Chapter 23
December 13th 2062 6:00 p.m. (Day One-Hundred Forty-Two) Banquet Hall, Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
The manor was buzzing with activity, and everyone was scrambling to get everything set up. There would be two ceremonies to honor the new officers. The presentation today was the induction of the new members into the Crimson Force family, and the banquet the following day would be a presentation to the families with the graduates receiving their new uniforms. Vendors were being summoned from all over so that everyone who lived in the Crimson Manor would be able to partake in the festivities.
Xavier and David were full of energy and excitement as they entered into the banquet hall in brand new suits. They were still reeling from the realization that they were now a part of the most elite Special Forces unit to ever be established on planet earth. They had endured all kinds of mental and physical testing to acquire skills no one else had.
Five hundred people were gathered and seated throughout the banquet hall. Every Crimson Force member from all over the world was in this one room, and David and Xavier would be one of the members of the leading body of one hundred of these incredible warriors.
The tables were no longer divided by officers and potential officers; every one sat with their respective squads. The atmosphere seemed so light and celebratory. For the last twenty weeks it had been tense, with everybody competing against each other, but now they were all joined together as one body and one team. The squads sat in order of rank and there were two seats between Lieutenant Commander Ribeiro and Junior Lieutenant Laurence de Gaule. Captain Stanley went around the table introducing the two of them to the rest of the team. They enjoyed the fellowship for awhile before President Conrad took the stage.
“Among us are the most brilliant and highly trained individuals on the planet. We often enjoy celebrating our victories, but this is a special occasion. We have only had the honor of training and appointing new officers on one other occasion. Today we honor ten new officers and ten new unsung heroes. They have endured and fought valiantly. They have overcome the greatest of odds. Now I will call them up in alphabetical order and grant them their titles, upon which they will take the Crimson Oath. Tomorrow night, we will gather their loved ones and they will receive their uniforms and medals. Monday we will get back to work, establishing and protecting the peace in our beautiful world.”
Applause echoed across the room. President Conrad had such pride and joy in his eyes as he made his speech. He truly loved and respected his officers.
“Now without further ado…I give you your officers.”
Fina Abraham, Emily Baker, Maria Lombardo, Carla Moreno and Lena Winkler were awarded the rank of Junior Lieutenant. David Friedman, Abaigeal Hirsch, Xavier Phillip and Charlie Wilson were awarded the rank of Lieutenant, and Oscar Thompson was awarded the rank of Commander. They all stood in alphabetical order and saluted the congregation as a roaring applause erupted. Advisor Johnson and Advisor Kelly stepped forward with ten Crimson Force guard members holding out ten Bibles. They were all instructed to place their right hands on the Bibles and take their oath. They recited it together:
“I swear to uphold the beliefs, ethics, and principles of the Crimson Force. I will do everything in my power to establish and defend the peace of this world until my final breath.”
They finished with the Crimson Salute. The presentation was over and everyone began making their way to their seats when Oscar pulled Xavier to the side, extending his hand out with a smile on his face.
“Lieutenant Phillip, congratulations. You are a worthy adversary.” David, Xavier, and Charlie’s mouths fell open. After regaining his composure, he grabbed his hand.
“You as well, Commander Thompson. You are going to be one of the most talented Commanders.”
Xavier believed that. He sometimes questioned Commander Thompson’s character and motives, but he would never deny that he was one of the most talented competitors he had or will ever face. The two officers exchanged a nod of respect. Charlie followed Oscar and muttered out ‘congratulations’ to Xavier as he passed him. David and Xavier made their way back to their seats, joking around and taking turns calling each other Lieutenant.
When the two recruits, now Lieutenants, sat down with their squads, the demeanors of the officers they were sitting with had completely changed. Commander Violet Fernandez, Lieutenant Commander Cecilia Ribiero and Captain Stanley Cromwell, who were typically very professional, seemed to have relaxed significantly. They were joking and laughing together, and it was a side of them Xavier had only seen in glimpses prior. Junior Lieutenant Kira Rubis and Junior Lieutenant Laurence de Gaule were engaged but very stoic. Xavier sat back and enjoyed the company of his new squad.
Violet’s personality seemed to have completely shifted in an instant. Where she was typically focused and aggressive, she had become vibrant and enthusiastic. It was as if she wasn’t allowed to show that side of her personality as a trainer, but now, as a companion, she could. He felt like he was meeting the real Commander Fernandez for the first time.
David continued to dominate the conversation. He spoke with such love and joy for his siblings. A memory of Xavier’s mom and dad flooded into his mind and he grew nauseous. He began to remember the real reason he joined the service. Yes, he wanted to be the best, but more than that, he wanted to bring justice to terrorists and criminals. He wanted to protect anyone from having to go through what he went through as a kid. He had been training to a level he didn’t even know he could go to for three and a half months, enjoying fancy banquets and great meals, yet he hadn’t been any closer to his ultimate goal. Xavier was unable to focus on what was going on around him. He began to sweat all over and stood up and left the table abruptly. He needed space.
