All branches of the military had been alerted and every available resource was being used to find the ship. Captain Ashby’s Sentinel Class Coast Guard Cutter was the first to stumble across Al Qibla. “Team Two has boarded the vessel,” came across the Captain’s headset.
“Proceed with caution!” Captain Ashby warned. With the binoculars, he could see his men slowly making their way along the deck towards the ship’s tower. “What’s the ETA on those F-16s out of Eglin Air Force Base?” He asked his radio man.
“Ten minutes, sir!” the young seaman responded loudly, his adrenaline pumping. Other than the occasional drug smuggling boat, this was their first time dealing with terrorists.
“Well, what about the Obsidian? Who else is nearby?” The captain asked impatiently.
“The closest ship responding is still twenty minutes out sir. The Obsidian will be closer to forty minutes,” his radio man responded.
“Well, damn it, tell them to hurry!”
“Aye Aye, Captain.” The young seaman turned back to his radio to relay his captain’s urgency.
Captain Ashby turned his attention back to his binoculars just in time to see the muzzle flash coming from the ship’s tower just above his men. Shortly after, the popcorn sound of an automatic rifle echoed across the water to the Captain. “We’re taking fire!” came the frantic voice over the headset.
“Shoot back, then! Return fire!” The Captain yelled into his mic. The deck of the container ship erupted in gunfire as the Captain watched helplessly through his binoculars. “Team One should be reaching the far deck by now,” he thought.
“Captain, look over there!” came a yell from behind him. “I swear that wasn’t there a second ago!” He looked to where the sailor was pointing and his breath caught in his throat as he quickly trained the binoculars to the large stack of containers on deck. The tip of what appeared to be a large missile was now sticking out of the top of the highest stack of containers where it hadn’t been moments before.
“READY THE 25MM CHAIN GUN! FIRE AT THOSE CONTAINERS!” the captain barked.
“Sir, our men?” his first mate asked, concerned.
“FIRE AT THOSE CONTAINERS, DAMMIT!” Captain Ashby pushed aside his friend and grabbed the mic issuing the order, but it was too late. The Shahab-6 rocket made a deafening roar as it raced to the sky. He heard one of the .50 caliber machine guns on deck open up, but it was already too far away. “Dear God, help us,” he whispered to himself.
“CALL IT IN!” he screamed at his radio man. “Tell them a large missile has just been launched from the deck of that damn ship! Hurry up!” Just as he turned back towards the Al Qibla, the ship’s tower exploded into a huge fireball, the concussion knocking him back a step. He froze for a short second as the terrible reality of what just occurred sank in. The next moment he was screaming orders in every direction.
SEAN’S NORMAL MORNING routine was interrupted as he recapped the crazy ride into work with some of his coworkers. It was almost ten o’clock by the time he was finally at his desk with a fresh cup of coffee from the new Keurig machine in the break area. He opened Microsoft Inbox to see thirty new messages and six email reminders. “Looks like I’m gonna have a busy day,” Sean said to himself. He liked to be busy; it made the day go so much faster. He remembered back to when he had worked for a large construction outfit back in Spokane, Washington. He was only two years out of active duty and had just graduated from the Community College of Spokane with a Carpentry and Cabinetry AS Degree, when Benton Construction promoted him from carpenter to site superintendent. The first project he was assigned was babysitting a roofing crew on the local Air Force base.
As Site Superintendent, his job was to memorize an inch-thick government regulations book on the proper installation of asphalt shingles. He was not allowed to perform any of the work with the subcontractor because of insurance reasons. He was paid thirty-two dollars an hour to sit in an air-conditioned truck and not fall asleep. Even though it was one of the best paying jobs he’d ever held, it was definitely one of his least favorites.
The morning swept by as Sean immersed himself in his work. His stomach let out a groan, and he realized it was almost noon. “Did you bring a lunch today?” he asked his co-worker Jeremy in the cubicle next to him.
