, and he could tell Nathan wanted more. One secret Nathan held close was that he loved to shop, even for clothes. He didn’t care. Whether it was online or in a store, he enjoyed it, but had to pace his spending. He wasn’t rich but he was very well off. To Nathan, rich meant you could buy what you wanted all the time.
Lookin
g over again at the passenger seat, he spied a tater tot hiding in the bottom of the drive-thru bag. Popping it in his mouth, he emptied his Route Forty-Four cherry-limeade. Hearing a whine behind him, Nathan said, “Hey, you don’t like tater tots so pipe down. You ate a hamburger and a hot dog.” Leaning forward, he adjusted the bullet-proof vest he was wearing so it wouldn’t keep hitting everything he had on his belt.
“Woof,” Ares barked. Nathan didn’t know if that meant “more” or what, so he just ignored him. Hearing his phone ring, Nathan hit his Bluetooth ear piece.
“Hello Tim, I’m on the road,” Nathan said.
“About time,” Tim shot back.
“You’d think I’m married to both you and Sherry the way you guys bug me,” Nathan told him.
Tim didn’t answer for a second, then replied, “Sherry said we can go see the justice of the peace when you get here.”
“No, thank you,” Nathan replied, smiling.
“So you’re really on the road?” Tim asked.
Nathan picked up his cellphone and hit video. “Look,” he said, aiming the phone out the front window. Then he pointed it in the passenger seat. “I have ten energy drinks,” he said, mounting the phone on the carrier on the dashboard.
“Don’t drink them too fast or you’ll get heart palpitations again,” Tim warned.
“Hey, I’m the nurse here,” Nathan snapped.
“I’m just saying,” Tim said. “I see from you panning the camera around you bought a ton of shit,” he added.
“I would’ve bought more, but two people kept bugging the shit out of me,” Nathan replied.
“Hey brother, I’m sorry but we really think something’s up. Rusty is already at the compound with his family. Billy and Aidan are taking their families up tomorrow,” Tim told him.
Rusty, Billy, and Aidan, along with their families, were the closest thing Nathan had as family, not including Tim, Sherry, and Nolan. Hearing that made Nathan sit up straight. “What has you guys so worked up?” he asked.
Dark Titan Journey Book 1 Page 1