Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  Neither Dragon Guard had time to draw a weapon and fire into a large crowd of people. So they had no choice but to do what they did. People surrounding the pureed bombers began to throw-up and dozens passed out from the shock. At least one older lady had a heart attack. The police that patrolled the mall to keep the jewelry, furs and other expensive items safe, rushed to the two scenes. One of the officers was moving too fast and slipped and fell in the bloody mess on the floors, accidentally discharging his weapon into the ceiling. Daniel and Ibrihim were about to leave when the handler decided to not leave without someone dying and drew an Uzi from his jacket and opened fire. The speeding bullets never hit the crowd. Ibrihim, in a display of exceptional kinetic matter control, stopped all the discharged pieces of lead and watched as they harmlessly dropped to the ground. Daniel had time and a clear target; he put one Rapture round into the dumfounded terrorist and he vaporized. His cell phone detonator and his Uzi rattled off the shiny marble floors of the plush blood-soaked mall. Daniel and Ibrihim were the last to arrive back at King Verron’s office. The one man King Verron had sitting in the chair was a treasure trove of information.

  As Hunter and Hezekiah listened to the interrogation, their blood began to boil. Chase asked, “Is he talking about who I think he’s talking about. Didn’t you give him a fair warning not to be involved in any of this about a year ago?” Paul knew that his nephews never forgot anything, especially when a person had embarrassed his little sister. Hunter looked at his Grandpa with a questioning look. Paul shrugged and told him, “When Tala raced in Qatar. The Emir decided to make an example of her and tried to arrest her. I paid him a little visit to his palace and thought we had an understanding. Evidently he has changed his mind. He uses his son Hamad Al Thani to do most of his dirty work. According my friend here, Prince Hamad spends a great deal of time aboard his 400 foot yacht cruising around the Mediterranean. No one would dare board his ship to search for the weapons he carries and the onboard computer system manages to keep the funds he provides to the various cells well concealed. Lucy has managed to track most of what she found back to the satellite transmitters on the yacht. I’ve asked her to track the money all the way back to the source and to clean-out the Emir’s bank accounts, wherever they may be. She’s working on that now. As far as I’m concerned, the Emir and his heirs will not be around to enjoy it. Hunter nodded his agreement. He then asked out loud, “Lucy where is Hamad Al Thani and his yacht now?” She replied, “The Katara is 212 miles due west of Corsica at the moment and seems to be moving slightly southwest at 18 knots toward Barcelona.

  Paul knew what Hunter was about to do. He asked, “Do you want some help?” Hunter shook his head and answered, “No, this has become personal when they nearly killed Priscilla. I want to do this one myself. He reached in his pocket to see if what he wanted was still there.” He turned to Hezekiah and told him, “Get over to the medical center and check on Jacob and Priscilla. Then you probably ought to report back to Minister Barak. At least you can truthfully tell him that his niece is going to be OK.” Hezekiah shook his head and replied, “I would rather swim to that yacht and fight everyone onboard with a butter knife than tell Mosha I let his niece get shot. He had me and Jacob with her to keep her safe.” Hunter smiled and told him, “She is safe – she’s under my protection now.” With that comment, he checked his coordinates and headed for the Mediterranean.

  Hamad Al Thani was drinking a glass of Scotch and watching porn on his laptop when Hunter entered his luxurious stateroom. He was so enamored by what he was watching on his ASUS ROG, at first he thought one of his servants had intruded on his privacy. He raised his head briefly from the screen to scold the servant and actually looked back down at his screen before his alcohol impaired mind computed that it was not one of his servants standing there. He quickly looked back up to see a blond haired man pointing a gun at him. He reached for the weapon he kept in his desk drawer but was unable to move. He tried to scream for help, but was also unable to speak. Hunter walked over to his desk and clicked on the “X” in the top right corner to close the porn program. He then stuck one of the little drives into the USB port and said, “Lucy, I think you will probably be able to access everything from this, let me know if you need me to find the main-frame. Hamad could not see who this Lucy was, but knew she would never get past the encryption and firewalls he had built into his 2 terabyte laptop or the super-computer deep inside his ship.

  Hunter turned Hamad’s chair around and pulled one over for himself to face him. He then leaned very close to Hamad’s face and told him, “This will be the last face you will see. When I’m done here this yacht and everyone on it will cease to exist. I will then proceed to Qatar and eliminate your Father. Hopefully those left will decide that this dangerous game you two have been playing is not worth dying over. We stopped your assaults on Paris today, killed most of the cells you had in Paris and destroyed your weapons storage facility under the Mosque.” Hamad’s face looked terrified and the air of confidence that he usually had, just disappeared. Hunter continued, “Your father was warned over a year ago to discontinue his support of terrorists. Tonight you and your family are going to be an example to those who use their wealth and power to help sadistic criminals who kill people in the name of their make-believe God. Before you die, I should let you know. There is but one God, and his name is not Allah, but there is a hell and you will soon be there. Lucy’s voice came back over Hunter’s implant, saying, “Everything in his so called super-computer and his laptop has been transferred to my storage banks. By the time you return, I will have the financial records prepared for your review. I also have the access codes for three other computers. I will access them immediately.” Hunter smiled and released Hamad’s ability to speak. He informed him, “Lucy’s done with your unbreakable codes, so I no longer need you or this yacht.” He looked around and continued, “It’s a shame; this is a pretty nice yacht.”