“No, I think I’m heading to the gym to play racquetball with Tom, Gerald and Dale. When are you going to start coming?” he asked. This had become a routine with Jeremy asking every week or two, knowing Sean wouldn’t go. He enjoyed rubbing it in though.
“January 15th,” Sean responded.
“An exact date this time?” Jeremy chuckled. “I’m putting it on my calendar right now.”
Sean had promised himself to start working out and dieting on January 1st as a New Year’s resolution. He figured after two weeks of working out regularly he would be able to play racquetball without pulling a muscle or spraining an ankle. The fact was that Sean had once been very athletic. He had excelled in every sport during high school. He had leaned out into immaculate shape during his years as an Air Force Survival instructor, and even played soccer in college. At thirty-three years of age now, Sean was about forty pounds overweight with most of it accumulating around his mid-section the last few years. He hadn’t lost his competitive spirit though, and when it came to sports, he knew there was no way he could go and play racquetball at fifty percent.
“Did you hear that Brian’s brother is going to play Santa again at the Christmas party on Friday?” Jeremy asked.
“No, I didn’t. He was awesome last year though. You remember when he had Big Walter sit on his lap?”
Jeremy laughed. “Yeah, there’s nothin’ like being able to get your big brother to embarrass your boss with no repercussions.”
“I know. That was great.” Tom chimed in as he walked up. “You ready to go, Jeremy?”
“Not quite. Give me a few minutes to finish up this email,” Jeremy answered.
“Whose car are we taking?” Tom asked.
“Don’t matter to me. Whatever.” Jeremy said, half paying attention.
“I guess I’ll drive today,” Tom offered. “You drove all last week. I’ll grab my coat and keys and I’ll see if Gerald and Dale are ready to go.”
“Cool,” Jeremy said.
Tom walked away and Sean sat back down at his desk. He pulled out the lunch Maria had packed for him. There was a Tupperware container with some leftover pot roast from the night before.
“Jackpot!” he thought. Maria was an incredible cook and Sean was looking forward to a good warm meal over the cold sandwich and side salad he normally got in his lunch. As if in answer to his thoughts, the power suddenly went out in the building. “What the heck!” Sean said out loud.
“What’s up?” Jeremy said as he stood up.
“I guess I’m eating cold pot roast for lunch,” Sean said with a frown.
Jeremy laughed. “Well, I’ll be getting a nice waaaarm bowl of French Onion soup from Panera Bread when I leave the gym... Sucks to be you.”
“Oh yeah...?” Sean began. “And I suppose you had time to save that email you’ve been typing on for the last ten minutes?”
“Damn it!” Jeremy said as he glanced back at his computer screen.
“Sucks to be you,” Sean ribbed him.
Jeremy laughed out loud at that and said, “Screw it; I’m going to the gym.”
Tom walked up and said “You finished?” Jeremy looked at Sean and they both busted up laughing. “What’s so funny?” Tom asked with a smile.
“Apparently I am,” Jeremy answered. “More accurately, I’ll be just starting when we get back.”
“Oh man, you didn’t get a chance to save your letter before the power went out, did you?” Tom asked.
“Nope, but I’m not discussing the matter any further,” Jeremy quipped. “Let’s get out of here. Are Gerald and Dale coming?”
“Yeah, they weren’t going to, but with the power out now they said they might as well. Here they come,�
�� Tom said, nodding down the hallway.
“Have fun, guys. Don’t let the old guy beat up on you too bad,” Sean said to Tom and Jeremy.
“Hey! Who you calling old?” Gerald said with mock indignation as he walked up.
“Dale,” Sean answered with a smile. With Dale being about the same age as Sean, and Gerald in his early fifties it produced a pretty good chuckle from his co-workers. They walked away, headed for the stairs and Sean looked back down at his cold pot roast and mashed potatoes and couldn’t help but frown. “This day is going from crazy to crappy in a rush,” he said aloud to himself. After about three bites he got up and made his way to the fridge in the break area. Sean grabbed a Coke and headed back to his desk. He pulled the newest Cheaper than Dirt catalog out of his desk and started thumbing through the pages as he picked at his lunch.
