Doomsday By Design -- [STORY THREAD]

Sue-Lin ran in an arc until she came to the small hill close to town. She went up the hill in a crouch and laid prone at the top, setting her Steyr and used its scope to scan the town. It was eerily quiet. Had they listened to her dad and left the town?

One person was visible coming out of town. He looked a little out of it although he still moved well. It was Church. Should she rescue a bully or not. She pondered the question for a while before remembering that his bullying seemed designed to keep people at a distance. She decided to rescue him, she could always shoot him later after all.

She set up an over watch behind him and since he was coming toward her she just had to wait. Eventually he came close enough to whisper his name. He ducked down.

Sue-Lin quietly said, "Church, keep down and crawl up here, quietly."

"Mouse! Is that you! When did you brake out of your shell."

Sue-Lin replied with heat, "Shut up and do what you are told or you could get us both killed, please."

Church replied, "Coming."

He came up the hill and lay next to her saying, "Thanks, I wasn't sure what to do."

Sue-Lin whispered, "Stay quiet while I check for anyone else coming out."

It started out as most days .. woke up at 4 a.m by gozaimon for training though since arriving for some reason gozaimon had got more intense in practice leaving ryujin more sore than normal .

Soaking in the hot bath listening to punk rock on mp3 trying to work out the sore muscles before going to school he tried to figure out why the change in gozaimon and tougher training lost in thought he forgot to watch the time and by the time he noticed he realised he'd be late for class again .. jokingly he told himself keep this up and they'll probably start calling you the late ryujin.

He hurriedly threw on his usual black t-shirt , black jeans grabbed his bag .. at the door put his jikatabi on and slipped his tanto into the sheath built into the right one .. hearing his grandfathers voice telling him it was unacceptable to be late .. thinking of his late grandfather and listening to his headphones as he walked to school he hadnt noticed the black trucks and armed men piling out of them .. then he heard the shots feeling something graze his head he dived for cover blacking out..

Sometime later he came to .. head throbbing .. the smell of smoke .. and the unmistakeable smell of death in the air with everything strangely quiet .. remembering what his grandfather taught him he lay motionles listening/sensing if anyone was near him .. slowly checking making sure he was ok ..

Head throbbing he thought what to do next .. wondering if gozaimon had survived .. decided it would be safer to wait nightfall and make his way home under cover of darkness .. focusing his mind he slowed his breathing and heartrate making him appear dead to the casual observer and waited for night to fall ..

Jason Striker was a team leader with the Special Tactical Unit (S.T.U.) that rolled into town. The orders were to start with the school; leave no survivors and withdraw to the staging area until the parents and town officials showed up. If the plan went aria teams one through five were to move into town killing indiscriminately. Teams five through 10 were to pull back to the staging area as reserves.

Most of the town would turn out and rush for the school, or so the planners had said; parents, and anyone else who finally arrived at the school were to be all put down. All buildings and everything breathing would be a target after the school.
Background, Jason's memory of the mission brief:
The town had been identified as a group of like minded misfits/preppers and conspiracy nuts. Some residents in the town might be armed so all tactical precautions were to be maintained.

The briefing had continued with, "this is a terrorist cult town" (TCT) who hates the government and thinks there are way to many people in the world. Someone or some organization in the town has managed to splice viruses (bugs in Jason's mind)) together and they are mailing bug coated letters all over the world through the normal mail. Furthermore, even those who know nothing of the TCT activities are infected and would continue to spread the deadly virus unless they were stopped. Every citizen is a disease packet (D.P.) just waiting to be turned loose on the world.

S.T.U.s job was to stop the process.

This is a bad evil group in the process of releasing the Red Flu to all of the world. There is something in the towns drinking water which has apparently made everyone immune to the effects of the virus.. Nevertheless they were all carriers, was the briefed supposition, and thus the extreme measures that were to be carried out were absolutely necessary. More Blah, Blah, Blah as far as Jason was concerned... He was an action kind of guy. Point him in the right direction and don't fill his head with a bunch of touchy feely B.S.

Lead, follow, or get out of his way !

One thing he did take away from the briefing that he found astounding was that the mortality rate of the Flu at this stage was around 80% even with early intervention.

Once the teams job was finished a special Hazmat team would move in to dispose of what bodies that were not to be used for autopsy and other medical purposes. Hazmat and other special Ops folks would then basically roll up the sidewalks of this once isolated little town as if it never existed.

