Wasteland Rules: Kill or Be Killed (The World After Book 1)

by J. G. Martin

  “So what else does it do that they are so anxious to get a hold of it?”

  “The device has the capability to essentially hijack the LINC itself, giving the user control over the entire Collective.”

  That proclamation was met with stunned silence by Derek. She could see him working through the possibilities in his mind. Whoever could control the Collective would have the resources and troops to cause serious havoc. They would probably become the preeminent power in North America overnight seriously tipping the balance of power and probably triggering war. Gaining access to the Collective’s network might also allow them to use the drone technology on their followers or in the U.S.T.G.’s case, their prisoners.

  Finally he spoke. “Ok, I admit. I’m curious, what is the other option?”

  “My father belonged to a group called the Society. They were dedicated to preserving democracy and free will for the people. They opposed the use of science and technology for any purpose other than the betterment of humanity.”

  Derek smiled. “That sounds great but how does that help us?”

  “The Society was targeted during the Collapse by factions that they had opposed previously and almost wiped out. But, the survivors went to the one place they knew they could be safe, the Kennedy Space Center.”

  “NASA. So that’s why your dad is sure you will be safe there. But how could they be sure it was safe?”

  “He didn’t tell me the details but he said they had friends there who had made preparations for the Collapse and the Aftermath.”

  “Meaning they knew about it before it happened?”

  “Possibly. I don’t know. He never said anything more about it.”

  Derek was silent for a little while again before he spoke. “I made a deal to deliver the device. I have to keep my word. I’m sorry.”

  From the expression on his face, she knew it would be pointless to argue. He was either clinging to the last shred of honor he had or maybe the payoff was that great. Possibly both. Maybe he would change his mind before the drop off. If not, well then she had a tough decision to make herself.

  Chapter 38

  June 16, 2029

  Heading South from Pelham, Alabama

  They left the roadhouse early in the morning while it was still dark. He had allowed Rora to get a few more hours of sleep, but he didn’t want to wait any longer. He couldn’t fall asleep himself, the adrenaline from the fight and the knowledge she had just dropped on him kept his mind racing. It was possible he was making the wrong decision. The device must be extremely valuable based on the lengths everyone was going to, to get their hands on it. But was the fate of humanity at stake? On that, he wasn’t so sure.

  The payoff for him, if it indeed panned out, was huge. A pardon and big payoff that allowed him to retire. A rare luxury in the world after the Collapse. On the other hand, if the device could basically seize control of the Collective that did make it extremely dangerous. If the U.S.T.G. got their hands on it they would make drones out of the entire country and the CCA and Texas wouldn’t be able to stop them. And then there was the Collective. So far they had seemed content to rule their little slice of the Pacific Northwest, but what if they decided they wanted more? He still didn’t know who his employer really was; could he be turning the device over to someone even worse?

  Derek practically ground his teeth as worked through all the possible scenarios. It seemed like every choice he made had horrible consequences and the decision was rapidly approaching. While they had been battling their way across the country he hadn’t thought about much more than surviving, but in about seven hours he would have to decide. Complete the contract or take the device to NASA, who he really didn’t know anything about either.

  The fact that Rora had held back surprisingly didn’t bother him. He would have done the same thing in her place. She had been orphaned and thrust into the hands of a mystery man, who was admittedly a cold blooded killer. She had grown a lot during their journey and he would trust her with his life, but he still wasn’t sure she had told him everything. What if NASA turned out to be another trap? If the device was so dangerous maybe he should just destroy it?

  As they got into the SUV and drove out of the gates, he made a decision. He would take the device to the drop off and see what happened. Maybe the contact would be able to shed some light on the employer and how they planned to use the device before he turned it over. If he didn’t like the answers, he could always take the device to NASA instead. Even then he could still destroy it if it became necessary.

