Resistance: A Prepper's War (6 page)

Derrick and Chase motioned for her to come and have a seat at a table that was obviously brought in from somewhere else because it was the only clean thing in the office and looked like it belonged in the waiting room of a high power attorney.

One of the guards brought in a tray of drinks and other snacks and placed them on the table in front of them. “Hungry?” Chase asked.

“No, thank you,” Samantha declined.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind me indulging,” Chase said smiling as he reached for one of the sandwiches on the plate. “I’ve been so busy today I haven’t had a chance to eat a thing.” He took a bite of the sandwich and leaned back into his chair as he chewed. He poured himself a glass of water to help wash down the food. “Dry,” he coughed. “Not enough mayonnaise I think.”

Samantha pulled her purse onto her lap and pulled the codes out. She placed them on the table and slid them across to Chase.

Derrick picked up the folder and thumbed through the pages. He glanced up and nodded to Chase who smiled.

“Excellent!” Chase clapped his hands together. “Send that to our plant and have them start the programming.” Derrick stuck the papers into his briefcase and locked the latch.

Samantha’s frustration was starting to overtake her nervousness. “What did my husband do for you?” she asked.

Chase put the sandwich down on the plate and wiped his fingers with the napkin. “Your husband was one of our most talented engineers,” Chase said flatly. “He played an incredibly vital, and frankly, irreplaceable role for me.”

“He planned the attacks?” she asked more hesitantly.

“Not all of them, but a majority, yes,” Chase nodded. “I wish you could have known your husband like I did, Mrs. Kearny, but I suppose that’s why you’re here. Isn’t it?”

Samantha shifted in her seat as the two brothers stared at her. She could feel the beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. “Yes,” she replied.

“But that’s not the only reason you’re here. You’re also here to spy on us for General Locke and your brother Jim, correct?” Chase’s voice dropped a bit as he finished his words. His cordial attitude began to fade as another guard walked in and handed Chase a tablet, which he powered on. “When was the last time you saw the good General?” Chase asked as he tapped a few points on the screen of the tablet.

“I haven’t seen him since Phoenix,” she said, which really was true.

“Well, I hope you left on good terms,” Chase said as he slid the tablet across the table to Samantha.

Samantha slowly picked up the tablet as she saw the hole in Locke’s head as he lie motionless on the floor of his office. Her eyes went from the tablet’s screen back to Chase who wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Go to the home page,” he said staring at her.

She gripped the tablet between her fingers as she pressed the home button. Her heart was beating faster as the home page opened up and there was a blue background with some icons on it.

“Press the video link,” Chase ordered.

Samantha found the video camera icon on the screen and her hand hovered over it; afraid of what she would see.

“Press it,” Chase repeated.

Samantha finally touched the screen and a video stream opened up in front of her. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she saw her daughter in the corner of a room sitting with her knees in her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

Chase got up and walked around to Samantha’s chair as she stared at the screen and tears rolled down her cheek. He leaned into to her ear and started to whisper. “There isn’t anyone we can’t hurt. There isn’t anything we can’t do. So you’re going to cooperate with whatever we need you to do, understand?”

Samantha slowly moved her hand from her mouth and her tears turned face started to twist in anger. “You don’t know what you’ve done,” she said.

Derrick started to laugh. “What? You think your brother will save you?”

Samantha shook her head. “He might not be able to save me, but he’ll get my daughter. And then he’ll kill the both of you.”

Chase snapped his fingers and two guards came in and grabbed Samantha by her arms and lifted her from the chair. She struggled against them and she started to scream loudly. “He’s going to kill you! I swear to god if you hurt my daughter! You bastards!”

Brett heard the screams from inside the building. He clicked his radio on. “Jim,” he whispered. “Something’s up.”

Jim was still in the back of the van with Twink. “What’s happening?” he asked.

Brett looked back through the scope, but then looked overhead as he heard the sound of a helicopter approaching. The blades whirled louder as it approached the rear of the building in a small clearing. Brett went back to his scope and saw Samantha being carried out by two men. Brett also saw three guards around Chase and Derrick. “They’ve got Samantha and they’re taking her to a chopper.”

Jim smacked Coyle on the shoulder and told him to drive. Coyle peeled out of their parked location and onto the highway. Jim knew it would take them at least four minutes to get there. He reached back for his radio again. “Brett, can you engage?