Jason's initial after action report:
We rolled into town at precisely 08:45 and dismounted with 10 teams. Our mission plan was to hit the school and kill everything and everyone within sight: Planned mission time was 25 mikes. Everything was going as planned until we started taking sniper fire from a heavy caliber rifle. The first to fall was my second in command Lt. Baker. He was right next to me when his head basically exploded. It was so violent and quick his body actually continue to run for a few steps before falling over. We already had teams one through eight in the building so the rest of my team along with team ten tried to set up a return fire defensive perimeter in front of the school and behind our APCs . Whoever the sniper was he was deadly accurate. 4 more team members were down and out.

Our issued body armor was like a cotton shirt to the weapon he was using. IMO without hearing the medical report it would be my guess he was using .50 caliber H.E. rounds or maybe something even larger. We wanted to return fire but there was no indication of the direction the fire was coming; the weapon was silenced, a very long way off, or all the shooting at the school drowned out his firing sequence ? Teams one through eight continued in the school but we were unable to close off all exits in the rear because of the sniper. No doubt some D.P.s got away..
Over the next 10 mikes we started receiving small caliber fire from some of the towns folk which we suppressed by return fire and drone one and two. Someone was able to down drone two and I assume it was the sniper ?
We have pulled back to our staging area and are requesting a reinforcement of at least 3 additional teams and 2 drones on station with IR. The operation is not going as planned yet we can salvage the rest if we have the additional teams and drones.
Capt J. Striker commander team nine and communications officer reporting

Jason hit enter and sent his team statement back to C&C (command and control in his mind) but was actually called the "TARC" which stood for Tactical Armed Response Center which was all under Home Land Security (HLS).
One thing about working for the government there were a lot of alphabetic B.S. one had to learn.

As he sat in the APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) Jason went back over the planned attack.. He had never liked the mission parameters.. Rolling into a one horse town with ten teams as a show of force when his team and possibly one other could have accomplished the whole mission at the school with silenced weapons and no one would have been the wiser until no one showed up after school.

"Ours is not to question why but to do or die", came back to his mind as he sat there rehashing what has transpired less than two hours ago. Now it was a waiting game. Let the parents and other local yokels gather at the school so they could be terminated. With the mission plan turning to crap because of the sniper maybe teams 1-5 can take care of business.

Jason was not in the school shooting teachers and kids; he had only heard some of the funny stories of the looks on the teachers and kids faces as they were shot down like dogs. He felt nothing for the D.P.s They were just people on the wrong side of the line. Lt. Baker was another matter though. Jason would have to write the letter to his wife.

"War is hell" he thought. This was a war that if he and his team members did not win then quite possibly 80% of all humanity would be infected and die. Not once did it cross Jason Striker's mind that this mission was not as was briefed or as appeared. He had moved up the ranks of S.T.U. because he knew how to get things done for his superiors. Whether breaking heads of the TRIAD, Mexican Cartels, or anyplace around the world Jason in his mind was defending the flag and the rule of law set forth by his superiors. He slept well at night.

Really not surprising as he had always wanted to be part of something with a higher purpose. Upon his stent as an Army Ranger he had been told if he stayed with the service there would be a Star in his future one day. But Jason found the Army Ranger life to boring and to restricted for his taste. S.T.U. had offered him real clear cut missions at least once a month and all the training a guy could ask for without the Frigging rules of engagement the Army was so fond of..

It was within the first year at S.T.U. that two teams were pinned down and the Team One commander had been killed. Jason was communications officer with team two. Team two commander had his head down and for all intents and purposes was trying to dig a fox hole with his teeth. The incoming fire was horrendous form a well armed drug gang in Honduras. Jason was tired of being pinned down so he and John Stark grabbed their automatics and low crawled to a firing solution where they were able to kill all 8 of the bad guys. Within two years both Jason and John were team leaders.
"No guts no glory".

It was dumb luck that Marcus had been forced to walk to the opposite end of the school to use the boys room. At the time time he was cursing the walk, but he was soon to thank what ever god happened to be listening.

Man why is it this stupid school has only two boys rooms? he thought as he walked back to Mr Knowles class. A glance at his left side caused him to stop.

"What the hell!?!" he muttered as a group of large black armored vehicles pulled in the front on the school and groups of men dressed all in black with some sort of gas masks and assault weapons disembarked.

"This can't be good!" Marcus muttered as he watched some of them start moving towards the school's front door weapons raised. He dove back into the hallway just before the gun's started firing. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. But he quickly got to his feet and ran back the way he came.

