by J. G. Martin
Derek pushed her further down the stairs to keep her under cover and then disappeared into the dust cloud when the gunmen stopped to reload. He came back seconds later with one of the gunmen’s carbines and slid down next to her. She started to speak, but he shushed her with a finger to the lips. The dust was starting to settle and they could hear the gunmen whispering to each other frantically. Then, a decision apparently made, they heard some of the mercenaries start to approach.
Derek pulled another piece of dynamite from the duster and lit it. He hurled the stick out of the stairwell, waiting a few seconds and then popped up. The stick bounced of the wall and landed with a sizzle behind the desks two of the gunmen were still using for cover. The two moving up on the stairwell watching it arc over their heads. The two behind the desks panicked and tried to scramble over them to escape the coming blast. All four were distracted as the blast sent the two men behind the desks flying and staggered the other two. Derek cut them down with four swift bursts from the carbine. He shot two more that rushed through the front door. They went down, triggering their guns as they fell. The rounds stitching holes in the ceiling.
He immediately grabbed Rora and dragged her past the bodies and out of the bank. As they ran past, she could see that the gunmen weren’t all dead. Derek had either only wounded them or their armor had stopped his rounds. She was surprised when he didn’t stop to kill them or loot their bodies. Something she had become accustomed to him doing pursuant to his “rules of the wasteland”. They instead raced out in the dwindling sunlight and to the SUV. The shadows of the building were starting to cover the street and the vehicles. When they reached the now disabled truck, Derek growled in frustration. He ditched the hat and duster as he examined the Humvees.
Rora’s curiosity got the better of her and she asked. “Why didn’t you kill them or get their guns? I thought those were the rules?”
Derek laughed a nasty little laugh. “They’re dead shortly anyway and we don’t want to be there when that happens.”
Rora started to ask what that meant, and then she heard the howls. A lot of howls, all coming from inside the bank. The sun had moved and the shadows had deepened while they had been inside the bank. More and more of the inside was now dark. The blasts and gunfire had probably attracted even more of the monsters from their nest. Those gunmen would be torn to pieces in minutes and Derek and Rora were in grave jeopardy if they didn’t get out of town soon.
Seeing the SUV was disabled, he checked the Humvees and was astonished to find the keys in them. He assumed that because the two merks had been guarding the vehicles they hadn’t removed them. They had probably realized the possible need for a quick getaway. Derek smiled; for once luck was on their side. He snatched the M-14 out of the SUV and their gear from the back. Seeing a flare gun he grabbed that too. The ability to start fires always came in handy. Throwing it all into the Humvee he waved Rora inside. She jumped in next to him and he floored it. The Humvee sprayed fountains of dirt behind it as he spun around and headed out of town, leaving the rapidly darkening valley behind.
As they headed out of the gates, Rora had to know. “What happened down there?”
Chapter 24
June 12, 2029
Leaving Zinc, Arkansas
While they drove away Derek told her what had happened in the vault. She listened with rapt attention. It started with him kneeling in front of the safety deposit box with a gun to his head. His former friend had just betrayed him and was trying to take his ticket to freedom. Mercenaries were on their way to retrieve it and were probably already upstairs holding Rora hostage. They were deep inside a town full of Drinkers, including giant super mutant versions. Just another day in the life of Derek Storm. Fortunately, this was exactly the kind of situation he thrived in.
“I bent the firing pin on your gun, Tex.” Derek informed him.
“What?”
“When you were out after the battle with the Drinkers I bent the firing pin. Remember me handing your gun back to you?”
“Bullcrap. You’re trying to trick me.” Tex fumed.
“Sorry buddy.” Derek said with a sneer. “I knew you were going to betray me, so I took advantage of the situation.”
“What if more Drinkers had come?”
“Then you would have been SOL…”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then pull the trigger.” Derek dared him.
At the sound of the gun’s hammer striking down ineffectively, Derek popped to his feet and turned around. His pistol was already in his hand and he fired two shots into Tex’s chest. His vest stopped the rounds, as Derek had known it would, but it knocked Tex down and broke three of his ribs. Tex fell backwards into a sitting position against the barred wall and his hat fell off and rolled to the center of the room. Derek kicked Tex’s arm as he tried to pull a knife from his belt and stomped down on his hand as he reached for a backup in his boot. Defeated and broken he slumped backwards and groaned in pain.
“You bastard…Both of my arms are no good now and you broke my ribs.”
“You tried to kill me…”
“It wasn’t personal.” Tex whined.
“How many of them are there?” Derek grilled him.
“At least seven, but there may have been more waiting with the vehicles...I can’t breathe man, help me out here.”
“Who are they working for? Why do they want the device?”
“I don’t know Derek, they offered a lot of money and I didn’t ask questions. I think you broke my hand.”
“Quit whining. You were going to shoot me in the back of the head and take the device. Some friend you are.”
“I told you it wasn’t personal. We’re still friends.”
“Rule #2 Tex, there are only friends or enemies. That means no in between and friends don’t try to kill each other. That makes you my enemy.”
“I can still help. You can’t take on all those guys by yourself.”
