Armageddon, page 18
part #9 of Col Sec Series
Zara backed out the door and Boerkamp was close to it, keeping a safe distance from her. Kurt’s shoulder had completely healed by this time and the side of his head was growing fresh skin as he slowly and silently stood up.
IF HE WANTED TO GET away from here he had to move fast. Holding Zara as hostage would help, she was a valuable asset that Col Sec wouldn’t just throw away. He hadn’t planned this through to the conclusion; he was making things up as he went along. He couldn’t have just left before because his duties demanded he remain at his post. Now though, things had come to a head and he had to leave.
“Okay Zara, you’re coming with me,” he told her.
“You actually think you’re getting away with this?” Zara asked smiling.
“You’re way too confident for my liking Zara, don’t think I won’t kill you though if I have to,” he replied.
He tried to gauge exactly what was going on with her but he hadn’t got a clue.
What the hell was she smiling about?
He heard something, a stirring from behind. When he realised what it was, it was too late.
KURT WAS ON HIS FEET and completely healed, back to his former glory. Every time he was injured he came back stronger than ever.
He hadn’t noticed at first but just lately it had become more noticeable.
His renewed vigour flowed through him like a living entity.
Moving softly he closed the gap between himself and Boerkamp. One more step and he would be ready to make his move. Boerkamp must’ve sensed something because he started to turn around.
Kurt looked into the Colonel’s eyes, which suddenly went wide with shock at the sight of him being there.
“Boo!” Kurt said.
Boerkamp stumbled back a step towards the door entrance and tried to bring his Sig around to fire again. Kurt blocked the arm with his left hand then struck the Colonel in the face with a right back fist. Blood exploded from Boerkamp’s mouth as he spat several teeth out.
“Oh you’re in for it now, Colonel,” Zara said from the passageway outside his office.
Kurt still had hold of the Colonel’s wrist and he twisted it around until he had it up his back. A painful grunt escaped his lips.
“I am so tempted right now to kick the crap out of you, Colonel, but I think it would be better to let the experts interrogate you instead. I think you’ll have a lot to tell us about the New Order. You might not think so right at this moment but I can assure you, you will,” Kurt said menacingly into his ear.
Kurt marched the Colonel out to where everyone could see him on this level. Colonel De Boer had arrived with a few of his men to take charge of him and escort him to a penal colony until his trial, all organised by General Gemmell as soon as the incident in Geneva had been stabilised.
“He’s all yours, Colonel,” Kurt said pushing Boerkamp towards De Boer.
“Take him up top, the shuttle’s waiting,” De Boer told the two marines with him.
Kurt relaxed for an instant; this part of the operation was complete now. He watched the two marines walk the Colonel to the elevator at the end of the corridor where another section met it. One of them escorted the Colonel inside whilst the other kept watch. From the hidden section of the corridor another figure appeared.
“Hey Oates, where have you been?” the second marine said as he greeted the newcomer.
Kurt watched; something about it didn’t seem right but he couldn’t work out what it was. Then he remembered Oates was the soldier that went missing with the Quantum bomb he’d read it in a report.
He started to run towards the elevator but Oates had already drawn his pistol and shot the first marine outside the elevator through the head. Quickly he aimed the Sig at the remaining marine inside the elevator and fired another couple of shots. Then Kurt saw him adjust his aim once more and fire again.
“No!” he screamed but it was too late Oates had turned to face him and with a stony expression on his face he put the muzzle to his temple.
“You’ll never find us all, we are everywhere,” Oates said then shot himself in the head.
By the time Kurt and the others, who had reacted slightly later than he had, reached the elevator it was all over. He stood over Oates, the side of his head had been blown away, blood was pooling around it on the floor. He looked in the elevator and the figures of the other marine and Boerkamp both lay in a twisted heap on the floor with blood splatters covering the wall where they had stood when they were hit.
“Shit! Fuck! Argh!” Kurt screamed in anger and frustration. After all they had gone through to get a lead on the New Order it had been torn from their very fingers at the last second.
“That’s it then, back to square one,” Zara observed, as she too looked at all the bodies.
“It looks that way I’m afraid,” Gemmell agreed which made Kurt feel even worse. He knew the situation, but to have it confirmed somehow made it far worse.
“How the fuck did Oates get in here, I thought he was on a watch list since he disappeared with the Quantum bomb?” Kurt asked once he had his temper under control.
De Boer was the one to come up with an explanation. “His ID must’ve still been active which would give him the security clearance to enter this base. An oversight on our part I’m afraid, what with everything else that was going on, I suppose it’s understandable.”
“Understandable maybe, Colonel, but not excusable, that oversight just cost us dearly,” Kurt said. He looked around and asked, “Where’s Matt?”
“He’s gone to Cordoba to escort the bodies of Cooper and Vance back home. It’s only proper we give them a full military burial,” Gemmell told him.