If I get to the gym I can go out the back before those stormtroopers can get there! He thought as he ran past other students and staff, all frozen in panic. Nearly out of breath, he paused a moment before trying to open the door silently. Sunlight greeted him. That and the brat-brat of automatic weapons firing nearby. Looking around and not seeing anyone, Marcus ran outside.

As Marcus sprinted towards the brush one of the black clad gunmen raised his rifle to fire at his fleeing shape. But as he brought his rifle up a gunshot range out and the back of his head exploded! The other members of his group dropped for cover giving Marcus the precious time to make to the

Marcus heard the shot ring out clearly and just kept running till he was able to get to the small ravine near the school. His friend Jackson had showed him how it could be followed to come out near the diner his mom worked at. This way he could go around the guys with the heavy duty firepower.

Who are those people back at the school? His mind raced. They didn't look like the terrorist from the news feeds.

Half way to the diner was when he heard a sound from above him. Looking up he could see a small object in the sky, and as he watched it started firing at something some distance back toward the school.

Is that a drone? he wondered. Homeland security used them, especially near the border states of the old US and Mexico. Wait why would they attack a school? Marcus shook his head. One moment the drone was shooting at something on the ground and then a loud crack and the drone spun to the earth...

Jackson had led his mother through every back alley, backyard and off-beaten path he knew before he finally made it to Williams Street.

"Ok. She said Williams Street. We're on Williams Street. I wonder what now? Jack pondered under his breath.

His mother asked - "Yes, now what? Did she choose to give you any other details?"

"She said right off Williams street!" Dumbfounded, Jack could not remember any other details given, except "Right off Williams street!"

Did she mean, take a right off Williams street, or was it more like "It's just off Williams street! He thought.

He just couldn't put it together, what was he missing? Jack muttered -"Oh boy, I need to think. Mom, please lay low for a minute, I need to figure this out."

Possibly making it more difficult than it really was, Jack walked up the street a bit, pondering the sentence structure in Sandra's directions, breaking it down in every way possible, almost obsessively. Interrupting his deep train of thought, Jack suddenly heard a noise in the bushes about 20 feet away.

Stealthily, Jackson quickly hid behind a nearby tree and pointed his Colt in the direction of the bushes. Jack peered into them, trying to make out what had ruffled the leaves.

Without warning, Jack then heard the distinct sound of a sneeze coming from the bushes."AAAAhchaooho!! *sniff*"

Wait a minute, I know that sneeze. Jack thought.

He lowered his Colt and advanced toward the bushes. As he got closer and closer to the bushes, he could begin to make out who was hiding behind them.

"Marcus?? Is that you?" Jack asked.

As Sandra continued wandering almost aimlessly through the empty town, no one came into her view. Everything remained still, quiet, and empty... there was no sign of her uncle, the special ops assassins, or any people whatsoever.

Her mind softening, Sandra began to lose track of her primary objective. After walking around for about an hour, Sandra entered the empty burger joint, overlooking the inside of the place, her eyes empty, and her expression almost gaunt.

The front counter, which Sandra had visited many times, was no longer a cleanly painted yellow-and-orange structure. It was now riddled with bullet holes, and some of the tables were overturned. Garbage and debris were scattered along certain areas in the place, and there were no people in sight.

Sandra walked glumly to the corner of the burger joint, then slid into the booth farthest back. She rested her head on her hands, staring out of the gigantic window beside her.

The corner booth was her booth. It was a nice, peaceful place where she could draw, write, people watch, and still enjoy her solitude. Still, the place had far too much solitude now. So many times, she'd sit here, her back against the seat, keeping the whole booth to herself, scribbling on her clipboard... but now, everything had changed... the town was attacked, and now, everyone she knew was either dead or missing. It felt as though she was the last person on earth, sitting in this trashed burger joint, lost in thought, unable to wipe the disheartened expression from her face...

The Hawkeye drone had been on station @ 23,000 gathering images of the carnage at Las Nueva Era for the last 10 hours. It flew a normal figure 8 pattern whereby it's flight path crossed directly over the school every 15 minutes; which was considered a tight orbit at that altitude.The orbit's crossing point had been moved several times to where the teams were moving.
Even at 23,000 the Hawkeye camera could distinguish people on the ground and what type of weapons they were carrying. It had captured,"for the record" the D.P.s that had escaped the initial assault on the school and the directions they fled. All of this was fed back to TARC which would be edited and the pertinent info would then be passed on to the officers in the field. Due to the heat on the ground the IR sensor had been all but useless.