A couple minutes later, Sean saw Jeremy come around the corner hurrying to his desk. “What’s going on?” Sean asked.
“It’s freezing out there. Tom’s battery is completely dead so we have to take my car. The guys are all waiting outside for me, so I’m trying to hurry. It’s tough though. You should see how dark it is in the stairwell with no lights.”
“Sounds like an alternator, not a battery,” Sean muttered, not even bothering to take his attention away from the magazine.
“What’s that?” Jeremy asked.
“I said it sounds like an alternator and not a battery,” Sean said again, looking up this time. “That’s a new car. He just got it a few months ago. Even if he’d left the headlights on, the battery shouldn’t be completely dead after only a couple hours.”
“I don’t know, I gotta run though,” Jeremy said in a rush.
“Alright man, later.”
“Later,” Jeremy said as he headed back to the stairs. Sean grabbed his cell phone and figured he’d give Maria a call. He didn’t have the time earlier to call and tell her about the nut case he encountered on the way in to work. He pressed the button on the side of his cell phone but nothing happened. He pressed it a couple more times and then held down the power button to turn it on: still nothing. “That just about fits my day. I must have forgotten to plug it in last night,” he thought. But that wasn’t right either. Sean specifically remembered plugging it in the night before. He definitely couldn’t forget the alarm going off that morning, and he was sure he remembered unplugging it before he left for work. A terrible thought came from the back of his mind and he only pondered it for about three seconds before jumping out of his chair. He grabbed the truck keys off his desk and set off at a run.
A couple of his coworkers stood up as he ran past their cubicles towards the stairs. Sean had to slow down as he made his way down three flights of stairs in almost pitch-black darkness. He could remember the power going out once before at work and everyone had been let out of work early. He remembered the windowless stairwell being lit by the red glow of battery backup emergency lights. There was no red glow today, just blackness. There were just too many things stacking up for it to be a coincidence.
As Sean made his way out the back door of the building he jogged over to his truck. It was a very cold December day and snow had started to fall. In his hurry he had forgotten his leather coat on his desk. He jumped in his truck and turned the key: nothing. There was no click from the starter and the clock on the radio didn’t show up either, not even faintly. He looked out the front windshield towards the intersection in front of the building. At first everything looked normal. A bunch of cars stopped at a red light that wasn’t working. Then he realized that there were no brake lights or exhaust coming out of the cars. He saw a couple people walking on the shoulder and a few sitting in their cars, but most of the vehicles were empty.
Sean punched the steering with his fist. For a long time he had intended on putting together a bug-out-bag for his truck, but had never gotten around to it. He had all the supplies he needed at home in an Alice pack, but just procrastinated on a smaller bag for his truck and now it was too late. Speaking of procrastinating, Sean spun around and sure enough, he had never taken his hunting clothes out of his truck after hunting season two weeks before. His hunting pack with his knives and other supplies hadn’t been left in the truck but there was a large garbage bag full of his hunting outerwear. He kept the outer layers in the garbage bag to protect the scent. Staring at the bag of warm clothes reminded Sean just how cold it was.
Sean grabbed the bag and headed back inside. At the back door he saw the guys walking towards him from the other end of the parking lot. He stepped inside where it was warm. As he waited, the sign just inside the door said Becker & Brooke, Attorneys at Law. Sean thought of his two friends that worked there. They were also conservatives and were always outside smoking and discussing the latest politics. If Sean was leaving work for the day or coming back from lunch and they were outside, he would always stop and join in their discussions.
Sean looked up as his coworkers reached the door. When Dale opened the door he heard Jeremy talking to Tom: “...and Sean seems to think it’s the alternator and not the battery.” Jeremy looked up and saw Sean standing in the dim hallway. “Hey...,” he said. “My car didn’t start either. What were you saying about the alternator?”