45
Sub Nautica
Matt exited the elevator on the level where the communications array was housed, and where Mack and Joe died.
He looked in the distance and could see the room where it took place. The devastation from the grenade explosions was evident everywhere in that area. The room had been torn apart literally from the blast, the only things that remained standing were the low, waist-high walls that had housed the blast, preventing it from spreading and destroying more in the area.
Bracing himself for the sight that would greet him inside the remains of the room, he stepped forward. He saw workers going about their business tidying up getting the place cleaned and he walked around some.
Stopping at the entrance he peered inside and what he saw was more shocking than he could ever have imagined.
He paused briefly in the doorway and once inside the room he looked around just to make sure what he had seen was not a figment of his imagination.
Leaving the room he accessed a secure comm. channel. When General Gemmell answered Matt told him the results of his search.
“Sir, they’re gone,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Gemmell asked not sure he’d heard correctly.
“What I said, sir, they’re gone. Mack and Joe’s bodies aren’t here. They’ve been taken.”
“Do you think it was the New Order?”
“I couldn’t say for sure, sir, but I wouldn’t rule them out.”
“They’ve been a step ahead of us again and I wonder what they plan on doing with their bodies?”
“What shall I do now, sir?” Matt asked.
“There’s nothing you can do there now so you might as well come home,” Gemmell told him.
“Copy that, sir. Do you want me to inform the rest of the Wildfire Team, sir?”
“No, that’s my call to make Matt, you just get back here safely.”
JAKE RILEY WAS SITTING with Angelina Torres in the base cafeteria. He was nursing a steaming cup of coffee and staring into space, completely unaware that she was watching his every move.
Or so she thought.
“I’m okay, Gina, you can stop worrying,” Jake said. His words belied the emotions that raged through him like a wild storm though.
Before she could argue the point, Kurt and Zara entered.
Angelina was facing the door so was the first to see them. Jake looked over his shoulder and saw their dour expressions and knew it wasn’t going to be good news.
“What is it Kurt, something else go wrong?” he asked turning around once more.
“We just heard from Matt from Sub Nautica,” Kurt said pausing.
Jake sensed that he was struggling to tell them what he knew. He turned in his seat to look at them. Their eyes held so much sadness that he suspected the worst, but he just didn’t know what.
“What is it Kurt, what did Matt find?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Kurt said.
“I don’t understand,” Angelina said looking from Kurt to Zara in the hope one of them might explain.
“They found nothing Jake, there was nothing there,” explained Kurt.
There was silence for a moment as the news sank in. It was a lot to process, Recon Delta marines always brought their dead back for a decent burial wherever possible. They knew it would be a stretch to collect the remains of Cooper and Vance but considering they had confiscated the facility of Sub Nautica under the Terrorism Act they had hoped they could have brought their friends back home.
“I didn’t think the blast was that powerful,” Jake said finally.
“You don’t understand, Jake. It wasn’t that there was nothing left of them to collect, it was that someone moved their remains,” Kurt explained more fully.
This brought an angry stare from Jake and tears from Angelina, slowly at first then in full flow.
“Why would they do that?” she sobbed.
“We don’t know but I’m determined to find out,” Kurt swore.
Jake stood up and turned to look at Kurt and Zara. “And just how do you intend on doing that ’eh? Boerkamp is dead, so is the marine who killed him. Haskins is also dead which leaves us with zero leads to the New Order. Just how do you intend on learning anything regarding the New Order Kurt, please enlighten us?”
He could see in Kurt’s eyes that he was as clueless as the rest of them. The New Order was a shadowy entity that had eluded them for who knew how long. The truth was that they knew absolutely nothing about this group. They didn’t know who was in it, who was in charge, where they hailed from or even how long it had been in existence. It was painfully obvious to everyone concerned that they were completely in the dark over this and until someone could shine a light on it they would remain so.
When no answer was forthcoming from Kurt or Zara, Jake reached for his coffee mug. He finished off the drink then replaced the mug back on the table.
“I’m leaving, and if I were you I’d go too before something else happens to ruin this wonderful day we’re all having,” he said.
“Jake, where’re you going?” Angelina asked.
“I have a woman who loves me; I’m going to spend some time with her before we get another call. Gina you need to spend some time with people you love,” he replied. With a final glance at the two figures standing by the door he left.
“I thought I was,” Angelina muttered looking at Jake’s back as he walked off.
Realising Kurt and Zara might’ve heard she hurriedly got to her feet and made to leave.
“Good idea,” she said sheepishly as she passed by the other two in the doorway.
46
Celeron
“I never thought we’d see your home again, Kurt,” Zara said as they stood on the balcony of his villa.
“Gemmell could hardly treat us like he had after what the President told him, and it’s your home too you know,” Kurt replied wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her too him. He kissed her on the cheek and then turned to look out at the view. He took a deep calming breath and relaxed, possibly for the first time since the Washington event had affected him so deeply.