In the past there had been a direct feed to the operators but the guys on the ground felt they were getting hours of information overload with nothing of a tactical importance. So TARC had a full team of watchers during a mission that edited what was useful and then that "key" or "tactically significant" info would be forwarded to the teams via their helmet mounted receivers and flip down tactical glass. The operators or ground guys knew something of importance was being sent by a small beeping in their headsets.

New helmets were being tested where the info was beamed directly to the face shield the guys wore in a ground pounders version of a heads up display.. But again there were complaints about distractions, lighting, weight of the helmet and link breakage/reception. Tech is cool if it works and adds to the situational awareness...But so far things seemed to look good on paper during funding but once applied or tested no amount of money seemed to make it work beneficially for the end user guys in the field.

When the guys were all suited up in their battle rattle suits they were already carrying around 48 pounds without the weight of their assigned weapons. Body armor was heavy (and frigging hot) so S.T.U. was working with many sub DARPA contractors, but as of yet if you wanted something to stop a normal high power round the science and development was not up to the job without the weight.

Nothing they wore would have stopped the rounds fired by that sniper dude ! A concerted effort had been made to find the bastards location by one of the Little Birds but the outcome had been the loss of one drone. A mission report had already been sent requesting who in this stinking town owned a .50 or higher power rifle and a full intell search was on to track ammo and gun purchases for the state; good luck! All internet traffic for ammo purchases was being pulled up to try and narrow down whom the teams might be facing; the who where and what of the matter would be found and dealt with.

John (team leader 4) had a grudging respect for an enemy with tactical expertise and it certainly made the game more interesting. It would not stop John from killing this guy but he would feel respect once the deed was done for at least the Sniper was a worthy opponent.

Unlike the Sniper, the majority of the D.P.s the teams had faced had be lacking in concentration of fire power and concealment. Their tactics seemed to be shoot and die for their town, which they were doing with monotonous regularity. For the most part they had been easy targets for the men on the ground and the little birds.

"For all the D.P.s; you can run but it will just make you tired when we kill you", thought John.

Visions of the school mayhem came back to John as they moved up a back street to another house they were going to search. Back at the school this morning one little girl and boy were in a corner holding on to each other crying as John leveled his rifle at them; they might have been twins or just two kids scared sh!tless. Two head shots and they would cry no more.

At the time John had figured he was stopping them from being used to spread the Red Flu... Now upon reflection of this entire mission he was wishing he had been on leave of absence when this crap came down the pike.

John was battle hardened and did not mind the necessity of some of the killing, which he was very good at (as were the rest of the teams) but there were usually well defined bad guys to go after, not frigging kids!

Whoever was using this town as a bio-lab for world destruction was one sick f*er. John just hoped he could find the perp (s) and hand out some of his own special kind of justice in slow motion and much pain; making them cry for their mommas over and over again... Whatever was left he would turn over to the intell boys (S2) for the work to continue.

Teams 1 through 5 were getting close to their pumpkin time (an old movie about horses who were once mice but by a certain time they would turn back into mice) therefore the teams would need to return for a de-mask and new breathing filters and mask in their rear staged HAZMAT APC. Time was always the enemy it seemed.

Location of the D.P.s could be identified by the one remaining drone or the data feed from the Hawkeye but at 9 hours the Little Bird was pushing it's airborne on station loiter time. The bird had ran out of ordnance/ammo a couple of hours ago so John made the decision to send "Little Bird" back to the roost to rearm and refuel; they would use Hawkeye info and data until Little Bird could return and be more useful than just taking pictures and video. The replacement drones that Captain Striker had requested had not arrive on station as of yet and as far as John knew and neither had the back up teams.

"What a sh!t mission this was turning into".

Back at the TOFC (tactical operations field command) Jason was into doing some reflections/day dreaming and waiting for a reply for the extra Drones and teams..WTF!

This was his normal day to run; Jason hated to run. He felt running was for little F*ers where gravity did not seem to effect them nearly as much. Even so 3 times a week in full battle dress he would run 3 miles. He hated it but knew it was necessary. His old buddy John now team 4 commander was his running bud and at 5'11" 200 pounds Jason considered John one of the little F*ers. There had been a manly bond established way back in the days of the Honduran drug Ops which had held fast to this present day. John and Team 4 were working the town with teams 1,2,3, and 5. There was light resistance and the occasional D.P. small arms fire but nothing the teams could not handle. Two of the APCs had been moved into town as extra fire power and support for the teams. With the APC's heavy weapons they could splinter a brick and mortar house faster than someone could run away; normal simple ops except for the few D.P.s that seemed to want to fight back.