David rose to go after him, but Captain Stanley raised his hand, stopping him.
“Enjoy your night. I will take care of him.”
Xavier was just outside the banquet hall staring out a window. “What is going on, Lieutenant Phillip?” Captain Stanley asked with a huge smile stretching across his face.
Xavier looked up with sadness and frustration in his eyes. “Captain.”
The two stood there in silence for a minute. Captain Stanley seemed to be wrestling with what to say. He put his hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “I expected you to be thrilled. This is what you have been working so hard for.”
Without breaking his stare, his eyes narrowed and he spoke with a stern voice. “When do we get to work, Captain? I joined the Crimson Force hoping to bring true justice to criminals and terrorists all over the world, but for three and a half months we have done nothing but train and eat fancy dinners in a secured facility while people all over are struggling to survive and defend themselves.”
“There are many battles ahead of us, Xavier. Sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the victories.”
“What victories? We’ve done nothing but train.”
“The best victories come in the battles that can be won without bloodshed. We train because when others know that we can eliminate them easily, they are unwilling to fight, and they are quick to surrender. I wish that all of our victories could come in a way that no one has to get hurt or killed. Our squad is a necessary evil. I hope the day comes when everyone can get along and no one takes advantage of anyone and we are no longer needed. Now, come. Eat, laugh, and relax. You have earned it. I will put you to work on Monday.”
Stanley gave a light squeeze to Xavier’s shoulder. He looked over to him with a cocky smirk.
“You know, Captain…I bet I can beat you now.”
“You are good, Lieutenant, but you are not that good.”
Chapter 24
December 13th 2062 10:00 p.m. (Day One-Hundred Forty-Two) Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
After the festivities had concluded, Xavier and David packed up to move to their new room. They moved to the same room as Junior Lieutenant Laurence de Gaule, and he showed them to their beds and informed them t
hat he was a heavy sleeper and snored pretty loud. He was out cold before the two of them even unpacked, but once they were settled in, they fell asleep quickly. It had been a long day.
A few hours had passed when Xavier heard the rustling of boots in the room. Laurence, true to his word, was out cold and didn’t even flinch. There were three members of the Research and Development squad around David’s bed. He got up quickly and rushed out of the room with them. Xavier was curious, but more than curious, he was exhausted. He fell back asleep in seconds.
The next morning, Laurence was aggressively waking up Xavier. He popped up and looked around in a state of confusion. Once he had come to, he saw that David’s stuff was gone. Laurence rushed him up.
“Lieutenant! We have an emergency round table in five minutes. Get dressed and get moving.”
Xavier was scrambling around. Laurence led him to a locked meeting room. Advisor Johnson and Advisor Kelly were there with all of the officers from every division. All of the officers except for David. Captain Walsh began to debrief everyone.
“Last night at around two hundred hours, three Delta members, a Charlie member, and an Alpha member left the manor and made their way north towards Rostock. They have not been seen or heard from since. They broke curfew, and they did not go through the normal protocol.”
Xavier tried to recall the events of last night. He was scouring his memory to find any clues he could possibly remember to no avail. Advisor Johnson spoke up giving a more detailed synopsis of the situation.
“As you all know, Lieutenant Friedman’s grandfather was one of the founding fathers of the Crimson Force.”
Her comments became white noise to Xavier. How could he not know that about David? Why wouldn’t David say anything? He began to replay the events that had happened all throughout training. He was piecing together all the clues that pointed to David’s lineage. Many things began to make more sense. He began to listen in to Advisor’s Johnson’s statement once again.
“As many of you also know, Lieutenant Friedman’s father designed our Genesis Room, many of the weapons that the militaries all over the world are using now, as well as much of the Crimson Force’s gear and weapons. What you do not know is that Lieutenant Friedman’s father was the last living nuclear physicist, and he taught his son all he knew. Friedman was originally recruited to be a part of Delta, but he refused and decided to join Alpha in order to forge his own path. For the last four months, we have been contracting him as a consultant while he trained.”
Advisor Kelly interrupted Advisor Johnson, growing increasingly impatient.
“What Advisor Johnson is trying to say is that David Friedman is the only person on this planet that knows how to build a nuclear bomb, and he is the only person in the world who is capable of designing and developing a weapon of mass destruction. We must know where he is at all times. He has been missing for five and a half hours and no one knows where he is. We have no satellite feed and we have no footage of him anywhere. Finding him is our top priority. Captain Stanley…you have the floor.”
