Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  They were just about to begin, when Vlad walked in with a man and a woman in tow. He walked immediately to the front of the room and spoke softly to Hunter and glanced often at the man and woman he had escorted into this top secret meeting. When the two had finished speaking, Hunter turned to the group seated at the table and informed them, “It seems our operation has just expanded. I would like you to meet two of Vlad’s old friends from Russia, Petra Goravich and Slav Yana Kalwaski. They are both actively involved in the fight against the Russian Mafia. Vlad assures me they have a lot to bring to the party. He has a personal interest in seeing Russia’s corruption cleaned-up and since one of their major money makers is selling guns to those we are fighting, it might be worthwhile to deal with them as well. The two Russian’s spoke very good, but heavily accented English. They were surprised when everyone from Verron spoke Russian.

  Hunter then had those who had firsthand knowledge of what was going on inside the various organizations give a briefing on potential areas of weakness in each gang. By the time Russian’s, African’s, Columbian’s, Mexican’s and a giant-sized man with an Arkansas accent gave a briefing on the state of the gangs and terrorists, it became obvious that Hunter and Katelyn had not been far off in their estimation of both gangs and terrorist groups functioning pretty much the same. The task of the insiders was to do no more than pass on information. No one wanted them to blow their covers by doing anything more, that alone was dangerous enough. Assaults on the drug dealers, gangs and terrorists would be done exclusively by those with the right equipment. When he told the inside informants that his team can walk right into a machine gun nest or take a hit from an RPG round with no effect whatsoever, they looked at him like he was nuts. Jack Bentley happened to have a short clip of their last assault on a very well dug-in Pakistani weapons storage compound shot from his body armor camera. He had it projected on the big-screen and got a laugh out of watching those unfamiliar with Verron technology. He walked directly into a narrow valley protected by a heavy-machinegun emplacement. They could plainly see four grenades tossed his way and two RPG rounds fired from men protecting the entrance to the cave. Then he lifted his weapon and fired. The picture flashed bright white then when the glare dissipated it revealed just the IR image from his helmet-cam. Bentley had fired a Plasma cannon into the tunnel opening. Everything for thirty yards, except him, was incinerated.

  When the group at the table found out that the vanquished poppy and coca crops were also courtesy of Verron they were even more impressed. Fuentes told them that over a hundred rival gang members had been killed fighting over the hand-full of coca crops left farther south in Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. Katelyn quickly told him, there will be nothing left to fight over down there in the next couple of months. Those people will soon need a new line of work, like growing coffee or bananas. She asked, “How much is cocaine going for these days?” Fast Frank was first with an answer, saying, “Kilo goes for $200,000 right now. I know guys paying $500 to $600 for an 8-ball. The other gang members agreed, quoting some paying as much as $1000 for an 8-ball.

  Katelyn spoke next, telling everyone, “Next week Verron Pharmaceutical will release Verron Anti-addiction injections in three categories, Anti-Drug, Anti-Alcohol and Anti-Nicotine. They will be made available to drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, state health facilities and family physicians. The U.S. Attorney General is proposing to have it mandated that anyone arrested on a drug or alcohol related charge be given the injection. We do it on Verron and have less than .025% alcohol and drug addiction for our entire population. The beer, wine and liquor manufacturers won’t like it, and the tobacco industry, somehow found out about it and are already lobbying against it. Drug dealers don’t have much of a lobby, but no doubt will show their concern in other ways. King Verron has decided that all he will want to recover is his costs of manufacturing and distribution. He considers it a public service as a Christian to help people be set free from addictions. It will sell for $150.00 per injection, only one is required for each addiction. Considering how much money someone will save on an 8-ball, it may be a good seller.

  Fast Frank tossed a $9.00 pack of Marlboro 100s in the middle of the table and asked, “Got any of that stuff here. These things are going to kill me. If it works for me it will work for anyone, four packs a day.” Bart looked at his old friend and said, “I’m surprised you’re still alive Mike. If you can stick around a bit longer, we can not only stop the addiction, we can reverse the damage.” He looked at Katelyn for her response as she replied, “Can’t have a member of the team die from a stroke or heart attack right in the middle of an operation, now can we.”

