by Jake Bible
“Glad I wasn’t sitting there,” Dr. Raskov said from the other side of Thompson.
“Here they come,” Mike said, having not joined the rest in arming up and taking a stand. His eyes were glued to the screen. “Incoming in five.”
“Set yourselves,” Cash said and took a knee, his rifle up and aimed at the double doors.
“Four,” Mike continued.
Ivy took Cash’s left while Haskins took his right, both with ready rifles.
“Three,” Mike said.
Barbara grabbed a rifle as did Tressa. They flanked the first three, but were about a yard behind.
“Two.”
Olivia picked up a rifle and stood just to the side of Mike.
“I got ya covered,” she said.
“Thanks,” Mike replied. “And one!”
There was a clanging at the double doors.
“Ready,” Cash said. “Wait until the doors are open before you fire. I don’t want rounds ricocheting off the metal and coming back to—”
He stopped speaking as one by one everyone’s wrist tabs came back online and started beeping.
“Huh?” Mike asked, staring at his wrist.
“Hello!” a familiar voiced called out from the wrist tabs. “Man, is it good to know some of you are still alive.”
Cash paused, shook his head, then looked at the tiny face on the screen of his wrist tab.
“Raff?” Cash asked.
“Hey, buddy! Miss me?” Raff replied with a laugh.
Fifteen
“Sorry we didn’t communicate earlier,” Raff said from Cash’s wrist tab. “But we had to set up comms relays from our neck of the woods to yours first.”
“Where are you?” Cash asked.
“Well, that’s kind of funny,” Raff said. “A couple days ago, I would have said on the coast preparing to cross the ocean to go kick some Russian ass.”
“And now?” Cash asked.
“Holy shit, we’ve got vehicles incoming,” Mike said as he jabbed a finger at the screen. “Fifteen speed rollers. Maybe ten minutes out.”
“Now, we’re coming for a visit,” Raff said. “Well, more than a visit.”
There was more clanging from the double doors.
“Come on outside so we can talk and you can meet everyone else,” Raff said.
“There are combots outside, Raff,” Cash said. “I think staying behind the double doors is a safer plan.”
“Oh, shit, sorry!” Raff chuckled. “Yeah, that’s us. Or the combots belong to us. I mean, I’m in a speed roller, same with all our new friends, but, well… Just open the doors, Cash. Trust me.”
“How do we know he hasn’t been taken hostage and this is a trick by the Russians?” Ivy asked.
“Ivy? Hey there! Very good question,” Raff replied. “I can’t really answer it in a way that will fully satisfy your skepticism, but how about this?”
The clanging at the doors stopped. Then there was a knocking that was unmistakable.
“Shave and a haircut? That’s going to make me open the doors?” Ivy asked.
“How about a nice samba beat?” Raff replied and the knocking turned from “Shave and Haircut, Two Bits” to a steady Latin rhythm. “You think the Russians would allow such a sick beat? Come on, guys. I’m legit. Everything is legit. We’re all good.”
Raff’s image was immediately replaced by Lakshmi’s face.
“Or he can stop hogging the comms and let me talk to you,” Lakshmi said. “We’re not hostages, Ivy. We are part of an international coalition that has been desperately trying to stop the Russians for almost a year now. It took me a while, but I figured out that the Wyoming Bubble is how we stop the instability that threatens Topside.”
“Vehicles are five minutes out,” Mike said.
Raff came back.
“We’re on a little bit of a time crunch,” Raff said. “We were followed and we need to get set up before shit hits the fan.”
“This whole place is nothing but shit and fans,” Zach said.
“Who’s that? I don’t know him,” Raff said.
“Cameraman for Barbara Chin,” Tressa replied.
“Barbara Chin is here? Flipside? Wow. I’m a such a fan,” Raff said. “And, yes, I agree with the cameraman, this whole place is shit meeting fans every second of every day. But we’re dealing with a fan so big, and a pile of shit to match, that the whole world and of all existence as we know it back Topside is about to end. So… Open the doors and say hello.”
“Ivy? You’re Head of Security,” Cash said. “Your call.”