Jason was getting pissed at the delay of a response to his request for additional teams and the Little Birds so he fired off another copy of his request.

The reply he received was, "STANDBY".

What a goat rope this was turning into.

Jason keyed his headset mike and asked John when they would return to the HAZMAT APC. By his watch they were getting close to needing a RFJ (re-filter job)..

John's reply had been in 45 mikes so Jason sent out a command order for teams 6 through 10 to RFJ and be ready to move out in 30 mikes. When Jason left the TOFC John as the next senior commander would take Jason's place as como officer. Maybe he would have more luck with new little birds and replacement teams ?

Man, what the hell is going on here? One minute I'm asleep and now its the freaking apocalypse.

Church was hunkered down on a hill just on the outskirts of La Nueva Era. Mouse was there with him and for once he actually felt bad for all the crap he had put her through, the constant name calling and threats but it was all to keep them from seeing his pain and it helped vent his adolescent rage. It was funny to think that after all the hell he had given her she could have easily broken his hand had he ever actually touched her. Mouse was a beast.

Where the hell did she get that gun?

Wondered church.

Where the hell did she get any of this stuff for that matter. Mouse is decked out like some freaking super soldier... all I have is an old knife and a canteen of tepid water. Damn.

At that moment it was all he could do to keep from crying again. He was sweating like a pig and the dried blood was starting to run down his face and into his eyes. He remembered his father last words, if you could call them that, “Churchy, I'm s s s...” was he actually going to apologize for all the years of abuse, the hypocrisy, the lying and cheating on his... Mom!

Oh my god, what about mom? She's probably dead too.

He started crying again, a slow salty trickle, the tears burning his cheeks like molten shame. Trying his best to hide his tears, he sniffed and asked, “Mouse, what are we gonna do? What's even going on down there?”

Sue-Lin looked at Church. He needed help and there was no time right now. She turned to him and said, "Church, for now, suck it up! Whatever you have been through does not matter right now. I can help you but not here and not now. Dry your tears, get a hold of yourself."

Brutal but it seemed to work. Just then her radio buzzed one very short buzz. She said, "Church, get down, now!"

She went prone aiming back the way they had come. A black SUV came into sight and stopped within 150 yards of them. A team of four jumped out. Sue-Lin aimed at the farthest one and waited. Her Dad had sent the emergency buzz which meant nothing more that take cover. She kept her aim steady.

She heard rather than saw the head explode as her Dad reached out and snuffed out another one of these animals. She squeezed her trigger and saw the targets head get pushed back violently as her round killed him. She panned to her right finding another target and fired three times. A boom in the distance indicated another round from her Dad.

She checked her radio. The message said, "Four down."

She shouldered her Steyr and drew the silenced 9mm approaching the bodies carefully. As she passed each one she fired twice to the head, it was quicker than checking them for life signs and quite frankly she wanted them dead anyway.

She went to the back of the SUV and opened a tailgate. She smiled and said, "Christmas presents for all, Yah!

She signaled for Church, she was going to need a hand carrying this stuff. Some nice claymores, a rocket launcher of some type, ammo and two computer Sniper Rifles. The box of grenades looked like fun.

Climbing down the hill and arriving at the back of the SUV, Church was floored by what he seen in the back of the vehicle.

“Oh, Jeez!” Church all but squealed. “What the hell is all this stuff?”

Church had once played one of those obscenely popular war games when his cousin came to visit at Chrismas time but his dad was so vehemently anti-firearm that he barred Church from ever actually owning any of the games himself. He had gone so far as to actually force Church's cousin to pack up the gaming console and put it away.

He looked at the weapons in the truck with the astonshed demeanor of a three year old being asked to operate a backhoe. He knew guns when he seen them, obviously, and he could tell that there were some grenades but most of the stuff gave him a headache just looking at it.

Is that a freaking rocket launcher, he thought, Oh my god, mouse is going to ask me to use this stuff, I just know it. I've never even shot a freaking bb gun! Jeez. I am so screwed.

“Umm, Mouse, there is something you should know,” Church gave a nervous chuckle, “I've never used anything like this. I could kill somebody!”