  Screech was sitting next to Lydia and Ibrihim next to her. He had been looking at the two of them for most of the meeting and asked, “I don’t want to seem obstinate or anything, but what are these two going to do. The drug situation is bad, but I don’t think we need to have operatives in the elementary schools just yet.” Hunter laughed, Lydia and Ibrihim did not.” Before Lydia threw him across the room or Ibrihim made him explode and mess up the nice clean conference room, he decided he better establish why they were there. Hunter quickly responded, “These two are not part of the drug operation, but will soon be two of my most important operatives. Just like I could never infiltrate the Bloods or GDs anymore than you could infiltrate the Hell’s Angels, these two were born and raised on the border of Iraq and Syria and know that part of the world better than anyone in this room. They will be gathering intelligence on ISIS right in the cities they call home. Would you like that assignment instead?” Screech and Butcher-knife looked at the brother and sister in awe and asked, “How old are you two?” Ibrihim told them, “Old enough!” Lydia smiled and said, “Thirteen, but like you, I look young for my age.” Fast Frank knew nothing of the Dragon Guard and their capabilities when he mumbled, “Recruiting them a little young aren’t you.” Usually it’s Lydia with an attitude, but she did well today, instead it was Ibrihim who spoke out, saying, “My sister and I survived an ISIS attack on our village. She lived in captivity for three months, while I walked across Syria, killing several ISIS on my way to rescue her. I survived being shot by an ISIS Sniper and last month killed an al Qaeda terrorist with a C-4 vest bomb inside a mall of innocent bystanders. I can fly a fighter and shoot every weapon in the Verron arsenal, speak twenty-seven languages, including 14 dialects of Arabic. My sister by the way has done everything I have done except get shot by a sniper. She also had to walk across Syria, barefoot and handcuffed. She killed two terrorists in Paris last month.” Lydia smiled her most little girl smile and said, “I also have a Barbie collection and a My Little Pony backpack, their cute.” She held up her feet to display a pair of multi-colored size four shoes with My Little Pony on the side, and added, “You better agree or I’ll beat the brakes off ya.” Hunter laughed. Chase commented, “She can do it too.” Katelyn said, “That’s my girl, I was wondering when you’d speak-up.” Screech touched knuckles with her and said, “I love your shoes.”

  With Chase teamed with Bentley and Martinez in Africa and the Middle East, Hunter assigned Efosa, Ibrihim and Lydia to him. Katelyn and Daniel were over the North and South American activities, so everyone else would coordinate their activities through them and Bart. Camil would be a floater, since she could be anyone she chose. Butcher-knife took a look at the woman that looked like Britney Spears and asked, “What’s the chance of Blondie here being on our team?” Camil transformed into a duplicate of Efosa and replied, “What blond.” After they recovered from the shock, Hunter explained that Camil and her team of Shapeshifters would go where needed to assist in undercover operations. Camil shifted back to look like Gina Torres and asked, “Will this fit into your plans a little better?” Screech looked at Bart and smiled saying, “When you came to us and said you were putting together a unique team, I believe you became officially the master of understatement.” Hunter decided that his two new Russian agents would need a lot of support and since he had spent a great
deal of time in Russia and could more easily pass for a European than a Nigerian or a Columbian, he decided to team with them on their work in Russia and other mafia controlled areas. As the meeting was ending and the groups were going to divide up and discuss specific plans of action for the next few days, Hunter did something that surprised everyone and made his fellow Dragon Guard members proud of him. Prince Hunter Verron-Hall stood and said, “Before we dismiss, I’d like to do something that King Verron does before each meeting and maybe we should make a part of ours as well. I’d like to pray for God’s wisdom and guidance in what we are about to do.” Everyone stood with him, and whether they were believers or not, felt as if prayer couldn’t hurt.

