Military Fiction: THE MAC WALKER COLLECTION: A special ops military fiction collection...

by D. W. Ulsterman

Mac took a step forward, a small smile on his face.

  “That may be so Officer Hess, but you won’t be a part of that world. I promised my people that today…today you die. The question I have now is for those men behind you. Do they want to join you in that dyin’, or do they want to pack it in and leave this place. Go on outside – see if all those people out there are willing to let you move on. Out there you might have a chance. In here, once I start pulling this trigger. I’m killing Hess and I’m killing any of you standing with him.”

  Hess turned his head to the side to speak to the other twelve special operations officers who remained standing behind him.

  “None of you move one inch from this place, or I will bring a shit-storm down on you. And don’t doubt me on that…you know who I am.”

  Mac held up his left hand as his right hand continued pointing his weapon at August Hess.

  “You have my word. Every one of you can leave this cave. Make your way outside and from there, you’re on your own. Free to go. No harm will come to you from any of us inside here. If you stay…all of you will die. If you’ve read my file you know how capable I am with this weapon. A few of you may be left to fire off your charge guns, but then the rest of my people will kill you. You see the gentleman in the kitchen area? With the pony tail? His name is Keith. Right now he is likely holding a shotgun in his hands. Even if you manage to stop me after I fire off several rounds, he’ll be right behind me to finish the rest of you off.

  “So, I will ask you one more time, leave now…or die.”

  One of the twelve officers, the shortest of the twelve, looked to the others and then whispered something to another officer standing to his right.

  Hess, sensing uncertainty among his own men, moved quickly to fire his charge gun at Mac.

  He was too late.

  Mac released a single shot into Hess’s left knee, which exploded into fragments of bone and blood. The special operations commander fell to the floor screaming.

  Mac now raised his weapon at the remaining twelve officers while at the same time Keith moved from the kitchen area with a shotgun held out in front of him pointed at the special operations officers as well.

  ‘Got your back Mac – ready to blow them to hell.”

  Mac took another step toward the officers. The one who had whispered something earlier slowly holstered his charge gun and took a step forward.

  “Mr. Walker, my name is Special Operations Officer Martinez. I am the second in command here. My men are prepared to leave this place. Now. Please know though, that the report of these events will reflect your action taken against Special Operations Commander Hess, who you wounded, and then killed. This will certainly result in more resources being devoted to your capture and prosecution Mr. Walker – you and all those here with you. Do you understand?”

  Hess had managed to get back onto his feet, balancing most of his weight on his uninjured right leg.

  “Martinez! You idiot! These people have no leverage here! This place will be a pile of rubble in minutes. Just minutes more! Any of you move and you will be destroyed! We’re going to walk out of here TOGETHER. I leave with you. That’s an order, Officer Martinez. A direct order!”

  Hess began to hobble his way back toward his men without putting weight onto his eliminated left knee.

  Mac fired another round into his right knee, dropping Officer Hess to the ground again.

  “Bear, can you please remove any weapons being carried by Commander Hess and keep him right there on that floor?”

  Mac then looked up at the twelve officers who were all glancing at the cave’s exit.

  “Gentlemen, you are free to go. Thank you for your willingness to negotiate. You prevented more bloodshed. Keith, please escort these men out, but keep your distance and your weapon on them until they are well away.”

  Bear had removed August Hess’s charge gun from him and then slammed his foot down into the officer’s back, easily pinning him to the floor.

  Dr. Miller and Dublin were helping the Old Man back to his feet, the doctor placing an oxygen mask onto his face as he did so.

  Mac brought over a chair and set it next to August Hess and had Bear place him into it. Bear was not gentle in doing so, slamming the operations officer into the seat with a loud thud which elicited a cry from Hess who was holding his hands over the space where his knees used to be.

  “You think this changes anything, Mr. Walker? This…changes…NOTHING. Not a single thing. This place is finished. All of it. All those people down there in that valley, this cave, it’s all gone. The drones are leveling all of it. Every single one of you are DEAD. You hear me? You’re all dead!”

  Mac nodded toward Keith as he returned from outside the cave.

  “They gone?”

  Keith nodded back.

  “Moving out of here as fast as they can. You got to see the people down there Mac, it’s unbelievable. They were right…thousands of them.”

  August Hess struggled in his seat as Bear jerked him back down and held him still.

  “And they’re all gonna die. BOOM. Gone. And then it’ll be your turn, all of you in here.”

  Lucille’s voice shot a question at the operations officer.

  “So you ready to die then too Officer Hess? Because that sounds like what you have in mind. If we are gonna be dying in here, so are you.”

  Hess glared back at Lucille and then smiled.

