“Help yourself,” he said, before taking a sip from his glass.
“Sounds good,” the other man said, copying Sommer’s actions. Unlike the last time they’d met, this time the man wasn’t in uniform; instead he wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans, and combat boots.
When he sat down in his chair, he lifted his glass to Sommer in a toast, then took a drink without saying a word. He began to lean back in his chair, then paused. After a second, he leaned forward and reached into his jacket.
“Here, take these,” he said, passing the items to Sommer.
Sommer held up the smartphone. “This thing will work? I thought the networks were down.”
“Ideally, we’d use computers and private VPNs, but since you’ll be on the move, that option is out. That’s why I had these phones specially configured. Yours should work in some of the larger metropolitan areas, but that’s irrelevant. For us, we’ll stick strictly to text, and it will suit our purposes just fine. Where the cell towers are working, it will use any available network to communicate. If none are available, it will seamlessly switch over to satellite comms.”
“Alright. Makes sense.”
“Best part is, there are only two of them. Yours and mine. I’ll communicate through the back channels that are already in place, then pass on whatever information is pertinent to you while you’re in transit.”
“So what are these for?” Sommer asked, holding up the other items.
The other man explained how the items would be used, going over the details slowly to ensure the other man understood, and answering the questions that Sommer had. When they were done, Sommer sat back in his chair and took another drink of Scotch.
“Good plan.”
“I thought so, too.” Pointing at Sommer’s midsection, the man asked, “How’re your ribs?”
“I’ll live,” Sommer replied, before taking another drink. He held up the glass. “This helps.”
“Yeah, well, don’t drink too much. You need to be on the road soon if you want to stay ahead of the target. They’re leaving in the morning.”
“Yeah? And where am I going?”
“Oklahoma City.”
“Alright. Usually that would be about twenty-four hours of driving,” Sommer said, nodding.
“Yep. But based on assumed road conditions, they’re planning on doing it in five days, worst case, six. The plan is to stop early enough each day to find and/or secure somewhere to rest before it’s dark to ensure the girl’s safety. If you can do it in less, you’ll have the chance you need to take her.”
“I”ll make it in two, two and a half,” Sommer replied.
“I’ll pass along the route they’re taking once I find out. That’ll allow you to make sure you stay ahead of them.”
“Perfect, Sommer said, raising his glass. Before he took another sip, he paused and looked at the man. “And the men you promised?”
“They’ll meet you outside of OKC.” He pointed to the smartphone. “Use that when you’re four hours out. I’ll arrange a rendezvous point.”
Sommer nodded again. They had a plan, and it seemed to be a good one. The smartphone was a nice addition, and the other items showed that the man had put a lot of thought into ensuring their success. This was more than just a brute force attack. It had to be. The men traveling with the girl were well trained and heavily armed.
“You sure you wanna take the Mustang?” The man asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a thing of beauty, but it probably gulps down gas.”
“Wish I could, but you’re right. I’m gonna take it into town and find myself a crotch rocket. Better gas mileage and better maneuverability.”
“Smart.”
Sommer drained the rest of his Scotch, then stood up from his chair. “Well, I need to change out these bandages if I’m gonna spend the next two days on a motorcycle.”
“Ah! That reminds me. One more thing,” the man said, reaching back into his jacket. When his hand emerged, it held a prescription bottle, which he passed to Sommer. “Here. Antibiotics. Can’t have those wounds getting infected.”
The man stood to and extended his hand.
“Glad to have you onboard, Steve.”
Somme took his hand and shook it, looking the man in the eyes. “Glad to be part of the team, but i just realized - I don’t know your name.”
The man grinned as he released Sommer’s hand and stepped back. “And that’s okay,” he said.
“But for now, you can call me Judas.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Virginia
Day 1
“Hey Lisa, how do I look?” Doctor Chang asked. Standing there in the camouflage Marine Corps uniform he’d been issued (which had the service, name, and rank badges removed), he held his arms out as he looked at the statuesque blonde woman in front of him.
Wearing her similarly configured camouflage uniform, Doctor Bowman nodded in approval. “Not bad. How does it feel?”
Andrew smiled, “I kinda feel like a badass,” he confessed. “Plus, these combat boots make me taller!” he added, grinning.
Moving over to where he stood, Lisa winked. “Me, too,” she said, looking down at him.
“Dammit,” he said, shaking his head. “Okay. New rule: you’re not allowed to stand next to me in those.”
“Deal,” she replied, nodding.
“Alright,” he said, grabbing the enormous ‘backpack’ he’d also been issued, which held two other sets of cammies, undergarments, and his lab coat and scrubs, which he figured he’d need once they got there. The bag was ridiculously heavy, and he had no confidence in his ability to walk without remaining hunched over under its weight.
“You ready?” he asked, as he pulled the straps over his shoulders and slowly stood upright.
“Yep,” Lisa replied, doing the same with her pack. Andrew was a bit disheartened to see the ease with which she picked hers up and pulled it on. “Let’s do this,” she added, with a confident nod.