“We did good, this time we saved lives,” Zara said looking up at him. She knew him, knew what affected him and how he’d carried the burden of the lives lost in Washington singularly even though the fault was not his.
He turned to her, smiled and replied, “We did, didn’t we.” As if a shadow passed over him his mood changed, “This time at least, but they’re still out there and we have no more of an idea who’s involved in this than we do when we first found out about them.”
“Wow, that was fast, even for you,” Zara said leaning back to look him up and down.
“Excuse me?”
“You just went from happy, to what I can only describe, just lately, as your normal, ‘weight of the galaxy on your shoulders’ look in less than a frigging second.”
Kurt looked at her, was about to say something then thought better of it.
“You just won’t let yourself be happy will you, not for one second?”
“What do you want me to say, that I don’t care that those people lost their lives, that we stood around and did nothing but it’s okay we’re still alive so it doesn’t matter?”
“For Christ’s sake, will you take your head from up your ass for just a second! Of course I don’t want that, you moron. Did we see those people die, yes we did, could we do anything to prevent it, no we could not? Should it bother you, damn right it should bother you, if it didn’t then I wouldn’t be with you because you wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with? You care, that’s what you do Kurt and that’s why I love you, but you have to let this go. There was absolutely nothing either of us could do about it and carrying this burden is nothing but wasted energy. I’m not telling you to forget it either, I’m saying you should take this and use it, like you did this last time, to make sure you try and do better the next time.” She retorted pushing away from him to stare him in the face. She had to make sure he listened, really listened to what she was telling him.
Kurt glanced away for a second then back at her and he smiled sheepishly. “You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.”
“Tired of what?” she asked deflated, her brow creasing in her confusion at the sudden tangential drift.
“You saying you love me,” he explained with a smile.
Punching him on the arm she said, “You big idiot, of course I love you.”
“You’re also right about that other thing. I’ve been holding back on enjoying myself. I feel I’ve been given so much that I’m just waiting for it all to disappear, to be yanked from me. That day in Washington made it all so real. Ever since then I’ve been afraid I could lose everything, you, my friends, all of it and because of how I’ve changed I’d still be around to see it all and have to endure it for who knows how long.”
Zara allowed him to continue, not interrupting him; he needed to get it said, off his chest and out into the open so he could move on. He’d bottled it up long enough, now it was time for him to get it done.
“I’ve been granted this life, this wonderful life, made all the more wonderful by those who share it with me and I think it’s time I started appreciating it more.”
Zara smiled then grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the door off the balcony.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked.
“Somewhere you can fully appreciate me, over and over again,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.
GARVEY RESIDENCE, EARTH
Jake strolled around the lake, his favourite place on Earth. It was where he had proposed to Natasha and where she had refused. Even though it still held a special place in his heart because it was the place he always returned to where he could find peace, and God only knew he needed that today.
Mack and Joe had been his brothers, oh not in any biological sense but in the military sense. They had shared experiences, gone through hell together and had always come out the same way, together. That ended a few days ago on Cordoba when they were mercilessly killed in the line of duty.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw their faces, not as he wanted to remember them, nor how they would want to be remembered either. He saw their pleading faces, filled with pain and grief because they knew they wouldn’t make it out of there, but also stoic determination. They both died as they had lived, doing the right thing, no matter the cost to them personally. They sacrificed themselves so their friends could escape and do what they all did best, save countless innocent lives.
Would that be enough for him to be able to carry on? He had no idea. They had been deprived of giving them a decent honourable burial, which he was still trying to wrap his brain around. Why would anyone want their bodies? Surely they would be in no state for them to use for whatever macabre purpose, so why take them?
“You’re back,” a voice said snapping him back to reality. He turned to see Natasha standing there. “I knew you’d come here as soon as I heard you were on shore leave,” she said coming to stand by his side.
“I love this view,” he said turning to face the lake once more.
“I know, you always come here especially after a rough mission,” she said.
Jake threw her a sideways glance.
“That bad ’eh!”
“Mack and Joe got killed, they sacrificed themselves for the mission,” he told her his voice breaking.
He turned to her as she opened her arms to embrace him.
“Oh baby!” she comforted him as she enveloped him within her arms as he rested his head against her shoulder. He allowed her to hold him for a few seconds feeling the warmth flow through him.
His grief was overwhelming; Mack and Joe had been close. They had been a team longer than he liked to remember and in the army that was like family. He had lost friends before, everyone in the military lost someone at some point, but this was more visceral somehow.
“Come on, let’s go up to the house,” she said.
SOMEWHERE ON EARTH
“I understand, things didn’t go quite as planned,” he said, he had moved away from the others he was with to take the call as soon as he recognised the caller. The encrypted call had been expected even if it wasn’t wanted.