Brett racked the chamber back on the rifle, “Affirmative.” He put the rotors of the chopper in between his crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out and the back rotor of the chopper started choking and the group that was heading to it ducked to the ground. The guards around Samantha immediately turned to the field where Brett was hidden as he lined up another shot. Brett squeezed the trigger and made contact with the helicopter’s tail again and this time it started smoking. He looked back at the group heading into the building again and was able to take out one of the guards before they reached the entrance. Brett clicked on the radio, “Chopper’s down. They’re back in the building and heading for the vehicles.”

The van was speeding down the highway. “We’re two minutes out,” Jim replied. Jim loaded a clip into his rifle as Coyle pressed down on the gas.

Chase and Derrick were ordering the guards around as they all reloaded their weapons. “Where are the cars?” Chase shouted.

“Out front, sir,” one of the guards replied.

Samantha was still in the grip of one of Chase’s men and pinned against the wall. Chase looked around and ordered the guards to pull the cars right up to the door. Chase grabbed Samantha and held her arms behind her back; putting a gun to her side. “Go!” Chase ordered as his men filed out the door.

Brett saw the men sprint towards the cars. He was able to pick off one more as the others dove inside the vehicles. The cars lurched close to the door so Chase, Derrick, and Samantha could use the cars as cover to get out of the building.

Brett reloaded more rounds into his rifle. “They’re on the road heading north,” Brett said into his radio.

“Roger that,” Jim replied in the back of the van. “They’re headed north,” Jim shouted to Coyle. Coyle’s hands gripped the wheel as the landscape flew by them.  He turned back around to Jim. “We should be running into them soon,” Coyle shouted.

Jim could see a sedan speeding in their direction. “That’s them,” he pointed and Coyle slammed on the breaks as the sedan flew past them.
Chase whipped around to look through the back window as the van made a one-eighty. Derrick cuffed Samantha’s hands to the passenger seat door as the guard driving floored the gas pedal. 

Jim climbed into the passenger seat of the van and rolled down the window. “Get as close as you can,” he shouted to Coyle. They were gaining on the sedan. Only fifty yards apart now.

Inside the sedan Chase and Derrick scrambled for their weapons. “Gun!” Chase shouted as the guard pulled a pistol from his jacket and handed it to him. Chase gave the pistol to his brother and the two of them rolled down their windows.

Twenty yards apart.

Jim leaned out of the van and tried to line up a shot as the wind from the speed blew his hair back and caused him to struggle to keep his rifle steady. He took aim and squeezed the trigger sending a spray of bullets into the truck of the sedan.

Ten yards apart.

Chase and Derrick leaned out of their windows. Half of their bodies were outside the car as the two brothers took aim. “Shoot the engine!” Chase shouted and they both emptied their clip into the hood of the van.

Coyle tried to swerve out of the way, almost causing Jim to fall out, but it was too late. Coyle looked down and saw the speedometer decreasing. Smoke started billowing out of the engine and Coyle kept slamming his foot on the gas pedal, but they continued to slow. “Shit!” Coyle screamed.

Jim watched as the sedan faded further and further away and their van finally came to a halt. He pulled himself back inside and clicked on his radio. “Brett,” Jim said.

Brett had his rifle over his shoulder as he made his way from the chopper. The pilot slumped over in his seat with a bullet in his head. “Still here, Jim,” Brett replied. “What’s your status?”

The doors of the van flew open as Jim, Twink, and Coyle piled out. “We lost them. The van’s shot,” Jim responded.

Jim pressed his hands up against the side of the van as he leaned into it with his head down. His whole body began to shake and he slammed the side of the van. Then he backed up a bit and then rammed a fist into it. He beat it again and again and the dent grew.

He finally stopped and backed away from the van into the road as his chest heaved up and down to catch his breath. “Get Locke on the radio. Let him know we need some air support.”

Twink nodded and jumped back into the van. Coyle walked over to Jim who was still in the middle of the road looking for the sedan that was far out of sight.

“We’ll get her back, Jim,” Coyle said.

“Jim,” Twink called out. Jim turned around and saw that his face was pale.
 

“What?” Jim asked.

Twink didn’t know how to form the words he’d just heard over the radio. His mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing came out.

“Where’s Locke?” Jim shouted.