“The vehicles are only a minute out,” Mike said.
“Open the doors,” Ivy said.
“You sure?” Cash asked.
“No, of course not,” Ivy snapped. “Is anyone sure of anything anymore?”
“Fine,” Cash said and stood up. He walked up the ramp to the double doors. “Let’s see who’s here.”
***
Cash was leaning against the wall outside the bunker, hand over his nose at the stink of bodies, and shaking his head as he studied the ten combots. They were all heavily modified, way different than the combots he’d engaged before. And each one had a crudely painted flag representing a different country on either the side, the back, or in the case of the U.S. one, on the metal plate of its rigged scanner and comms system that looked like a forehead. But that wasn’t the strange part.
The strange part was that there were comms screens bolted to the combots’ shoulders like weird-looking signage.
“Totally look like shoulder fan hats,” Haskins said. He was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the bunker’s double doors, a rag wrapped around his mouth and nose. “Don’t ya think, Cash?”
“What in the hell is a shoulder fan hat?” Cash asked.
“That,” Haskins replied, indicating the screen on the U.S. combot. “That’s a shoulder fan hat.”
“I like that, Haskins,” Raff said, his face beaming from the screen.
A speed roller navigated the base’s wreckage and came to a fast stop directly behind the pack of ten combots. Raff jumped out of the passenger’s side and gave a thumbs up.
“I really like shoulder fan hat,” Raff said as he strode through the combots toward Cash, a huge smile on his face.
He was as tall as Cash, but nowhere as muscular. Lean and lanky was how most described him, although he had a solid look to him that said he wasn’t about to be blown over by a strong wind. Dark brown eyes, deep and wide apart, set against extremely pale skin gave him a strangely exotic look. He could have come from any Eastern European country in the world, but when he grinned, it was all American smartass.
“You son of a bitch,” Cash said.
Raff held up a finger. “Wait for it.”
Heavy-caliber gunfire erupted around the base. Halfway across Flipside FOB, a flock of wingers exploded up into the air. Half of them were able to make their escape while the other half fell fast. The heavy-caliber gunfire didn’t stop for a good forty seconds.
“Clearing the grounds,” Raff said. “We’re going to need to lock tight if we’re going to get through tomorrow.”
“And why is that?” Cash asked, walking toward Raff.
The two men hugged with heavy, strong back pats then shoved each other away and began the process of scrutinizing their appearances.
“You look like shit,” Raff said.
“You look slightly better, but probably because you haven’t been fighting for your life after crashing into the base,” Cash said. “Also, none of us have eaten in God knows how long.”
“Twelve hours, at least,” Haskins said.
Raff glanced past the two men at the double doors that were closed.
“Compromise,” Cash said. “We came out to see what the story was, but my father started yelling about not sacrificing everyone and to shut the fucking doors.”
“He’s not a stupid man,” Raff said. “But also not the most trusting.”
“Talk
,” Cash said.
“Hop in,” Raff said, gesturing to the speed roller. Four operators had climbed out and were standing on the running boards, .300 Win-Mag rifles held at the ready. “You’re going to want to meet everyone.”
“I should get Ivy,” Cash said. “She’s the ranking operator.”
“She’s the what now?” Raff asked. “Buddy, did you get fired?”
“What did you think was going to happen after last year’s disaster?” Cash replied.
“A lot of stalling until the press calmed down, a slap on the wrist, and business as usual,” Raff replied.
“Yeah, it never calmed down,” Cash said and gestured at the base. “And business as usual is long gone.”
“Damn,” Raff said. “Your father threw you under the bus.”
“My father threw me under the bus,” Cash replied. “I was demoted to security consultant and pretty much cut out of all operations. Only reason I’m here now is because I was bringing Elvis to Topside BOP so he could be there when you and Lakshmi got back.”
“Elvis? E is here?” Raff exclaimed. “Elvis! Come here, boy!”
The double doors shuddered violently and there was the sound of barking calls and people shouting from the other side.
