Armageddon, page 15
part #9 of Col Sec Series
“Perfectly, sir,” he replied, then just as suddenly as it came through, the call was ended. He sat there wondering what he had meant. He knew that Gemmell was no political animal but it did seem like he was preparing to lay the blame at someone’s feet for recent events. Well, in a few days none of this would matter. It would all be over soon.
35
Celeron
Kurt was silent all the while they were making their way back to the transport to return to Earth.
“What’s bothering you?” Zara asked, both her and Matt had noticed his reticence to talk.
“I’ve been wondering about that giant who attacked us, we’ve seen him on a couple of occasions and he always seems to survive what we throw at him,” he replied finally breaking his silence.
“I saw how he handled you back in the safe house too, it’s been a while since you let anyone do what he did,” Zara said.
“I know, he was immensely strong, I admit I was holding back some but he caught me off guard how calm and in control he was. That kind of confidence comes with experience. We need to know who he is and then we’ll know a little more of who we’re dealing with,” Kurt said.
They arrived at the Spaceport and got on board the Silver Dart assigned to them. As they sat down Matt said, “There have been a few cases where soldiers have been enhanced, Goran Visjic of Blackstar is a point in question, then there were the Berserker warriors of Genotia, The War Dogs. In the latter case they were enhanced from an earlier serum to the one used to change you Kurt but in Visjic’s case it was a natural progression from adapting to the environment. He evolved into what he was.”
“None of those apply here Matt; clearly this guy was too big to come from a heavy gravity planet. I know you come from a heavy gravity world and you’re a big guy, but this guy was way stronger than you.”
“How much stronger?” Zara asked.
Kurt thought about it trying to gauge the appropriate response.
“As strong as Visjic?” she added when he failed to answer.
“I couldn’t really say, I only briefly tackled him remember, you took him on, but from what I remember of your fight with him, I would say so, yes.”
Zara glanced at Matt who was following the conversation intently. He was used to being one of the strongest men around, there wasn’t many fights he’d had when he had been overpowered in single combat and he didn’t relish the prospect of having to tackle anyone who could give these two trouble.
“So what you’re sayin’ is, he’s a bad ass.”
Kurt looked at Matt and nodded.
Kurt saw Matt glance away as he thought about that.
“One thing’s for sure though,” he said. When he had their attention he continued, “Next time we come up against him, the outcome will be different.”
They all settled in their seats as the Silver Dart took off powering into the upper atmosphere. Within moments of them taking off a hyperspace window was opened and they made the jump back to Earth.
CORDOBA
Marek exited the shuttle and got in the car waiting for him at the Spaceport. He was feeling happier than he had for days and his success on Celeron was the reason.
As he sat back in the plush comfort of the limousine he went over the past few days’ work. During his time working for the New Order he had never failed. He had never seen who gave the orders he simply received the call then acted upon it. His allegiances were to the New Order, pure and simple, for the time being at least. As soon as they stopped paying, he would move on. From what he had gathered though from recent events it seemed that the New Order would be around for some time to come and because of that there would always be a plentiful supply of work.
What made him the success he was today was quite simple. He was, as Kurt, Matt and Zara had surmised, an enhanced soldier. Once one of the brightest stars in the Elysium Alliance’s Black Knights, his career was cut short when, on a mission, he was caught in the blast of a grenade. Somehow life clung to him and he survived enabling his comrades to get him back home. Once in the Med Lab it was found that for him to continue living most of his body had to be replaced. Using advanced bionics, a liquid metal alloy was fused onto his skeleton enabling it to heal and repair. Other organs were replaced due to damage and others because they rejected the inorganic replacements even down to his skin, which was mostly damaged by shrapnel from the blast. In the end, eighty-seven per cent of him had become bionic, but he lived.
He was stronger and faster than all of his fellow Black Knights and soon earned a reputation as an efficient killer. The controlling generals learned of his prowess and seconded him to the Intelligence sector where he was trained as an assassin. After a while and several confirmed kills under his belt he left to ply his abundant talents to an ever-growing market. Through the contacts he had made during his time as an assassin he soon came under the scrutiny of the New Order whereby he was soon contacted. A brief period passed where he was carefully monitored by them to see if he met their needs which he passed with flying colours. Since then he had had no need for further employment. He had been able to live a life of luxury from his fees from tasks set him by his new employers that he had once only dreamed possible. Now that this latest sanction had finally been completed successfully he was looking forward to some down time, and considering the lengths he had to go to complete this mission he ruminated that he should have asked for an increase in his fee.
The car took him to the Haskin tower where he was met by Conrad.
“He’s waiting for you in the Penthouse,” he said as Marek entered the tall building.
The elevator ride was smooth and silent and when the doors opened out onto the Penthouse he was completely relaxed.
“Did everything go according to plan this time?” he heard Haskin ask.