  Hamad began to cry and told him, “You can’t destroy this yacht. There are innocent women and children on board. My wives and sons, they know nothing about what I have done. You would kill innocent people?” Hunter stood to leave, and answered, “A few years ago I would have never considered it. But after being around you sadistic bastards for a few years, I figure it’s about time the tables were turned and some of your loved ones suffered what you have been doing to others for years.” He removed a small round object about the size of a golf-ball from his coat pocket and placed it on Hamad desk. He pushed the activation button and stepped through a gateway to Qatar. He never got to see the light show that those on the shore of Corsica or the surrounding ships got to see. He was already at the palace in Qatar.

  By the time he arrived in Qatar, Hunter was in no mood for speeches or even dealing with the people who felt like they could do as they please without any consequences. He found the Emir’s room and entered silently. He could tell the Emir was not in bed alone. There were two other figures in the bed with him. He didn’t say a word but simply placed his last plasma grenade on the round table with flowers on it and left the palace. The massive palace was about to become a bit smaller.

  Hunter returned to Paris just a little after Ursula returned from her short trip. He was sitting in the living room watching the local news. Every channel was abuzz with the failed terrorist attacks. The Islamic community was screaming about their Mosque being destroyed and concerned citizens were complaining about the excessive use of force by the French authorities and how it had left hundreds traumatized after seeing exploded bodies and people vanish before their very eyes. President Hollanda made a television appearance and described the extensive operation taking place by al Qaeda in Paris and how they had planned simultaneous attacks on the city. He pointed out that the DGSI had rescued the hostages at Total S.A., foiled the attempted attacks at the two malls, the theatre, and FIFA game, in addition to saving his own wife and Parliament officials dinning on the Seine; thousands of lives had been saved due to the hard work and quick r
esponse of his Internal Security Directorate. He then told those grieving over the loss of their mosque that it had been destroyed intentionally by the al Qaeda trying to hide the fact that they had stored weapons in the basement of the building, destroying it only after their other missions had failed.

  Hunter sat in amazement at how well President Hollanda could spin a situation that appeared to be a total disaster and make it look like he had personally been responsible for saving Paris from al Qaeda. He turned-off the TV and said only one word, “Politics.” Before Ursula could even begin to explain how her trip went and her problems with the local labor union, Hunter told her he had to get back to Verron. He gave her a peck on the cheek and made a gateway home. Ursula stood and looked at where he had been only seconds before and whispered, “I love you.”

  Hunter let Chase and Daniel take charge of the Terrorist Elimination Unit for the next several days. Although he knew his sticking around would not make the regeneration chambers work any faster, he was constantly hanging around to see how Priscilla was progressing. On his return, he had Dr. Meese implement a military level enhancement on Priscilla. He didn’t question Prince Hunter and set the system in motion. Hunter decided that if she was going to be a field operative, he was going to help her have every possible advantage. He had already decided that she was going to be the first non-Verron citizen to have possession of a force-field. When he wasn’t by Priscilla’s side checking on her, he would often go for long runs in the mountains and stop along the way to pray for this woman that he now realized was the woman he desired more than anyone in the world. He had never dated her and hardly knew her, but now he did in fact believe in love at first sight, because he had come to the realization that he had fallen for Priscilla the day he met her in her Uncle’s office. It didn’t even dawn on him how Ursula felt toward him. She had been the only girl he had dated for any length of time, but he never felt that overwhelming desire for her, it had always been a very comfortable and safe relationship for both of them, or so he thought.

  He was at home and decided to tell his Mother Renee about how he was feeling about Priscilla. His Mom looked shocked. She had never even met this Priscilla girl and had assumed Hunter would end up with Ursula and she liked Ursula. Hunter wasn’t prepared for when Renee told him, “You’re going to break that girls heart. She’s been in love with you ever since you met.” Hunter just looked at his Mom and stared. He had no idea; not a clue. He realized he knew nothing about women. He wondered how Ursula was going to react, if they would still be friends, if she would still remain his business partner. He decided to go for another run and burn-up some of his frustration. When he headed out the door for the mountains, he said only one word, “Women.”

  The big day had come and Hunter was there. Tlase let him know that he couldn’t be there when Priscilla first came out of the tanks, no woman wants to be seen like that by a handsome man. He waited patiently until she had showered and changed cloths and leaped from his seat as she entered the room where he had spent so many hours over the past week. She looked beautiful, thick auburn hair, perfect olive skin and those mystifying eyes. She smiled a bashful smile and walked slowly toward him, extending her hands to reach for his. As they stood face-to-face she told him, “When I got shot, my first thought was of you and if I’d ever see you again. Then I could hear your voice as you picked me up and carried me here. I even heard you yelling commands at the doctors.” She put her arms around him and began to cry, saying, “Now that I’m here, I don’t ever want to be away from you again. I’ve felt that way since the first day you smiled at me in Uncle’s office and tried to forget it. Then when I saw you in Paris, I knew that life would not be worth living without you. I know I sound melodramatic, but I have to be honest with myself and with you.”