Out in front of the building they were met by Corporals Johnson and Richards, who made small talk as Johnson drove them across the base to the main Operations Center building, then around to the back, where they found a number of people waiting for them, along with a pair of military Humvees. A huddle of Marines stood off to one side, talking amongst themselves, occasionally ribbing one another as they waited for the order to roll out.
As Andrew and Lisa got out of the van, Colonel Williamson, the base Commanding Officer, strode over to meet them, eliciting a number of salutes and greetings from the Marines gathered nearby. He returned their salutes quickly and politely, before stopping in front of the two doctors.
“Doctor Chang, Doctor Bowman, good morning. As we’ve discussed, the two of you will ride in the rear vehicle, with three Marines,” he said, motioning towards the group. “Two will be in the front, while the third will be seated between the two of you. Anytime it looks like there could be trouble, that person will move up to man the fifty cal.”
“Fifty cal?” Andrew asked.
“That big gun up on top,” the Colonel said, pointing at the machine gun. “That thing will shred anything or anyone that bothers to give you trouble.” Moving over to point at the other Humvee, he added, “There’s one on there, too. That’s where the other five Marines will be, in the lead vehicle.”
Turning to the group of Marines, the Colonel yelled, “First team, load up! The rest of you, over here!”
“Yes, Sir!” The Marines replied. Five of them moved over to the first Humvee and got in, while the remaining three came over to stand near the Colonel. Each Marine took time to greet the doctors, offering a ‘good morning, sir,’ or ‘good morning, ma’am’ as applicable. One Marine, a fit Black man who looked to be about thirty, stopped in front of the Colonel and two Doctors. After saluting the Colonel, he extended his hand towards first Chang, then Bowman.
“Sir, Ma’am,” he said, nodding.
Williamson reached out a
nd patted the Marine on his shoulder. “This is Gunnery Sergeant Jeffries. He’s the Squad Leader, in charge of all the Marines that are traveling with you. He’ll make decisions on anything related to the operational mission, which is getting you two from here to OKC.”
“Nice to meet you, Sergeant,” Chang said, smiling.
“Actually, it’s either Gunnery Sergeant or simply, ‘Gunny’,” Williamson interjected. “Sergeant is a junior enlisted rank. Gunnery Sergeant is a senior enlisted rank.”
“I see,” Chang replied, nodded. “My apologies, Gunnery Sergeant.”
“No worries, Doc,” the man replied, smiling. “Though I prefer ‘Gunny’ if it’s all the same.”
“Nice to meet you, Gunny,” Lisa offered, smiling.
“Nice to meet you, too, Doc.”
“Alright,” Williamson said, nodding at the Gunnery Sergeant. “Thanks, Gunny.” “Turning to look at the remaining Marines, he pointed at a tall, olive-skinned man with dark features, and motioned for the man to join them. As the man approached, Williamson said, “This is Staff Sergeant Khan. He’s in charge of ensuring your safety. Gunny will be making operational decisions throughout your journey, but no matter what happens, the Staff Sergeant’s one and only focus is to ensure your safety. Isn’t that right Staff Sergeant?”
“Yes, Sir. I understand the mission, Sir.”
“Good.” He pointed to a young, brown haired, fair-complected woman, “Also with you are Corporal Healey, and” he moved his finger towards a big, thick-bodied young blonde man, “Corporal Snyder.”
“Nice to meet you,” Andrew said, reaching out to shake each Marine’s hand, barely managing to hold back a wince when Corporal Snyder squeezed his hand. Lisa followed suit, shaking each Marine’s hand in turn.
Colonel Williamson waited until they were done, then said, “Doctor Chang, Corporal Snyder is your private detail. He goes where you go, he sleeps where you sleep -”
“Not in the same bed, though, Doc.” Snyder interjected quickly, smiling. “Unless you ask me to…”
“Watch yourself Corporal,” Williamson said, glaring at the young Marine. Glancing over at Andrew and Lisa, he explained, “Snyder’s a bit of a smart ass. Hopefully you’ll get used to that.”
“No worries,” Andrew replied, nodding.
“Alright, so as I was saying, Snyder will be with you 24/7. His number one job is to keep you safe.”
“Got it,” Andrew said, nodding.
Williamson looked at Lisa. “Doc, Corporal Healey will do the same for you.”
“Sounds good,” Lisa said, nodding.
The tall Marine stepped forward. “Sir, Ma’am, the plan Gunny Jeffries came up with is to have the other Marines deal with any trouble before either of these two need to get involved,” he said confidently. “We’ll get you there safely.”
Williamson reached out and clasped the dark-haired Marine on his shoulder. “Staff Sergeant Khan is one of the finest Marines I’ve had the pleasure of serving with. He and I met in Iraq, when I did a Joint Tour out of Centcom. I was sent forward, and before I knew it, I was outside of Baghdad at Camp Taji Joint Operations Base. He and I did a number of ‘field trips’ there, ain’t that right, Staff Sergeant?”
Khan smiled. “Yes, Sir, we sure did.”
Williamson reached out and bumped fists with Khan. “I still owe you that drink, Staff Sergeant.”
“Don’t worry, Sir, I won’t forget.”