  The CCA agent had been true to his word. There had been three plastic gas cans full of gas waiting for them in the morning, and no one had bothered them as they left. He and Rora had pulled back onto the interstate and headed south. With no speed limit to follow they had made good time and were able to make it past Montgomery, the old state capital, in an hour and turn onto U.S. 231 to cut down to old interstate 10. Approximately two hours after they left Birmingham they were turning onto I-10.

  Only minutes after they had made the turn onto I-10, the phone buzzed and the Voice spoke in Derek’s ear. “I’m detecting some activity on the road ahead of you and possibly behind you. Radio chatter indicates U.S.T.G. forces.”

  “Any indication of force size or composition?” Derek responded unsurprised. He had expected them to make one last ditch effort before the device was beyond their reach.

  “A small group is in front of you, maybe a couple squads in two vehicles; and possibly another squad behind you. The good news is I’m not hearing any radio traffic from helicopters or planes.”

  “What is it?” Rora asked.

  “Looks like we have some U.S.T.G. troops waiting for us up ahead and maybe some behind us.”

  “Where did they come from and how did they find us?”

  “I’m guessing the CCA or someone at the roadhouse tipped them off. There is an enclave at Pensacola based at the old air base there. It is mainly used for vacations for high ranking officials, but they maintain a small military presence there. They could have also flown some commandoes down under the assumption we would eventually pass through here.”

  “What do we do?” She asked nervously.

  He grinned. “For once we have the right vehicle to get through a roadblock, so grab your rifle and hang on.”

  Derek grabbed his M-16 and held it across his body and noted that Rora grabbed hers and prepared to fire it out the window. It was amazing how she had gone from a liability he needed to protect to a valuable ally capable of defending herself and even saving his life at the prison. He stepped on the accelerator and they raced down the highway.

  The roadblock appeared first as a speck on the relatively flat roadway up ahead, and quickly resolved into two Humvees blocking the road. Both had .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the roof and soldiers in body armor in cover behind them. As soon as the SUV was in range the 0.50 cals opened fire with a loud roar. Rounds bounced off the steel plow mounted in the front of the truck and the armor prevented anything from penetrating the body. But while the steel grating over the windshield might prevent small arms fire, the heavier machine gun rounds began to come through.

  Both Derek and Rora instinctively ducked down as the bullets zipped through the inside of their vehicle. But he didn’t let off of the gas. The soldiers added their rifle fire to the onslaught, but none of their rounds could penetrate the truck body and damage the engine or disable the tires. Derek risked a glance right before they hit the roadblock and saw the soldiers scattering and one of the Humvees wheeling backwards trying to get out of the way.

  “HANG ON!” He yelled right before impact.

  The Humvee didn’t move fast enough and the SUV struck both Humvees with a deafening crash and screaming of metal. It lurched up in the air and came down hard, jolting both Derek and Rora around in their seats. Their momentum was slowed dramatically by the crash, but they still had some forward momentum. They watched as the Humvee that hadn’t moved was caught under the
front by the plow and tossed into the air. It flipped over sideways and rolled a few times before landing upside down. The other Humvee spun around twice throwing the gunner from the vehicle. Metal and glass flew everywhere. The soldiers who had taken cover behind the two vehicles had been knocked flying from the collision and were scattered about.

  Derek immediately opened fire, trying to take advantage of the chaos. Rora quickly followed his lead and they were able to shoot down several of the recovering soldiers. The others fled into the ditches on either side of the road before returning fire ineffectively. He could see that the driver of the Humvee that was still upright was sitting at a funny angle and was either unconscious or had a broken neck. Realizing neither vehicle was going to pursue them, he stepped on the accelerator and drove away. A prolonged gun battle wouldn’t benefit them and ran the risk of one of the soldiers getting in a lucky shot.

  As they drove away, he looked in the rear view mirror. There was another vehicle closing on them. It was another Humvee, but it was black rather than the desert camouflage paint scheme of the previous two. It also had a fifty caliber machine gun one it, and once in range the soldier manning it wasted no time shooting at them. That soldier was dressed in a distinctive black and gray urban camouflage uniform and had a face mask on indicating they were indeed Federal Police commandoes.