  Hunter held her tight for what seemed like eternity. He had never felt like this when he had embraced anyone else. He never wanted to let her go. He thought to himself, “We fit together perfectly; she gives great hugs.” She lifted her head from his chest and looked him in the eyes and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. Hunter thought his toes would curl. He had never been kissed like that in his life. He literally melted as he kept playing over in his mind, “So this is what love feels like.” He chided himself for thinking of the Robert Palmer song at a moment like this, “You might as well face it you’re addicted to love.” It was two weeks before Hunter returned to his command of the Terrorist Elimination Unit. He spent every spare moment with Priscilla Barak. It was only after King Verron and his Father gave Hunter a reality check about how life still goes on even when you’re in love and Renee had a word with Priscilla, telling her pretty much the same thing, emphasizing the responsibilities of a Prince, that the two finally realized that they had to still function in life and had responsibilities and obligations that needed to be fulfilled. Hunter made a gateway to the Barak home to take Priscilla back Israel and let her know that he was going to be a regular visitor in Tel Aviv. It was time to get back to work and Hunter felt like, more than ever, he had a reason to do what he was called to do.

  Chapter 26

  The executive board room on the top floor of the Verron Tower in Success, Mississippi was, for today at least, a war room. Brigadier General Hunter Verron-Hall had called for a joint meeting of both the Terrorist Elimination Unit and Terrorist/Drug Elimination Team. He had decided that it was time for the two groups to work together more closely and combine their resources to coordinate their activities for the highest level of efficiency. Before they set the meeting, Hunter made sure that Katelyn knew he had no desire to take control of or interfere in her proposed operation, only to group their resources to make both of them more efficient at what they were trying to accomplish. They both agreed the difference between the terrorist groups and the organized drug cartels was negligible. Gangs of criminals all over the world created the same results as radical Islamist and there were probably more people worldwide who died or suffered for drug and gang related incidents than there were from terrorist attacks, both were destroying the society in which people were in doubt of ever having a normal, peaceful life.

  Katelyn was actually proud her cousin was beginning take responsibility for leadership and felt perfectly comfortable with his addition to her efforts. She looked around the table; many of the faces she didn’t know and only met them as they were introduced by Hunter right after she introduced the team she and Bart had assembled. Knowing just what Hunter and his group had done on two continents over the past year and a half, she was excited about bringing the training and experience of his unit to bear on two more continents.

  Hunter was at the head of the table and Katelyn, with the new rank of Lieutenant Colonel was seated beside him. Across from her was her brother Chase and cousin Daniel. Ibrihim, Lydia and Camil rounded out the number of Dragon Guard on the team. Hunter had also brought with him Lieutenant Colonel’s Jack Bentley and Antonio Martinez, a computer specialist from the CIA, named Elizabeth Hudson, was also there to assist her computer people. One face that surprised everyone was the very dark face of Efosa Bissong, supermodel Omotu Bissong’s older brother from Nigeria. He was on permanent loan from Solomon Arase, Director of the 450,000 man Nigerian Police Force. There was no one more qualified or motivated to infiltrate the Boko Haram Terrorist group. He and his sister Omotu were now the only surviving members of their family, thanks to Boko Haram. He had already been working in that capacity when Omotu told Hunter about him on his last visit to New York. When Hunter appeared in person in Director Arase’s office to request the use of one of his men, he at first was hesitant about just who this man was. Then when he realized it was Hunter who had been leading the antiterrorist initiatives all over Africa, he quickly offered Efosa and anyone else Hunter felt he needed to accomplish his mission. Hunter would no doubt take him up on the offer; it would be a little difficult for any of his people to infiltrate the group. Even the black men in the Elimination Unit could not pass for African’s. There was simply too much di
fference in the culture; it wasn’t just about the color of your skin.

  Katelyn’s group had primarily been assembled by Bart and his contacts at the FBI and DEA. At the table were two men with the most dangerous jobs in the world. Ramon “Ray” Ballesteros had infiltrated the Los Zetas, Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel. Jorge Fuentes was very deep inside the Columbian Norte del Valle Cartel. This was the first time in over three years that he had ventured out of Columbia. He used the excuse of a death in the family. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for Bart, to have a perfect excuse for him to go stateside, his older brother had in fact died in Atlanta, Georgia, it had not been arranged by Bart. He had a stroke; a real stroke. Also at the table were members of the Gangster Disciples and Crips, both undercover DEA. The men were in their early thirties but didn’t look a day over eighteen, even in this room they went by their street names of Screech and Butcher-knife. One of the most notable characters at the table was a 6 foot 7 inch biker who went by the name Fast Frank. He rode with the Hells Angels and had been for over 9 years. He and Bart had worked together for a while when they both graduated the FBI academy together. When Frank went undercover, all ties were cut.