  “I’m ready to die for the New United Nations. So be it! As long as I get to take a bunch of you with me.”

  Hess turned his head toward Bear’s kids.

  “As long as I get to watch your children buried in here with me. You like that, kids? You’re going to die today! Very, very soon! And it’s all you father and mother’s fault! They killed you! Dead! Dead! Dead!”

  August Hess was now openly revealing the insanity that had likely resided just under the surface of his being.

  Bear’s wife Clancy walked slowly toward Hess until she stood directly in front of him, looking at his face as if she was trying to determine if anything human could be found in this man who so enthusiastically threatened her children, and brutally took the life of her friend Loren Simms not more than an hour ago.

  Clancy then spit into the face of Officer Hess, who slowly licked her saliva from his upper lip, his face contorted in that now seemingly permanent wolf-grin.

  Mac now stood next to Clancy, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of the special operations officer.

  “I’m sure death and me are gonna meet up sooner or later, Officer Hess…but not today. Not yet. Not me, or anyone else inside this place, or any of those people outside. Death isn’t for any of us just yet…except you. I made a promise that on this day, you’d be dead. And I intend to keep that promise, and see it done. But I want you to know something first, all those drones you’re sending up here. I’m gonna knock them right out of the sky. Every…single…one.”

  Hess began laughing, his eyes darting wildly to the faces of all those staring back at him.

  “There’s too many! I’m sending ALL OF THEM Mr. Walker. That gun of yours won’t protect you, or those people. You’re all dead already. Just a bunch of talking corpses. The hand of the New United Nations is almost here, and it’s gonna kill every single one of you!”

  Mac returned Hess’s rant with his own nonchalant smile.

  “Is that so? Hey Keith, how about we head back into the defense room and fire up the E1. Let’s give all those drones Officer Hess is so proud of a nice welcome.”

  Keith was already making his way to the hallway.

  “With pleasure. With pleasure.”

  Finally the smile left Hess’s face.

  “Bullshit! You don’t have a pulse unit big enough to take the drones down. They are pulse-protected you idiots!”

  The Old Man, with the help of Dublin and the doctor, was making his way slowly toward August Hess. With a shaking hand he removed the oxygen mask from his face and looked down with sadness at the
man who had brought such destruction to his beloved Dominatus.

  “I assure you, Officer Hess, the E1 installed inside this place will be more than sufficient to incapacitate any drone, any electronics based weapon, within a mile of this location. It is but a matter of timing. Mr. Walker, will you please ensure that timing…is at its most efficient please?”

  Mac paused, instructing Bear to not allow Hess to move an inch, then nodded to me to follow him into the defense room.

  Keith was viewing the image of the small valley below the cave – an image that caused both Mac and I to gasp. The thousands of people described earlier by the New United Nations officer were indeed down there, and it appeared as if yet more were arriving. Large American flags were being carried by several of the people, as well as a massive “Don’t Tread On Me” flag that rose from the middle of the throng.

  Our amazement at seeing so many people gathering below us was cut short by a sense of foreboding as several unmistakable drone signatures were detected approximately ten miles away from Dominatus. The numbers of these signatures began to multiply quickly.

  Keith inhaled sharply at the sight.

  “My god Mac, all those people have no idea what’s coming at them.”

  Mac was again abnormally calm as he attempted to count the number of drone signatures.

  “There’s at least twenty of them. Twenty drones to target a location no more than a couple square miles? That’s got to be every armed drone available in all of Alaska…maybe Washington State too. Boys, we’re about to deliver one hell of a message to the New United Nations.”

  Keith’s face revealed his growing apprehension.

  “Mac, if this thing don’t work…”

  Mac lightly tapped the metallic box to Keith’s right – the E1 unit.

  ‘It’ll work. The Old Man knows his weaponry. This thing is government grade top of the line. This pulse is gonna rip right on through any electronic protections inside those drones. Now Keith, you remember that ten count you gave me earlier? I want you to do it again when the drones get just inside a five thousand yard radius of our location. Need all of them inside that mark, and judging by the current speed, that’s gonna be in just a couple minutes. Do you understand?”

  Keith gave a brief nod, though the apprehension on his face remained. Mac flipped the cover off of the metallic box for the E1, revealing a simple red button which his hand then hovered over.

  The countdown began.

  “Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one.”

  Mac paused for another second and then slammed his hand down onto the red button. There was a noticeable vibration underneath our feet and then…nothing.

  Dread overtook me as I noted all of the drone signatures remained on the screen just over three thousand yards away. Then…several of those signatures disappeared. Within a few seconds, yet more disappeared until finally, only two drone signatures remained.

  Keith’s eyes widened in panic.