“It’s not the alternator and it’s not the battery.” Sean turned from Jeremy’s puzzled look and stared Gerald in the eye. “Gerald, I need you to do something for me and it’s very important.”
“Ok...?” Gerald said in a questioning voice.
“I need you to get everyone in the conference room upstairs. Something very bad has happened and I need to speak with everyone.”
“What...what are you talking about? What happened?” Gerald asked with a forced smile, hoping that Sean was joking around.
“It’s...going to take some time to explain...” Sean looked at the concerned faces of his friends. He turned back to Gerald. “Can you just do that for me...please?”
Gerald looked back with concern plainly written on his face. “Sure... I can do that.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right up.”
“Where are you going?” Gerald asked.
“I’m going to grab the people from the offices down here.”
“Ok...,” Gerald said, sounding confused, but he didn’t ask why, sensing the urgency on Sean’s face. They had been friends for a couple years and Gerald had never seen him act so...serious. Sean had always been carefree and happy. Gerald turned towards the stairway with Jeremy, Tom and Dale following.
As Sean heard their shuffling steps up the dark stairwell, he could hear them converse with unanswered questions. He turned and opened the heavy oak doors of the attorney’s office and slowly stepped inside to the dim waiting room. It was ornate with wood paneling and plush leather chairs. The receptionist looked up from her desk and said, “Can I help you?”
“Yes I need to speak with...” Sean faltered as he couldn’t remember his friend’s name. Hundreds of conversations and they had never even exchanged names. “Uh, the gentleman that smokes out back and has a son that plays baseball that he’s always talking about.”
“Oh, you mean Kyle Becker. He is actually with some clients right now. If you’ll have a seat I’ll let him know you’re here as soon as he’s finished. Can I get your name?” she asked with a smile.
Sean dropped his bag of clothes on the floor and quickly walked across the empty waiting room and leaned over the receptionist’s desk till his face was about a foot from hers. With a low but serious voice he told her, “I need you to go back to his office and tell him that I need to speak with him right now! It’s an emergency.”
“Ok...,” she said warily. She got up and turned to walk away. Sean walked around her desk and followed her down the hallway without asking permission. When she stopped at another set of ornate oak doors she realized the man from the waiting room was standing right behind her. She froze at the doorway nervous and a little scared of the large dark silhouette beside her.
Sean huffed with exaspera
tion and knocked once and slowly opened the office door. “Hey what’s up buddy? What’s going on? I’m kind of busy...,” Kyle started saying.
“It’s happened.” Sean cut him off. He ignored the older couple staring at him quizzically and walked over to the windows.
“What happened?” Kyle asked, concerned.
“Come look,” Sean answered.
Kyle apologized to his clients and walked over to the windows and looked outside. After a few seconds he said, “I don’t see anything.”
“Look at the cars on the street,” Sean pushed.
Another couple seconds went by and Kyle exclaimed, “All the cars are empty...that’s weird.”
“No it’s not, Kyle. My phone won’t power on, none of the cars in the parking lot will start, and the battery backup lights aren’t on. Remember what we were talking about last week? What have I always said the greatest threat to this country would be?”
A light bulb went off in Kyle’s head and he whispered, “Oh my God, we’ve been attacked! It’s really happened, hasn’t it?” Sean nodded his head in reply with a somber look on his face.
“Hey, what’s going on?” the older gentleman asked in a gruff voice as he stood up on the other side of Kyle’s desk.
Kyle spun around and in a panic grabbed his overcoat from the hook on the wall. “I have to go get my son!” Sean grabbed Kyle’s forearm to slow him down.
“Hold on a second. I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and although I may not be an expert, I’m going to explain some things to my coworkers upstairs in our conference room. Nobody out there has a clue what’s really going on and what’s coming down the pike.”
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