  He began, “Lord, over the past few years our Nation has been involved in one military conflict after another. None of us like it and all of us wish there was another way of doing things, but until You show us another way, give us the strength to do this right and do it without harming innocent people. God, I know there are widows and orphans out there today because of the lives we’ve taken. I pray you will watch over those families and provide their every need. Dear Father, peace through negotiation has not worked, it seems like only peace through power is the solution. Please, stop us if we’re wrong in what we are doing, if there is another way to combat the evil of this world, I know that it will begin with what we’re doing now; lead us, guide and direct us in all we do and keep those who are trying to do right safe from those who only want to do harm; in Jesus name, Amen.” Everyone at the table said, “Amen.”

  The team members gathered in the executive dining room for some fantastic New Orleans style Cajun food and some socializing to get acquainted with each other. While they dined, the members of the team were issued a forcefield. It was obvious that these undercover agents could not operate in body armor and high tech Verron weapons were out of the question, but Hunter was not about to send these people into harm’s way without a means of protection. He had just passed-out the forcefields when a package arrived carried by one of the local Verron Marines. The Sergeant approached Hunter and extended the small box and informed him, “I hate to interrupt, but this just came from King Verron with a message saying, ‘When all else fails – bail.’ Doesn’t sound like much of a plan to me.” Hunter opened the box and saw enough Trapdoor watches for the entire team. The Sergeant immediately recognized the watches since he had one on himself. He looked at the group of people in the room and turned to leave, saying, “I stand corrected. Let me know if you need someone to demonstrate how they work.” He was almost to the door and Hunter called him back, saying, “Well, since you just volunteered, I could use you to demo something.” He handed the Sergeant a forcefield reactor. The Sergeant held up his hands and pointed at his own belt, “It’s like American Express; I never leave home without it.” With that comment, Hunter drew his pistol and shot the Sergeant point blank in the chest.” Those unprepared or unknowledgeable about the forcefields gasped. The Sergeant laughed. He turned and did Hunter’s work for him, saying, “I have served Verron for six years now and have been in every armed conflict they have been involved in. Those tiny little boxes Prince Hunter gave you will save your life, always wear them.”

  He held up his wrist and as Hunter handed the new people a Trapdoor watch, he continued, “And never forget that there is always a way out.” With that he spoke, “Trapdoor!” and vanished. Hunter explained, “Sergeant Green is now on Verron. The watch forms and emergency gateway right into the command headquarters of Verron. They, and the forcefields, are DNA coded. Once you activate them, they will work for no one else and will self-destruct if used by anyone else, the person who possesses it at the time will not be happy, in fact, they will cease to exist. Please, wear these at all times. They will save your life if things get nasty.” Screech put his forcefield on and just when he did Butcher-knife pulled a Glock 40 from his pocket and pointed it at him. Katelyn, put her arm on Butcher-knife’s and smiled, saying, “Now children. At least wait till you get outside to play.” Screech looked thankful for her intervention, she continued, “Every one of you will get a chance to test your forcefields, we want you to be confident in them, so we will go out to the gun range in the warehouse behind us when we’re through eating and everyone can shoot each other.” Screech look over at a smiling Lydia, and laughed saying, “Com’on, I said I liked your shoes.” Lydia smiled and told him, “Tell ya what, you can shoot me first.” He did; twice.

  When Hunter sat down in King Verron’s Verron Tower office, no one complained about him using it. It was obvious to everyone just what position Prince Hunter held in the pecking order of Verron. The two Russians were impressed that one so young could command so much authority. Hunter was about to receive an education from his two new operatives. He had always known that the various world mafia or organized crime syndicates were into some pretty heavy stuff, but had no idea how expansive their operations were. After listening to Slav Yana and Petra telling him about the various crimes the Russian organized crime bosses were involved in and how they partnered with other crime organizations all over the world, he felt overwhelmed by the problem and decided to focus on the operations that directly impacted his fight on drugs, terrorists and oppressive governments. For the time being at least the crime bosses would be allowed to continue their other activities, at least until there was more manpower available to deal with it. The Russians were involved in human trafficking, racketeering, drug trafficking, extortion, murder, robbery, smuggling, arms trafficking, gambling, bribery, fencing, pornography and fraud. On top of all that, Hunter was informed that as territories were divided up across the world, the groups worked together, Italian-American Mafia, Armenian Mafia, the Triads, Corsican Mafia, Jewish Mafia, Italian Mafias, both the Sicilian Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, and Camorra, Irish mob, Serbian Mafia, Bulgarian Mafia, Albanian Mafia, Macedonian Mafia, Greek Mafia, Romanian Mafia, Turkish Mafia, Los Zetas, and Israeli Mafia. Hunter had no idea that the cancer of organized crime ran so deep. It was way more than he was equipped to deal with.