Likely, that was the idea, Church knew, but the thought of using these weapons to take someones life didn't set well with him. In fact it made him feel queasy and gave him butterflies in his stomach.

I'm such a wuss

Watching the drone plummet to earth shook Marcus out of his daze. He scrambled to the spot he would be able to get up to street level, sweat pouring down from both exertion and fear.

I hope my folks are okay. Marcus thought wearily. His dad had the day off so he should be home but his mom had the morning shift and left for work before he was up for school. Making his way to the back side of the diner, Marcus checked his pocket watch.

It's twenty after nine and nobody is out back on break? He thought. Creeping up to the rear door and seeing it slightly ajar, he went inside. A radio was playing in the kitchen but no one was there.

"Oh man, oh man" he muttered as he made his way towards the dining area. The door swung open revealing a sight that Marcus would never forget. Bodies of the staff and customers lay where they had been shot and a warm breeze blew through where the windows used to be. Crouching down Marcus made his was to the body of a waitress he remembered as his mom's co-worker Dawn. The floor around her was blood soaked and flies where everywhere.

Christ! They just gunned them down. He moved towards the body of one of the towns deputies. His pistol was in his hand and about a dozen shell casings littered the floor around the body. Marcus picked up the pistol and checked his belt and found two magazines still loaded.

"Well at worst I can shoot back now." Marcus said to himself. Checking the gun, it still was loaded. Thanks dad for showing me how to handle a pistol. He thought sadly. Then the body coughed up blood.

"There were too many of them" the deputy croaked.

Glancing around and only seeing Dawns body Marcus asked. "Where is my mom?"

"Uhh... some people managed to get out the *cough* back door." the deputy said in a voice just above a whisper, then with a shudder he was gone.

He sat there for a moment looking at the now dead man before getting up an tucking the pistol into the back of his jeans. Now what? he mused. Then he made his way out the back side of the building.

He wandered through backyards to stay out of view if the gunmen were on the streets. After about twenty minutes of wandering he stopped crouched behind some bushes. Breathing deeply, the pollen made his nose itch and before he could stifle it a rather loud *Ahhchoo* escaped him.

"Marcus?? Is that you?" A familiar voice called out.

"Jack, dude is that really you!?!" Marcus exclaimed as he came out from behind the bushes. Seeing Jackson was a huge relief. "You weren't in class earlier man!" And Marcus told Jackson about the guys with the masks and guns he ran from.

"Yea, Marky I got to school late and I saw those same guys!" Jackson shook his head. "They shot Mr. Knowles and Mouse err Sue-Lin, Sarah, Alan and me snuck out." He stammered. "Come on I got my mom back a little ways" With more certainty.

Sue-Lin smiled at church and responded, "For now, how about helping to just carry all this stuff. I can't carry much and maintain the ability to fight. Take everything except one claymore.

While Church grabbed the goodies, Sue-Lin wedged the claymore under the cover for the spare wheel and aimed it at the fuel tank. Once Church had emptied the back the shut the back door, climbed over the back seat and was out again leaving just the drivers door open.

They left together, Sue-Lin with a smile for her handiwork. They headed for Sandra's bunker.

A huge weight had just been lifted off Jackson's shoulders. Jack had become a sort of "big brother" figure to Marcus. Just a short while ago, Jackson had to pull out his brass knuckles to divert a local bully from throwing him into a locker and locking it shut. His name was "Church", and it seemed as though he got some sort of personal enjoyment out of harassing those physically weaker than him. It wasn't just Chruch, there had been others, and Jackson wouldn't stand for it, not at least if he was there to do something about it.

Marcus was probably the most perceptive and intelligent person Jackson had ever met. In a way, Jack was somewhat jealous. He always wanted to be super smart, like the "nerds", but Jack just didn't have it in him to be as smart. He sure admired them though. It tore him up that he wasn't just born with smarts, like Marcus was.

Jackson is no fan of violence, but something snaps inside of him when he sees bullying of any kind, including the kind toward those who have no choice but to be in a wheelchair. They were born that way, it was Jacks philosophy that no-one, no matter who they were had a right to belittle them. Bullying just sets a fire deep down inside of him. It's like doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hide. He's a nice kid, until something snaps, then you wouldn't even recognize him anymore.

Jack shouted enthusiastically - "HA!! I knew it was you dude! There's no-one else who sneezes like that!! HAHA!"