  They were the elite of the feared Federal Police forces, a paramilitary group renowned for its brutality and effectiveness. They were fanatical in their support for the U.S.T.G. regime and they were known to be very dogged in their pursuit of the regime’s enemies. Highly trained and well equipped they were tough adversaries. The commando was a much better shot than the soldiers at the roadblock, and despite the high speed and Derek’s evasive driving; he was hitting the SUV consistently.

  The SUV had sustained some damage in the crash and no matter what he did; Derek couldn’t pull away from the black Humvee. They weren’t getting any closer, but he couldn’t get out of range of the machine gun. Eventually it would hit something critical and they would be caught. Then they would be outgunned by the Humvee and the commandoes. Both he and Rora fired backwards at the pursuing vehicle, but it was armored as well and the rounds just bounced off of it. He had to do something desperate or it was all over. He really only had one weapon in this phase of the battle, so he would have to use it.

  With no other options he spun the wheel and slammed on the brake and accelerator simultaneously. Rora screamed as they swirled one hundred and eighty degrees and ended up driving backwards. The plow now protected the wheels and the front, but again they were vulnerable in the cab. Derek allowed them to get a little closer before he executed his next trick.

  He slammed on the brakes and then threw the SUV back into drive. Rora’s face went completely white and she couldn’t even scream as she realized what he was doing. She buckled herself in with the seatbelt and braced herself. He knew he was grinning, but he couldn’t help it. His adrenaline was rushing and he was in his element. No difficult decisions here. It was simply Rule #1, kill or be killed. And he was good at killing.

  He could see the gunner panic and disappear into Humvee as the commandoes realized he was going to ram them head on. With the large steel plow on the front he was pretty sure that he would win the collision. At worst they should both be disabled and he could take them out in a close quarters fight. To his surprise, the gunner popped back up with a metal tube in his hands. Derek nodded in admiration. The man hadn’t panicked he was just ducking in to get a better weapon. He could see the determined look of the driver as they got closer and realized the man wasn’t going to slow or avoid the collision. These guys were serious professionals dedicated to their cause.

  The commando brought the Light Anti-tank Weapon or LAW to bear quickly and fired as soon as it was up. He didn’t really need to aim they were so close and he had so little time. Derek furiously spun the wheel at the last second, dodging the missile. It flamed past them only a foot from the SUV and flew on down the road to explode harmlessly. It may have missed but it caused Derek to miss hitting the Humvee and spin out across the road and down into the ditch. They popped up the other side and swerved around wildly while Derek attempted to regain control of the vehicle.

  When he had regained control, he looked for the Humvee. It was circling around and the commando was preparing another LAW to fire at them. There was no way they could survive a direct hit from a missile. The SUV was battered and still running, but smoke was starting to come up from under the hood and it was definitely slower than before. It was going to be almost impossible to get away now, they needed another option. Derek started driving away from the pursuing vehicle heading back the way they had come and parallel to the road when Rora yelled at him.

  “Head away from the road!” She screamed as she gestured into the waste.

  “What?” He asked incredulously. The rough terrain would slow them down and allow the Humvee to catch them.

  “Their clearance is lower than ours; they won’t be able to cross the ditch without getting stuck.” She explained.

  Hunh, that was simple and yet brilliant. He turned the wheel and headed away from the road. In the rear view mirror he saw the Humvee skid to a halt at the edge of the ditch. The driver had realized the danger and not even attempted it. They may not have been able to pursue any further but the commando up top still had one shot at stopping the SUV. Derek watched him steady the LAW and take careful aim. The missile raced towards them, closing the distance in seconds. Rora screamed as he swerved the truck at the last second. The missile struck the ground a few feet in front of them and the SUV lifted up as they passed through the blast.