  Hunter thought a moment and decided, saying, “I wish we could just eliminate them all in one fail-swoop, but it will take years and even then, these people are so deeply ingrained in governments and business, it will never just go away, as long as there are people willing to take advantage of other people. So, let’s target what our two teams share in common, drug trafficking, smuggling, arms trafficking; let focus on anyone, regardless of organized crime affiliation, that is involved in these activities. I don’t care which governments back such activities, if there is a ship, plane or truck transporting weapons to one of the terrorist groups or organized crime syndicates or their designated country of hiding, then we destroy it. Any storage facility, regardless of which borders they are behind, I want to be holes in the ground. I know you two can’t go everywhere, but Camil and her Shapeshifters can go anyplace in the world and fit in. We can use them to identify targets and the Elimination Unit can take it out. I will give a ship’s crew, aircraft or truck a fair warning before I destroy it. I realize from past experience that not everyone onboard a transport is actually aware of the crime they are committing. We are about to become the most despised group of people in the world, that is, if you’re a criminal or a terrorist or anyone involved with either.” It was the first time either Russian had smiled all day. Hunter realized that Russian dentistry had not kept pace with the rest of the world.

  The evening of the joint meeting in Success, Mississippi, there was a heavy weather front covering most of the Northern half of South America and Central America. Katelyn had directed the four converted cargo ships to concentrate on Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Equator and Venezuela. Most of the other countries growing coca had already been sprayed and this was a perfect opportunity to spread her gift to the drug dealers over the remaining supply chain. In a day or two, there would be no coca plants alive anywhere the rain fell, and with this weather, that would include almost everywhere. Katelyn had a moment of grief for the poor farmers
who were nothing more than that, farmers. They had a crop that people would buy, so they grew it, much like the opium poppy growers in Asia, but they would have to find a new cash crop, coca was no longer going to be an option.

  While the converted cargo ships were spraying millions of gallons of highly concentrated defoliant on the earth below, Bart and Katelyn were in one transport and Daniel and the other assault team was in the other. Jorge Fuentes had given them the location of a large cocaine processing facility near Bogotá. It was underneath a large residential area and could not be simply destroyed from the air. He also gave them a location of a warehouse on the Rio Magdalena River in Barranquilla. It was the delivery point for weapons they used for themselves and sold to Gorilla groups throughout South and Central America. It was also a major distribution point for tons of marijuana they shipped out all over the world. Daniel decided to drive as many people from the warehouse as possible and use a containment bomb to finish it off. He was also told to target any ships sitting at the dock behind the warehouse. Katelyn and Bart had the fun task of going into a neighborhood with a cocaine production facility where most of the people in the neighborhood worked. They didn’t want to shoot a bunch of innocent people, but had already decided that if they were being shot at by someone, they were not innocent. Bart, in his demented sense of humor, told Katelyn, “Well, look at the bright side. The largest employer in the community is about to go out of business, but on a lighter note, there will also be a much smaller population of residents seeking employment.”

  Spanish was one language that Daniel spoke pretty well, but was not all that good with since he had very little exposure to those who spoke it, but he knew for certain by the screaming and yelling at the dockside warehouse, they were not happy to see him. The night before, he had watched the first Expendables. This operation seemed more like that movie than any operation he had been on before. The cartel literally had an army guarding the place. When he and the commandoes dropped from the sky above the warehouse it didn’t take long for the shooting to begin. Daniel’s first thought was, “So much for making sure the innocent people are out, everyone here was armed and shooting at him and his men. Unlike the Expendables, these invaders in Verron body armor had no fears of being shot and quickly walked through the warehouse and dockside areas eliminating one target after another. One thing that Fuentes’ intelligence report didn’t include was the barracks for an entire army housed across the street.