Jack gave Marcus a good and long hair ruffle. "I'm glad to see ya Marky! Holy #, what a day! Listen, I think I can get us to a safe place, just follow me, ok?

Marcus quizzically raised his eyebrow with a slight smile while nodding in agreement.

The two of them both started walking back to where Jack's mother was laying low.

"Mom, look what I found! It's Marky!" Jack said with excitement.

"Oh hello Marcus! I'm so glad you are safe! What happened at your school was just horrible!" Carol replied, then knelt over and gave Marcus a big hug.

"School!" Jack Shouted. "That's it! School! It's just so simple, why didn't I see it??"

His mother, concerned asked - "Uh, ok, what are you talking about, Jackson??"

He replied - "She said Right on Williams street! We were standing at the SCHOOL when she said that! I'm so dumb!! She must have assumed we were coming from the school (obviously) and figured, when we got to Williams Street, it would be on the right! Duh! We're five blocks west of where we need to be!"

So they traveled east until they reached the intersection where the school is directly parallel with the spot at Williams Street where they were standing. They walked about half a block east until they saw it. There it was. A house sitting above a hillside. This is not abnormal in most instances, no-one would even normally notice. But in this part of the desert, hills, even small ones were not so common. Jack knew this had to be it.

There was no obvious entrance to speak of, but Jack was persistent. He instructed both his mother and Marcus to feel around the hill through the brush and report anything abnormal.

*Clink* "I think I found something!" Jack's mother said.

Jack brushed away the foliage and saw a metal door.

"This is it!" Jack stated.

He then proceeded to knock on it. He knocked once, then paused, then knocked two times fast.

At first there was no response, so he tried again. There was no immediate response.

Jack's mother started to speak "maybe this isn't.."

But Jack interrupted.

"Shh, I told them this is how I would knock so they could recognize it was me when I came back. It's probably just taking them a minute to realize it" He explained.

Jack hoped that at least there were some students inside who heard him explain his knocking technique that would have recognized it was him.

So he tried one last time. He knocked once, paused and then 2 more times fast. The three of them now eagerly waited for a response....

Jason had been talking to the resupply driver who had become confused on the actual location of the teams working the town. The driver had not wanted to surprise one of the teams that were dispersed thought out the town by driving a Black SUV down a street and being fired on. The last word Jason received from the 4 man resupply team was they were pulling over to see if they could read the old rusty street sign. The vehicle's GPS data map for the town had evidently not been updated for it did not show the road they were on or even the intersection they were stopped at.. They were going to use the tried and true Mark one eyeball and map they were smart enough to have brought along on the trip.

"Low bidders for everything" was Jason's first thought and reply.

The resupply team along with their vehicle and supplies just disappeared as far as Jason knew for the radio link had gone dead in mid sentence.

Jason requested an airborne sitrep (situational report) from the Hawkeye camera but it's orbit and camera resolution was not in a position to see what happened much less find the SUV. The Hawkeye's priority mission was to watch over the teams working the town not some FNGs on a joy ride.

"Where are my extra eyes in the sky ! GODZILLA this is messed up". (since his childhood Jason never used God's name in vain, no matter what the occasion) Godzilla was used and when it was said all the team members knew Jason was super pissed. HAVING SAID THAT HE COULD CUT A STRING OF CUSS WORDS IN A COMMAND VOICE THAT WOULD MAKE A NAVY SEAL BLUSH but those choice words were usually reserved for a team member who did something that could get himself or other members of his team killed..

Jason sent another message off requesting what suppliers were in the resupply vehicle THAT HE HAD NOT ORDERED and if there was any word yet on the extra drones and teams. Jason had already figured the 4 guys were replacements for the 5 lost in the morning to the Sniper.. He had not requested replacements Godzilla but full teams.

"TEAMS not some guys who were not even broke in yet with a team leader.. WTF do they call us teams for if you are going to run FNGs in on an op that has already gone south" ?

"Who to hell is running this operation", Jason's command voice asked his keyboard ? It just sat there probably knowing better than to make a move.....

Jason had an idea where the SUV had pulled over so he contacted team six and told them to do a ground check on where the 4 guys were. They were to move out in one of the APCs and find out WTF happened.