“I don’t think you are in any shape to be much help. But you are still going to go up there and take care of them.”
“What does that mean?”
“You know rule #3.”
Tex sighed defeatedly. “Never leave an enemy at your back. I know.”
“Exactly.”
Derek fired one shot at Tex, striking him directly between the eyes. As Tex fell over lifeless Derek snatched up Tex’s cowboy hat and stuck it on his head. Then he stripped Tex’s duster off of his limp body and pulled it on over his own jacket. He grabbed the duffel bag with the remaining dynamite, lit it and closed the bag, and then headed for the stairs. Derek bent over to conceal his face with the brim of the hat and acted hurt as he ascended the stairs. They were expecting Tex, and Tex they would get. Then Derek would make a surprise appearance.
“You know the rest.” He told Rora.
“I was worried until you came up the steps. Then I knew it was just a matter of time before you started killing them. So I started looking for cover right away.”
“How did you know it was me?” Derek asked.
“At first I was worried when I saw the black cowboy hat. But then I saw you had the duffel in your left hand, and I knew it couldn’t be Tex.”
“Good girl.” Derek said with genuine affection. ”You are learning. That’s rule #7, Always pay attention. Even the littlest detail can save your life.”
Rora smiled at the compliment and blushed a little. Fortunately for her Derek didn’t notice in the fading twilight. She was very glad Derek had survived. The moments between the gunshots and him appearing had been gut-wrenching. She glanced sideways at him covertly with her peripheral vision. He was a cold blooded killer but he did seem to have a sense of honor, some sort of moral code he followed. Maybe she could trust him…
Chapter 25
June 12, 2029
Zinc, Arkansas
The armored van carrying Maximillian and his drones arrived at the town just after dark. He had watched the satellite feeds as they had driven
to the location. He had seen Storm, the girl, and the Regulator arrive and examine the bunker. Who knows what they found there. Then he had watched them go into town and enter the building and the girl come back out. The heat reflecting off of the roof had prevented him from using thermal to see inside so he had monitored the outside. The arrival of the two Humvees had been a surprise. Apparently another player was now in the mix.
Maximillian had watched the armed men drag the girl back inside. The sun had started to set so he was able to switch to thermal at this point and see what looked like a battle inside. A blast of some kind had rendered the inside of the building hot for a few minutes leaving the satellite effectively blind. When he was able to see inside again, there were a few people still in the building but not moving much. Then a large group had entered from the back and as far as he could tell, still inside.
The van rolled to a stop by the Regulator vehicle and one Humvee. Maximillian looked at the two with concern. Where had the other Humvee gone? Had Storm escaped him AGAIN? He rushed inside with his drones flanking him. Using his augmented vision, Maximillian could see that a desperate battle had been fought here. Bodies of mutants and soldiers lay scattered about the room. Piles of them in some places. There were pieces of blasted and shattered desk all over the place and shell casings covered the floor.
To his disappointment, the “people” still in the building were the mutants created by Project Eris, known as Drinkers. The monsters stopped their feeding and turned to look at the new arrivals. Maximillian had his drones cut them down with a mere thought and started checking the human bodies. His drones executed the beasts with remarkable efficiency, the beams from their rifles lighting up the room.
None of the bodies on the main floor belonged to Derek or the girl, so Maximillian descended down the stairs. He found the vault room empty except for the cooling body of the Regulator. Seeing that one box had been blown open he knew the Major had retrieved the device. He must have taken the other Humvee and left during the brief satellite blackout. Anger warred with fear. How could that traitor Storm continue to escape him at every turn? His luck was unbelievable. Worse, how would Father react to the news that the device had been taken? Maximillian had failed at his most important mission. Or had he?
Storm had the device, but he almost certainly didn’t know how to use it or even what it was. Possibly the girl knew, but unlikely the doctor had told her. And even if she did know, she wasn’t the buyer so she probably would tell the Major. Maximillian still had a chance to stop them. If could regain the device or even destroy it before Storm could make the exchange, his mission would still be a success. Maximillian strode up the stairs with new purpose. His waiting drones falling into place behind him as he exited the building.
Entering the remaining Humvee, Maximillian accessed their onboard computer. As he had suspected, the soldiers belonged to the Outfit. Given that the Major had killed them and his Regulator friend, it was easy to figure out that the friend had betrayed Storm to sell the device to the Outfit. But they were merks, so who was their employer? Likely it was the U.S.T.G. since they often used the Outfit to perform their dirty work in the wastelands. But if the U.S.T.G. was after Derek as well, who was his buyer? Maximillian had assumed it was the U.S.T.G..
The Collective had provided the network software that the Outfit’s predecessor used so he was able to access the locator code for the other Humvee and track it via satellite. The vehicle was not that far away and was heading east out of No Man’s Land. He could catch up without too much trouble. But what was concerning were the dots representing the other Outfit vehicles closing in on the stolen Humvee. They would reach Storm before he would and might get the device first. No matter, Maximillian could retrieve it from them. He disengaged from the computer system and got back into the van. With another thought he engaged the drive and they headed after Storm and the device.