When the doors finally opened, they were almost torn off their hinges by an overly excited Ankylosaurus. The dino shot out of the bunker and headed straight for Raff.
“Calm kisses!” Raff yelled and Elvis skidded to a stop before he bowled the man over. Then he began licking Raff’s face over and over and over. “There he is! There’s my good boy!”
“This is crazy,” Tressa said as she came out of the bunker.
“What are you doing here? Your vid said we needed to go meet you,” Ivy said as she followed behind Tressa. She shot Cash a look. “Thanks for the all clear, Trevon.”
“Hey there, two of my favorite people,” Raff said as he extricated himself from Elvis’s greeting and held his arms out. Ivy gave him a hug, but Tressa held back. “Uh oh, what’d I do?”
“What is going on?” Tressa asked.
“Haskins? Can you watch over things here?” Raff asked.
“I could do it with one arm tied behind my back,” Haskins replied and held up his stump. “Oh, wait.”
“Shit,” Raff said as he stared at Haskins’ arm. “Sorry, man.”
“Shit happens Flipside, right?” Haskins replied.
Raff pointed at Cash, Ivy, and Tressa. “We got room inside the roller. Come on. Got some people you need to meet.” He glanced past Tressa and eyed the bunker. “If Ms. Chin wants to come along, I don’t mind.”
“Your fiancé might,” Ivy said.
“Wife,” Raff replied.
“Say what?” Cash asked.
“We got married. Seemed like a good idea before we died.”
“Then your wife may mind if Ms. Chin comes along,” Ivy said with a huge grin.
Raff waved her off. “Nah. She knows I’m too much of an idiot to ever impress someone like Barbara Chin.”
“I wouldn’t mind a ring-side seat to what sounds like the saving of the world,” Barbara said as she came out of the bunker.
“Nope,” Ivy said. “Professionals first then you can have your scoop.” Ivy looked over her shoulder then frowned. “Where’s your cameraman?”
“Not going back out there ever again!” Zach called from inside.
“I believe Zach has quit on me,” Barbara said. “And are you serious about the scoop?”
“Scoop all you want,” Raff said. “If it’s alright with…” He paused and looked back and forth from Ivy to Cash. “Wait. We saw images of Amanda getting into a crawler with you Topside. Shouldn’t she be Head of Security if Cash was removed from the position?”
“Mandy didn’t make it,” Cash said. “She got taken out by a winger.”
“Fuck,” Raff replied. “God dammit. Man, we were hoping everyone would make it. Only having glimpses of Topside meant we’ve been in the dark for a while now.”
“That’s how we felt Topside,” Mike said as he came jogging out of the bunker. “Hey, Raff.”
“Alright, I was really hoping you’d made it here,” Raff said. “Lakshmi is going to be very pleased.”
“Where is she?” Mike asked.
“She’s sequestered,” Raff said and his tone darkened.
“Is she hurt? We have Dr. Raskov,” Tressa said. “Although, he’s not exactly at peak performance.”
“No, no, Lakshmi’s fine,” Raff said. “Listen, it’s better if I show you, okay? Things are getting more and more complicated by the hour as the bubbles Topside expand. We have a very short window to accomplish what we need to accomplish. You three, and now Mike too, come with me.”
Everyone exchanged looks then nodded and Raff clapped his hands together.
“Great!” he said. “I probably shouldn’t sound so cheery since I’m about to bum you guys out a little, but positive mental attitude, right?”
***
“Commander Patrick Bloom, these are my people,” Raff said as everyone stood inside a circle of heavily armed operators that stood watch just inside the main gate. Outside the main gate was a circle of speed rollers surrounding a single roller. “Operator Trevon Cash, Head of Security for Topside Command Ivy Ellison, CEO of Topside Industries Tressa Thompson, and…what’s your title, Mike?”
“Head of Technology and Systems Operations for Topside Command,” Mike said and gave the commander a friendly wave. “Hiya.”
Commander Bloom was short, muscular with a pudge, and had thinning gray hair that blew in the slight breeze. He wore fatigues with the Australian flag stitched into the shoulders and breast pocket. His hands were the size of dinner plates and looked like they could crush walnuts with barely a squeeze.