Turning towards the panoramic window that gave a view out over the city he saw Haskin standing with his back to the room.
“Yes,” he answered keeping his anger in check. He was getting fed up with this man continually deriding his efforts. It was true he had failed on a couple of issues during this mission but that was due to unusual circumstances, his adversaries were more than ordinary.
Haskins slowly turned to face him and he endeavoured to keep his expression neutral.
“Finally, some good news at last,” he said. “Now we can finalise our plans, I want you to supervise it.”
“I thought my part in this was over. You have others who can fill your needs in this, my talents lie in other areas,” Marek countered.
“Point taken, but considering how events have turned out so far I think I would feel more comfortable if you were there to ensure things went smoothly.”
“And if they don’t?”
Haskins looked him in the eye before answering, then spoke calmly and with deliberation, “Then do what you do best, kill anyone who gets in your way.”
“That I can do,” Marek told him with a grim smile.
36
Area 15
Kurt led the three of them into Boerkamp’s office.
“What the...?” the Colonel exclaimed as he looked up to see who had entered. Kurt saw the man’s face sprint through several changes of expression in microseconds. He had tried to hide it but Kurt’s enhanced sight picked up every single one from shock through to understanding.
“I didn’t expect you three back so soon,” Boerkamp said hiding his surprise.
“We caught the first shuttle back once we finished off where we were,” Zara said keeping the safe house location from him as they had decided on the return journey to Earth.
Kurt watched him intently.
He knew we were special but exactly how special was kept from him. Perhaps Gemmell didn’t fully trust him after all.
“What do we do now, sir? I suppose a new President will have to be sworn in and pretty soon, we can’t leave the government in limbo like this, not after the deaths of both the President and his Vice President,” Kurt said.
“That is already in hand and not something you need to bother yourselves with,” Boerkamp replied too quickly for Kurt’s liking.
“Already, wow that was fast, don’t you think?”
Boerkamp looked at him and Kurt saw in his eyes he knew he’d slipped up. Trying to regain some ground he said, “There are always contingency plans in place for situations like this, you know that Kurt.”
“I do, but I just thought that it was fast that you would know so soon, considering we only told you of the President’s demise a few hours ago. For something like this to be in place already shows, to me anyway, that this was already past the planning stage and in the deployment phase.”
Kurt stared right at the Colonel and saw the man begin to squirm a little, like an ant caught under the focused sunlight through a magnifying glass. He could almost see his temperature rise under the pressure of his gaze.
“What are you implying, Kurt?” he asked returning the stare with equal ferocity.
Kurt knew this was when he had him. He was close to the edge and all that was required was that final push.
“I would think that a man of your intelligence would see that the implication was clear, and I must say Colonel, how disappointed I am that your loyalty doesn’t match that intelligence.”
Boerkamp tore his angry gaze from Kurt to look at Matt and Zara who Kurt knew were all staring unforgivingly at him.
“What is this, are you accusing me of something because if you are you must realise that’s a dangerous action to bring? I am your commanding officer and can have all of you court martialled in an instant,” he said, his voice rising in anger.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Colonel.”
Boerkamp peered over Kurt’s shoulder to see who had spoken. He had recognised the voice instantly but didn’t believe what he was hearing.
General Gemmell stood behind the three of them and before Kurt could speak he said, “All of you in my office now, don’t say another word, you are all in deep enough trouble as it is so do not make it any worse for yourselves.”
Kurt had heard his approach but had kept his expression neutral hoping to not give it away; praying Boerkamp would incriminate himself before the General arrived.
Kurt glanced at his friends and saw the fury in their eyes too, he silently urged them to remain quiet hoping he could find a way free of recrimination in this seemingly impossible situation. Gemmell remained in the doorway and as the three of them filed past him he heard him say to Boerkamp, “I’ll handle this.”
When they were out of earshot of the Colonel Kurt stopped and rounded on the General.
“What was that about, sir?”
“Saving your asses, that’s what that was about,” Gemmell replied standing right in front of Kurt, staring right at him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do you think you’re the only one who has suspicions about what’s gone on?” Gemmell said.
Zara grabbed the General by the arm turning him around to face her.
“Wait, are you saying you suspect Boerkamp as well?”
Gemmell glanced down at her hand, which she quickly removed with an unapologetic glare.
“We’ve been monitoring the Colonel’s activities for a while now. It came to our attention that he was living slightly beyond his means and so we looked into it expecting to find something acceptable such as he’d inherited money from a relative who passed away. When nothing like that showed up we dug deeper and found his connection to the Haskin family. It wasn’t obvious at first, the money was routed through several dummy corporations but when we followed the trail it finally led to them. That was one reason I sent Matt to investigate them when their son died. It was too close to the incident on Potera for my liking. We’d heard rumbles through various networks of a group calling themselves the New Order but nothing significant until Potera. It seems that Haskins junior wanted to show Daddy that he was ready for the big leagues but in his haste he made mistakes and brought the New Order to the attention of anyone who was looking in the right direction. We believe he was silenced to stem any further leaks that could lead to them.”