Chapter 26
June 13, 2029
Near Jonesboro, Arkansas
They had picked up the pursuing choppers just after they had exited the foothills outside of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Two black MH-60K Blackhawk helicopters had been waiting for them as they broke out into the open. The choppers had swooped in and opened fire on the Humvee Derek and Rora were riding in. Bullets from the mini-guns in the chopper doors bounced off the armor and starred the bulletproof glass windows. In response Derek had floored the accelerator and taken evasive action. He knew the armor could probably withstand the mini-guns, but the choppers also had rocket pods mounted on them.
The chase had lasted for about thirty minutes when the gunners in the choppers changed tactics. Flying on either side of the fleeing Humvee, they focused their fire on the wheels. The wheels were solid rubber, but the relentless stream of lead started chewing them to pieces. As the ride got bumpier and bumpier, Derek realized that eventually the tires would come apart and they would crash to a halt, leaving them helpless.
“We need to find cover.” He announced to Rora. “Start looking for a town or buildings, anything we can hide in.”
“I thought the armor would protect us.” She asked.
“It will, but if they disable us they can just wait us out or even burn us out.” He replied grimly. “They don’t want to damage the device so they won’t blow us up, at least not without trying everything else first.”
“How did they find us?”
“I’m guessing this thing has some kind of GPS tracker on it. We need to ditch it and find another ride.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Rule #11. If you can’t fight, run. If you can’t run, hide. If you can’t hide, fight. We need to try to hide; but if we can’t, we need a good place to fight from.”
They continued in the open, desolate plains, rounds shredding their tires, for another ten minutes before Rora spotted some cover.
“Over there!” She yelled and pointed.
Derek saw the silhouettes in the distance and spun the wheel taking them off-road towards whatever the structures were. The ride became very bumpy and he almost lost control of the Humvee. It took every last bit of skill and concentration to avoid wrecking the bucking vehicle. The choppers flew past at the sudden turn and began to circle back. They only had a couple of minutes before the unforgiving rain of fire continued.
As they got closer, Derek could see that it was an abandoned solar power facility. Rows and rows of massive solar panels gleamed in the rising sun. In the center was a small cluster of buildings housing the control center and repair facilities. Solar had been very trendy in the 2010’s despite having been proven to be inefficient and the panels faulty. Large government loans had pushed through construction of many facilities like this. Most of which never even actually produced any electricity. The debt incurred and the agenda behind their construction had contributed to the Collapse. When it had been happening, Derek had been very bitter about the waste of his taxpayer dollars; but today he was grateful for the place to hide.
The choppers reacquired them as they entered the solar farm and opened fire again. Panels shattered as the Humvee raced between them. Large pieces of the panels fell on and around the vehicle as the choppers unloaded on the escaping Humvee. Several towers collapsed as their supports were blown apart. Derek wove in and out of the debris barely avoiding the falling towers. The Humvee bucked and jumped as they ran over large pieces he couldn’t avoid. Rora hung on for dear life as they swerved wildly while headed towards the center of the complex.
The Humvee made it into the complex and crashed through the corrugated doors of a warehouse attached to the main building. It slid to stop, the wheels coming apart and the rims sending a shower of sparks as Derek mashed the brakes. They spun sideways and nearly toppled over before coming to final rest. Both Derek and Rora let out large sighs of relief. That relief quickly ended as they saw the choppers pass by through the windows on the warehouse.
On their second pass, the guns on the helicopters opened fire again shattering the windows and pu
nching holes in the thin metal walls of the warehouse. As they circled around for another pass, Derek shouldered the M-14 and jumped out of the ruined vehicle waving for Rora to follow him. They ran for the door into the main building, Derek blasting the lock with his shotgun when it didn’t open. Both of them tumbled inside, safe for the moment inside the concrete walls of the control center.
He led them through the building up towards the main control room. Derek had noticed the tower on top of the building and remembered they had had to visually inspect the panels. The panels rotated with the sun and had to be perfectly clean to get the most power out of them. A misaligned or dirty panel could drop output significantly. So the main control room was a tower with tinted glass on all sides allowing workers to monitor the panels. It would also provide a great vantage point for Derek to see in every direction. Maybe he could catch the choppers by surprise and shoot one in a vital spot bringing it down.
When they reached the control tower, he could see that was now the least of his worries. Through the tinted windows they could see the choppers land and disgorge Outfit troops. Each chopper dropped a squad of heavily armed and armored gunmen. Derek noted that each squad had a man with an M-249M4 Squad Automatic Weapon, a man with an M-32C1 Multi-Shot Grenade Launcher, and a man with a Barrett XM-110 sniper rifle. These guys were packing serious hardware and unlike the Outfit gunmen at Zinc, they were wearing helmets and goggles.
Before Derek could take a shot through one of the broken windows, the choppers popped back up into the air and began circling the complex at a greater distance. The soldiers they dropped spread out professionally and moved into cover around the building. The snipers disappeared into the complex seeking higher ground and better cover. Derek ducked down and pulled Rora down next to him, worried the soldiers might somehow see their movement and blast the tower apart. As he pondered their options he heard a blast of static and then a loud voice projected by a megaphone.