“Welcome to the jungle, people,” Bloom said, his Australian accent crisp and businesslike. “Ain’t no fun and games here.”
“I know that reference,” Cash said, holding his hand out.
Bloom shook with everyone then crossed his arms over his chest.
“As senior military officer of the coalition, I want to extend my condolences at the losses you have suffered,” Bloom said. “I wish we could have gotten here sooner, but we’re not exactly dealing with a well-oiled machine anymore.”
“Senior military officer?” Tressa asked. “Do you have a civilian counterpart?”
“Operator Bellows said you would ask that,” Bloom replied.
“He refuses to call me Raff,” Raff said with a shrug. “He doesn’t high-five, either, so don’t try.”
“You haven’t shot him yet?” Cash asked the commander.
“It was considered and discarded as a waste of a good operator,” Bloom said. “Plus, I like his wife and wouldn’t want to see her upset.”
“Everyone likes his wife more,” Ivy said. “That’s normal.”
Bloom gave Ivy a brief smile.
“To answer your question, Ms. Thompson, I do not have a civilian counterpart,” Bloom said. “We can’t risk wasting time with debate, so I was put in charge by the other commanders, including Operator Bellows here.”
“He won’t call me a commander, either,” Raff said and shrugged. “Just Operator Bellows this and Operator Bellows that.”
“It is extremely hard to know when he is being serious,” Bloom said. “The man makes jokes while firing a .50 cal machine gun. Luckily, no one can hear him over the noise.”
“Then how do you know he’s making jokes?” Mike asked and received sharp looks from everyone except Raff. “What?”
“Because he laughs at his own jokes,” Bloom replied.
“That’s true,” Raff said. “I do that. I’m funny, so sue me.”
“I would like to request we discuss civilian representation,” Tressa said. “Now that I am here, as well as my father, I believe it would be in the best interest if—”
“No,” Bloom stated.
“I’m sorry, what?” Tressa asked.
“No
,” Bloom repeated. “And before you get angry and start arguing, you will want to hear what I have to say.”
“Hey, Mike? Why don’t you come with me,” Raff said. “I’ll take you to Lakshmi.”
“Thank you, Operator Bellows,” Bloom said. “We cannot waste a single minute.”
“Come on,” Raff said and walked between two of the guards toward the ring of speed rollers outside the gate.
Mike gave everyone a worried look then followed.
“Pop a squat,” Bloom said and crouched down as he fiddled with his wrist tab.
“You use that term too?” Ivy asked as everyone except Tressa crouched.
“I picked it up from Operator Bellows,” Bloom said. “Ms. Thompson? Is crouching above your station or would you care to join us down here?”
“Pop a squat, sis,” Cash said.
Tressa did, but did not look happy about the situation at all.
“Here is the overall picture of Flipside,” Bloom said as a holograph projected from his wrist tab above the dirt in front of him. “Which we in Australia refer to as Dinoside, but Operator Bellows insists on Flipside since he says it is more, um, catchy.”
“It did track in the ninetieth percentile with focus groups,” Tressa said.
“Excellent. As long as we have focus group support, we will be just fine,” Bloom said. Then he nodded at the holograph which was showing a small version of the Earth as it should look in the past. “Here are all the bubbles we know of.”
Red dots appeared on the globe as it slowly rotated.
“There are seventy-three of them, to our knowledge,” Bloom said.
“Whoa, what?”
“Seventy-three?”
“Are you shitting me?”
“I am not shitting any of you,” Bloom continued. “Please listen and questions that can be answered will be when I’m finished speaking. Will that work for you?”
He received several nods as all eyes stared at the red dots that continued to appear on the holographic globe.
“Good,” Bloom said. “The majority of bubbles have been appearing Flipside over the last year. We believe they are in response to the Russians’ illegal mining of the past, an activity strictly prohibited by all treaties and agreements made between the host countries. Originally, the treaties were put in place so the past could not be exploited, but now we know that there is a bigger reason for not trying to strip the natural resources of Flipside.”