“Bit harsh don’t you think, considering it was his son?” Zara commented on the brutality and callousness of the act.
“It just goes to show these boys don’t mess around when it comes to their agenda,” Gemmell replied.
“Which is what exactly?” Matt asked.
“Well from their actions so far we can only assume it’s to gain control over the galaxy. They’ve made two attempts on the head of the Confederation government. They took out the Vice President and now Takagi so I can only assume they either have someone in place to stand in, or they plan to attack whilst the government is in disarray.”
“I doubt an attack is on the agenda, sir; it doesn’t seem like their play. I, no we, all think that they have someone ready to move in and President Takagi more or less confirmed it. He mentioned Franklin was becoming more aggressive in his arguments against him. Maybe he was being groomed to step into his place, whatever, he’s worth keeping an eye on,” Kurt said.
“Franklin you say?” Gemmell asked.
“That’s the name he gave us,” Kurt confirmed.
“Why, sir?” Zara asked.
“He’s being sworn in, isn’t he?” Kurt asked but he already knew the answer.
Gemmell’s pallor changed, “Not yet but he’s just called an emergency meeting.”
Kurt said, “We have to stop this.”
37
Confederation HQ
James Franklin walked into the Situation Room to see everyone had already gathered.
He had recently taken the call he had been secretly waiting for and now his campaign could begin in earnest.
“I’m glad you could all make it, now we can begin,” he said.
“You’re right, James, we can. What’s this all about, why have you called this emergency meeting?” the Speaker of the House asked.
“I’ve just been informed of President Takagi’s death,” Franklin began.
“What, you’ve just been informed, why have the rest of us not heard this, it’s preposterous?” the Speaker interrupted.
“I was informed because the people who back me were present at the time and now you are going to swear me in as your new President, immediately.”
“Don’t be absurd, why would we do that?” another voice asked.
“Because if you don’t a Quantum bomb will be detonated somewhere extremely populated and the loss of life will be in the millions. You won’t be able to find it because not even I know where it is, just that if I am not sworn in as President within the next hour, it will go off.”
Frightened glances were exchanged around the room as the enormity of what had just been said sank in.
“Tick tock people, the clock is ticking, let’s get this show on the road,” Franklin said with a supremely confident smile.
AREA 15
“There’s something else you don’t know about yet either; two things actually. One of the bombs was not recovered,” Gemmell said with a dour expression.
“Well that can’t be good,” Zara commented.
“This just gets better and better,” Matt observed.
“What’s the other thing, you said two things we don’t know?” Kurt asked.
“Vance and Cooper were killed in a recent mission to destroy the communication array linked to the bombs,” Gemmell informed them.
Kurt stared at him as the news sank in. He felt the shock sink into the pit of his stomach, weighing him down, and he felt his legs give just a little. He’d lost people in the past, friends many of them and it was never easy to cope with. With an effort he pushed this to the back of his mind, he had things to do, this was not over yet and he swore a silent oath that he would find those responsible for all of this and they would pay the ultimate price for their actions. There would be no redemption for them, there would be no prison time, no cold empty cell for these murderers; they would die, pure and simple.
“Okay, we need to focus now. Grief can come later, we need to find that bomb and stop Franklin being sworn in.”
Kurt recognised the change of expression on Gemmell’s face, he was receiving a call through his NI.
When he looked up it was as if he had aged a decade since taking the call.
“I’ve just had word that Franklin has demanded to be sworn in as the new President and if it doesn’t happen in the next hour the missing Quantum bomb will be detonated in a populated area, but we don’t know where,” he informed the room.
“He’ll keep that information to himself as his ace in the hole,” Kurt said.
“What can we do?” Zara asked.
“If we don’t find the bomb in the next hour there’s not a whole lot we can do,” Matt said.
Zara came up with a solution.
“Aren’t the sensors on the Pulsar some of the best we have?” she asked.
“According to the specs, yes, why?” Matt replied.
“I presume they would plant the bomb somewhere on Earth to put more pressure on them and to make it easier for them to either arm or disarm. We get Jake to task Artie to scan for the Quantum bomb signature. We find that then we disarm it which takes away their threat and any control Franklin may have over the Council,” she suggested.
“They’re already on board in orbit, I’ll get them right on it.” Gemmell moved off to make the call.
“We need to get ready to move as soon as we get word of the bomb’s location. We can’t afford to wait a second longer than is necessary,” Kurt said.
“ARTIE I WANT FOCUSED scans of the planet’s surface. We’re looking for a Quantum bomb signature,” Jake said as he stood on the bridge of the Pulsar in orbit.
“Copy that, sir,” the AI replied.
Torres stood at his side having been tagged into the call from Gemmell about what they had to do.