Another reply of: "STANDBY"

Things were really starting to piss him off. They had lost a total of 9 guys if the 4 newbies were down on an op that should have been nearing completion by now.. They were not even finished with the west side of the town and there were at least two strong holds where the D.P.s had ran off to when the stuff hit the fan for their little world. It was hoped by Jason that all the remaining D.P.s would move to these two places with a little encouragement from the sweeps the teams were carrying out now and once herded the teams could finish them off.. Much as had been planned for the schools aftermath gathering. Good news for the containment op was all roads were now closed both in and out of town and there were 4 little bird armed drones patrolling all 4 cardinal corners of the operational grid. The bad news appeared to be there were no more Little Birds to be had until Jason's lone surviving bird returned.

Another string of very descriptive language about the Ops planners, Intell, and FNGs came involuntarily to Jason's mind however, by looking at him you would have thought he had turned into hard stone; like a Greek statue of some god, only this statue had full color in H.D. and could crush the life out of most things one handed.

Hurry up and wait.. John and the teams should be returning in the next 20 mikes for their FRJ and some rest. Jason and the remaining 4 teams minus team six would then head out to finish this piece of sh!t job. Team six was to find the new guys and bring them back to the TOFC before joining Jason and the other teams on the west side of town doing the sweep.

Sue-Lin and Church made good time. When they were about 200 yards from the hill, Sue-Lin saw movement. She said, "Down Church." She aimed very carefully and spun her telescopic sight to its full 10x.

She relaxed, probably would not be the done thing to shoot Jack or Marcus through the head. She looked at Church and said, "Jack and Marcus with a women are ahead of us. You can walk in and say hi, I will stay here for a bit and make sure we weren't followed.

After another moment of silence, the tumbler inside the gigantic metal door made a thick clink. Then, the door slowly eased open.

The person inside was not Sandra, but Alan, standing motionlessly, giving them all a peculiar look.

"Damn, I told her..." Alan muttered. "I told her they'd find their way here. Well... come inside. Sandra's been expecting you. Er... just... wait a while. She'll be back soon... I think."

Church looked at Sue-Lin like she was crazy.

“You're freaking kidding me right? You know Jack and Marcus hate my guts. You might have been able to overlook the fact I have treated you like s##t since school started but something tells me Jack isn't going to be as hospitable. You're... different, Mouse.”

Church hoped that Sue-Lin couldn't see the visceral fear brewing just beneath Church's facade but somehow he didn't really care. Mouse had become a different person. Rather, she had always been the person before Church, he was just too discriminating to notice.

“Look, Sue-Lin, I'm...” Church gave a deep sigh, “I'm sorry, okay. I was an asshole. To you. Hell, I was mean to everyone at one point or another. Just trust me when I say I regret it. I deserve whatever I get out here and I don't expect anyone to help me, let alone Jack. But, you don't know what it's been like for me, my dad... he... well, he was never a nice guy. I know everyone in town thinks he is... I mean was... this really nice guy that never did any wrong but he wasn't. You know my mom went to California? I only ever talked to her through freaking e-mails.

“She left because my dad was cheating on her. Jeez, Mouse, why the hell am I telling you this. Its the end of the world and you're not even a psychiatrist or whatever. Damn, look Mouse, the point is I'm a freaking mess, now and always. You should just leave me behind before I get you killed.”

Church looked up and noticed that Jack and Marcus were halfway down the road already and Mouse was just staring at him with hard brown eyes.

“Look,” Church said, “they're going. Let's just follow behind them, okay? They've probably got guns and I bet Jack would love to put a hot one right between my stupid eyes, maybe if we just follow them Sandra won't let them kill me. She has a level head, I think... hopefully.”

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Sue-Lin listened but was fairly sure no one would just up and shoot Church. She said, "Church, no one is going to shoot you, they are not allowed to. If any one has to shoot you, it will be my responsibility, I brought you here after all. I must stay and cover this approach for a good while to ensure we were not followed. Go on before you lose them. Your fine. Besides, you have presents. One of those sniper weapons is mine, give out the rest where it will do the most good. Off you go!"

P

"Mouse, I don't think you get it, I'm, dammit, I'm scared Mouse. I'm a wuss, haven't you noticed? I act big and bad but that's all it is! An act. Can I... can I please just stay with you? Lets follow them at a distance okay?

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Sue-Lin smiled on the inside. If this were not life and death, this would be hilarious. The big bully wimpering like a little puppy.

She relented, "OK, lay prone and keep very quiet. You may want to think about all that has happened to you today. Once I am sure we are in the clear you can tell me what happened."

Sue-Lin rolled over, brought her weapon to sweep behind them and switched to night optics. Then she just slowly scanned back and forth.