  It came crashing down and they were free. The commando fired a few belated rounds from the machine gun, but they were quickly out of range. Derek drove for about ten more minutes, making sure they were well out of sight of the commandos before slowly stopping. He jumped out and started checking the SUV, searching under the vehicle as well.

  Rora climbed out to watch him. “What are you doing? They’re going to find a way across the ditch eventually and catch up with us.”

  “There must be a tracking device planted somewhere. We aren’t going to get away from them or hide if they can zero in on our location. But I don’t see one anywhere.” He explained.

  The phone buzzed and the familiar voice spoke. “You can use your phone Major. Select the EF Detector app and slide the phone over the vehicle.”

  It wasn’t as startling as before, but he was still having trouble getting used to the fact that someone was listening in on his conversations. He scrolled through the apps and there it was. He activated it and a gauge appeared on the screen similar to a Geiger counter. As he held it out and scanned the SUV it started beeping and the needle moved over further and further as he got to the back of the SUV. It was all the way over when he was directly behind the vehicle. He looked underneath and then opened the back hatch, but there was nothing there except…

  “The gas cans. They put a tracker inside one of the cans.” He said as he mentally smacked himself.

  They wasted no time in emptying one of the cans. Unfortunately there wasn’t a tracker in that one. Before he could pour out another one Rora stopped him. She poured the full can into the empty one using the now infamous pretty shirt as a strainer until they saw a small piece of plastic get caught in the shirt. She went to smash it, but he stopped her.

  “Don’t destroy it. We can use it to ambush them. Get back in the car and we can find a good spot.” He instructed. “Hey, Voice. Is there a road heading east with an overpass up ahead anywhere.”

  There was a brief moment of silence before the response. “Yes. Head south until you hit the next road. Then head ten miles eastwards. A railroad track crosses over the road on a raised bed.”

  “Perfect.”

  They followed the Voice’s instructions and located the overpass. Derek drove past it about three miles and then stopped to toss the tracker out. Doubling back he parked
behind the raised bed of the overpass with the ram facing the roadway. He had Rora get out and go hide across the road just below the tracks. He instructed her to watch for the Humvee and gave her hand signals to use so she could let them know how close they were. She jogged over and took her position. They readied their weapons and waited, Derek keeping the engine running.

  It wasn’t long before she signaled him. He held down the brake and shifted into drive. As they got closer he revved the engine causing the tires to smoke and squeal as the car fought against the brakes. She gave the final signal as the Humvee entered the overpass. Releasing the brake Derek surged forward from behind the embankment the SUV almost leaping into the air. The look of surprise on the gunner’s face was priceless as the SUV slammed plow first into the side of the Humvee with an ear shattering clash of metal.

  He t-boned the other vehicle with incredible force and it flipped over sideways and was pushed into the embankment by the charging vehicle. Derek threw the SUV in park and charged the Humvee. He and Rora finished off the stunned commandos with short bursts from their M-16s before they could recover from the impact. The ambush was brief but brutally effective. All four commandos were dead within seconds.

  The Humvee lay on its side light smoke drifting from the engine. The side he had hit was crushed inwards and the front axle looked broken. The gunner had been thrown free by the collision and lay dead near Rora’s feet. The other three bodies were still tangled in the wreckage. He and Rora unceremoniously began searching the bodies and looting the vehicle. It might not be that long before more soldiers or commandos arrived, but there was plenty of good stuff in the vehicle and Rules #8, 9, and 18 had to be followed.

  They collected all the weapons and ammo and stashed it on the back seat of the SUV. There were even a small collection of grenades, and much to Derek’s delight, one more LAW. He lashed the extra gas cans from the Humvee onto the roof of their vehicle and they gathered all the food, mostly rations, and water. A trauma kit and repair kit completed the haul. Well, almost completed the haul. Derek still had one thing he wanted to get from the Humvee, the machine gun. Mounted on their vehicle it would provide a powerful deterrent against raiders and Reapers. Not to mention all the other people trying to stop them.