Captain Stanley stood up. “Captain Walsh has ordered his team to scour every square inch of this manor. They will be looking for any clues, hints, or information that may give us an idea of where our people are at. If I may put this another way…we are in Code Red until Lieutenant Friedman has been returned here. All other events, trainings, duties, and proceedings are suspended.”
Xavier felt sick to his stomach. How could he have spent so much time with David and not known any of this? How was it that the one time he didn’t follow his instincts something disastrous may have happened? Maybe David got cold feet and ran away…but that didn’t sound like David. Captain Stanley began barking orders.
“Lieutenant Hirsch, you and Junior Lieutenant Schmidt are going to connect with Junior Lieutenant Manu and search to the south. Lieutenant Phillip and Junior Lieutenant Rubis, meet with Commander Bertelli and search north. Junior Lieutenant Baker, you and Commander McLoughlin will work with Lieutenant MacArthur and search to the east. Lieutenant Okafor, I need you to work with Commander Pak and Lieutenant Saito to search the west. Use the satellite feed and whatever you can to find a heading. We are five and half hours behind the clock, let’s get to it. Call it in the second you find something.”
They all rushed out to begin their assignments. Junior Lieutenant Rubis and Xavier went directly to the satellite room. He was able to give Commander Bertelli an approximate time that David left the room. The information was extremely useful. Commander Bertelli expertly bounced between satellites and camera feeds to track David. Kira recognized two of David’s companions as having been lower-ranked scouts there for the graduation. They tracked the feed as far as they could.
“The feed is lost at the Havel River,” Commander Raquel Bertelli explained.
“Where is the feed for the Havel River?” Xavier asked.
“It was down for a few hours for maintenance.”
The three of them were puzzled.
“How could anyone have known that?” Junior Lieutenant Kira Rubis wondered.
“It is standard protocol for it to be down on the fourteenth of every third month of the year,” Raquel stated.
A fierce questioning expression stretched across Kira’s face. “How would anyone be able to track that? That is not public knowledge.”
Xavier looked on quietly, leaning towards the screen. “Before we jump to conclusions and get into conspiracy theories, we need to see if we can track them from there, correct?”
Kira and Raquel worked together, checking every possible camera angle and satellite for several minutes. They were unable to find any answers.
“You two go to the site where the feed ends and track from there physically. I will continue doing what I can to piece this together, recover reports, and find answers. Good luck, Lieutenant Phillip.”
“Junior Lieutenant—”
Kira interrupted Xavier, anticipating his order. “If we are going to be working together, I am going to need you to cut out the titles. I will get us some dirt bikes.”
Kira and Xavier sped off to David’s last known location. As they arrived they began to scour the secluded area for any evidence they could find. Do to the lack of traffic in the area, tracking footsteps was easy. Following the tracks, they arrived at the mouth of the Havel River. The two of them journeyed a couple of miles beyond the mouth looking for more clues as to what happened by the river. In a shadowy area, the two of them discovered the remnants of a fight near the Haselhorst. There were traces of blood spread across the muddy battleground. Four members of the Crimson Force and ten people in skull masks wearing black uniforms with blue, that resembled Crimson Force’s red and black uniforms, were scattered around. They were all warriors without a doubt, but the uniforms were like none Kira or Xavier had ever seen before.
Xavier and Kira focused on the uniforms trying to find any sign of a country or government behind the attack without any success. There were various kinds of swords all around. After further examination, Xavier and Kira surmised that all of the slain soldiers were killed by blade cuts and fatal slashes. The two were perplexed.
“They said only Crimson Force members knew how to use these weapons. They told us this. I thought we were the only ones who knew how to wield them…”
Kira was just as confused as Xavier. “Apparently not.”
“Did David do this?” Xavier wondered out loud.
“Either he’s better than we all thought, or they are worse,” Kira said coldly.
Xavier’s attention was drawn to tracks. As the mud continued along there were signs that indicated bodies being drug across the ground. It looked as if David drug himself across the dirt in an effort to escape. The two scouts could see where David was able to get up and continue fighting. It looked as if once more David was overwhelmed and the tracks led to a tattered dock with gas cans scattered about. Kira found the tread marks of a boat a few feet away. As the two of them analyzed all of their findings, t
hey talked through how the battle went down.
“I think it is safe to assume that David’s team was ambushed and he was kidnapped,” Kira said.
“Let’s follow them then!” Xavier exclaimed.
“Did you plan on stripping down and swimming after him?”
Xavier grew red with frustration and embarrassment. “We have to do something!”
“For now, we have to call this in. They were clearly headed north. Hopefully Commander Bertelli can locate them with the additional information we have.”
The two of them fled back to their dirt bikes and followed the river line as far north as they could go until it split off two different directions near Stolpe. The trail had grown cold. The two headed back to the manor frustrated.
Dawn of a New Era (Crimson Blue Book 1) Page 18