  “Mac! Two left - they’re gonna bomb those people Mac…”

  Mac’s returned Keith’s panic with his own calm reply.

  “Keith, I need you to let me sit down there in front of that screen. We have twenty four rounds left in the M2, right?”

  “Yeah, twenty two. But Mac, the automated sight system is probably knocked out after the pulse, it’s outside the cave and wasn’t protected, there’s no way…”

  Mac’s eyes narrowed as he began maneuvering the M2’s sight manually from inside the defense room.

  “Keith, we’re just gonna do a little skeet shooting now. I need you to relax and let me focus here.”

  Mac used the monitor screen to lock into the drone’s position as he attempted to calculate the speed and distance of the drones in order to know when to begin firing.

  The M2 fired seven rounds. Both drone signatures remained on the screen. The sound of the M2 sent the thousands who had gathered in the small valley running into the trees for cover.

  Mac fired twelve more rounds. One of the two signatures disappeared, leaving one drone remaining, now less than six hundred yards from their location. The M2 had only five rounds left.

  I noted a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of Mac’s head. The burden of knowing he was the last thing left between those thousands of lives and that single remaining drone was finally cracking the hard-trained veneer of Mackenzie Walker.

  Keith’s whisper sounded like quiet thunder in the silence of the defense room.

  “Jesus, Mac, it’s gonna wipe them out…

  Mac fired the M2. Once. Twice.

  The drone remained on the screen.

  Mac fired again a third time. Then a fourth. And finally…for the last time.

  XXVII.

  August Hess remained seated on the chair inside the main room of the cave, surrounded by those he had repeatedly admitted a strong desire to see dead. Upon Mac’s return, those gathered around Hess parted, allowing Mac to slowly walk across the room to once again stand in front of the New United Nations special operations officer.

  Hess was now sweating profusely, his body likely going into shock due to the pain from the gunshots to his knees. Despite that pain though, he managed to smile as Mac made his way toward him.

  “Hello again Mr. Walker, did you enjoy the view of our drones outside? I told you the sky would be full of them.”

  Mac now stood alongside the Old Man, the both of them looking down at Officer Hess.

  “Yes, I saw the drones. And I brought them down. Every single one of them.”

  Hess shook his head in disbelief.

  “You lie! Liar!”

  The Old Man removed his oxygen mask.

  “Do you hear the sounds of bombs Officer Hess? I hear nothing of the sort. I hear only…”

  Alexander Meyer cocked his head to the side and paused.

  “I hear…cheering. Does anyone else hear that?”

  We all listened intently for the sound. The Old Man was right – outside, coming from the valley below us, was the sound of cheering from voices ten thousand strong. Everyone inside the cave looked at one another in wonder until eventually all eyes found their way back to Mac who had a sly grin on his face.

  “Like I said, took them drones down. I’m guessing there’s a whole shit-load of very appreciative people outside. Those people came for us – to save us. All of us. Least I could do is keep them safe and have a chance to tell them thanks.”

  Hess attempted to lunge at Mac, but again was slammed back into the chair by Bear’s grip on his shoulders.

  Alexander Meyer raised a trembling hand to signal he wished to speak, his voice giving a quiet order that struggled for breath as he did so.

  “I would ask that all of you leave the cave. Go outside and wait for the rest of us. We will be joining you shortly. Please, go now. Mac, Bear and Reese, you are to stay here with me…and Officer Hess.”

  Dublin was the only one to question the Old Man’s request.

  “Grandfather, you will need help getting out of here.”

  “Dublin, wait for me outside. I will be walking out of here without assistance. I wish to do so, and I will do so.”

  Dublin again prepared to protest, but was cut off by her grandfather.

  “Granddaughter…go now.”

  This time Dublin obeyed without further objection, glancing back at me once before entering the hallway that led back outside.

  Alexander Meyer now spoke directly to August Hess.

  “Officer Hess, you have threatened the lives of free people. You have taken some of those same lives. Do you deny this?”

  Hess attempted to spit at the Old Man, but his mouth had gone dry.

  “I did my damn job! You people are in violation of the mandates! Violation of the New United Nations! I had my termination order and that’s what I was doing. Terminating every last one of you worthless scum!”

  The Old Man was unmoved by Hess’s outrage.

  “Officer Hess, do you admit
to the murder of our friend and neighbor…Loren Simms?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you – I was following my orders!”

  Bear’s fingers dug into the shoulders of the special operations officer.

  “Did those orders include jamming an ice pick into a woman’s skull? And I remember you threatening my wife and my kids too.”

  Hess cried out as Bear’s grip tightened even more.

  Alexander Meyer’s face was again overtaken by a look of sorrow at the twisted and hateful figure of August Hess.