Williamson smiled, then turned back to the others. “Okay. The vehicles are fueled and ready to go, and you’ve got enough MREs to feed each of you for a week. Believe me, by day two, you won’t want to eat another one. Ever. Under normal circumstances, it’s about twenty hours of driving. For safety reasons, we’d break that into two and a half days - normally. As things are, we’re anticipating this trip taking you nearly four days, maybe five. The Marines have the route mapped out, as well as where to get fuel and supplies at various spots on the route. Worst case, they can siphon gas from the abandoned cars and trucks along the way.”
Williamson stopped suddenly, then paused as his mind worked in an effort to determine whether or not he’d left anything out. After a moment, he nodded.
“I guess that’s about it. Any questions?”
Andrew considered anything, then shook his head. He couldn’t think of anything. He just wanted to get on the road.
“Do we get guns?” Lisa asked suddenly.
Surprised, Andrew turned to look at the woman. Who was she?
Williamson grinned. “Officially, no. In times of war, medical personnel are supposed to remain noncombatants, so they don’t normally carry weapons, sorry.”
He stepped away, then turned back and winked at them. “Of course, if you were to find something under your seat, it would be foolish not to get familiar with it.
“Just don’t take it out of the vehicle unless you intend to use it.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
San Francisco Protective Zone, California
Day 1
Wiping sleep from her eyes, Serafina looked at her husband as he rose from their bed. “Where are you going?”
Standing up, Daniel reached for the clothes he’d pre-positioned the night before and threw on his t-shirt before beginning to slide on his jeans. “The team’s heading out this morning. Kinda wanna wish them luck.”
“Shoot. That’s right,” Serafina conceded, before arching her back as she stretched. “Give me a second.”
Daniel looked at his watch. “Okay, but we do need to be over there in forty-five minutes.”
“Plenty of time,” his wife replied as she strode into the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them descended the stairs of the large home they occupied to find Ashley and Brenna waiting for them by the door. Though both girls looked half-asleep, both were fully dressed and ready to go.
“Wanna say bye to Isabella and Paul,” Ashley mumbled.
Leading them out of the house and down to the car, Daniel was happy to hear the inclusion of Paul. His initial days with the family had been...rough. As he’d ganied confidence, he’d rebounded, earning the family’s trust and respect. He wasn’t a blood relative, but there was no doubt that he was part of the family.
Using the car they’d been issued Daniel drove the little Subaru Forester from their assigned home (one that being a single-family home was a tremendous exception to the residency assignment rules) to the Operations Center.
Arriving at the gate that separated the military operations buildings from the rest of the protective zone, Daniel showed the guard both his retired military ID and the special badge he, Serafina, and the girls had been issued. The guard rendered a crisp salute before waving them past, wishing them a good day in the process.
“You miss that, don’t you?” Serafina asked.
“No, I mean, it’s nice to have that respect, but I’m glad that part of my life is behind me.”
“You sure?” she asked, giving him a side eye.
“Yeah,” he nodded as he maneuvered the car through the barricades. “Besides, it’s a young person’s profession, and getting old - ”
“Don’t say it,” Serafina warned. “Don’t you say it.”
“Fine, but you know where I was going with it.”
Pulling into the parking lot across from the operations center, the family saw the three vehicles that would be heading out on the mission lined up: a Humvee in the lead, a M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) in the second position, and a second Humvee bringing up the rear. Both Humvees had .50 caliber machine guns mounted on top, and each vehicle was heavily armored and painted in the desert camouflage pattern used in the Middle East.
‘Well, they are going to the Southwest,’ Daniel thought to himself.
When they made their way over to the front entrance of the building, they found the group gathered, talking amongst themselves as they reviewed the basics of the trip: communications methods, planned rest stops, and, most importantly, weapons
status. After the attacks on both Doctor Reed and Isabella, any signs of aggression would be met with overwhelming force.
Seeing that the group was still engaged in an important discussion Daniel, Serafina, and the girls stood back and waited patiently until the group was finished. As the larger number broke into three smaller teams, the Alvarados first made their way to where Isabella and Logan were.
Unable to control themselves, Ashley and Brenna rushed forward and embraced the young girl in their collective arms.
“Please be careful,” Ashley pleaded as she held the girl.
“Yeah, don’t let anything happen to you,” Brenna added.
“Don’t worry,” Isabella replied, smiling brightly. “Logan’s gonna take care of me.”
The two girls pulled back from Isabella and looked over at the Army Combat Medic. “You promise?” they asked.
“I promise,” Logan said. It was a promise he felt confident making, knowing that a whole squad of trained military personnel had been assigned essentially the same mission.
Daniel walked up and shook the man’s hand. “Best of luck to you, Logan.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m sure you’ll do well.”
Logan nodded. “We’ll get the job done.”
Serafina pushed past Daniel and embraced the man. “Take care of yourself, too,” she added.
“I’ll do my best, Sera. Take care of the girls, and this old fart,” he said, grinning at Daniel.
“Whatever,” Daniel replied. “Hey, when you get back, you’ll have to try my beer.”
Surviving Rage | Book 5 Page 8