Twink just shook his head as smoke continued to rise from the van’s engine.

Jim glanced back down the long highway. His hands at his sides clinched tight into fists. He was running out of resources, out of time, and out of patience. He had three men left that he knew he could trust and was facing a man with unlimited resources, unlimited time, and unlimited patience.

Jim stepped over the bodies as flies swarmed around them. He searched for any signs of life; any signs that his niece was still there, but found nothing. Chase’s men were thorough. They even killed the pet birds.

Coyle tried to reassure him, but Jim knew what he was up against now. Everything that they’d done had been an illusion.

Twink walked out of the hallway after searching the bedroom and joined the rest of the group in the living room. “The house is clean. No bugs or tracers.”

Jim figured Chase must have had people in Locke’s unit. Despite how much Jim disliked Locke he couldn’t believe that he was gone. He also knew how much harder all of this was going to be without him.

“What’s the call, Jim?” Brett asked.

“What’s the last intel that we got from Locke?” Jim asked to the group.

“The chemical weapons at Brenner’s plant in San Diego,” Twink replied.

Jim and Coyle both looked at each other at the same time. “That’s where he’ll be,” Jim replied. “Twink, get us everything you can on the plant and countermeasures for VX gas.”

“On it,” Twink replied as pulled out his laptop.

“We’ll need to go in alone,” Jim said. “We don’t know who else Brenner has in his pocket. When we go back to command we keep it vague, understand?” Everyone nodded.

“Brett, do you know anyone that you trust that could get us access to Locke’s secure files?” Jim asked. Brett nodded and said he might know a gut that can help.

Jim started to connect the dots. The attacks on the cities four months ago were just the first step. Chase wanted the President to order the troops home. He wanted all of them conveniently grouped together so he could take them out with one strike. It all started in San Diego and it was going to end in San Diego.

“Looks like we’re going home,” Coyle said.

“Yeah,” Jim replied. “Home.”

Then Jim heard something coming from down the hallway. At first he thought he’d imagined it, but then it came again and he sprinted towards the sound. There was some clawing behind a door and when Jim opened it Tigs walked out of the closet and looked up at him. Jim scooped her up and she purred against his chest.

Coyle couldn’t believe it as he peered down the hallway. “Sonofabitch,” Coyle whispered to himself. “That damn thing really does have nine lives,” Coyle shouted.

When the plane touched down on the coast in San Diego and Samantha stepped outside onto the tarmac, she had to shield her eyes form the bright sun. One of the guards was rushing her towards the car. She looked around to see if anyone was there, but they must have landed in a private airfield because there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Chase and Derrick followed suit towards the car, but then Chase told his brother to ride ahead. He wanted to have a few moments alone with Samantha before they arrived at the plant.

Chase entered the car and sat in the back next to her. “Key,” he said and stuck his hand out as the guard dropped the tiny silver key into his hand. He reached over her to undo her cuffs and then he tossed them into the front seat and rolled up the partition for privacy.

“Now, I want you to remember something while you’re my guest. Anything you do to me I’m going to do to your daughter.” His voice managed to stay casual even through the threat of harming her daughter.

Samantha nodded.

“I’m glad we understand each other then,” he said.

“He’ll come,” Samantha said flatly.

“You know what most people lack in their understanding of planning?” Chase asked. “Commitment. In general most people know exactly what they want to do and they know how to do it, but once something becomes difficult they lose their way. A small bump in the road causes everything to fall off the wagon. Then those people cry and wail about loss and how hard life is.”

“I’ve run into men like your brother before. Little bumps along the way. I will admit I didn’t expect him to have as much of an impact as he did over the last few months though. His little ‘missions’ forced me to rearrange three years of work, but even still it wasn’t a setback that we couldn’t handle.”

Samantha remained quiet as she kept her eyes focused on the passing buildings outside the car window. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of feeling like she wasn’t safe. She was tired of being frightened for her daughter. Whatever it was that Matt had done with his life outside of his family was now eroding away the love that she had for him. Ten years were washing away from her mind the further the car drove.

“I told him not to marry you,” Chase said out of the blue and changing topics. “He thought it would be good for appearances. Marrying a police woman, an army reservist and the daughter of a careered military officer would allow him to fly below the radar.”

“So, why did you tell him not to?” she asked. “It sounds like it was going to help you a great deal.”

“Yes,” he replied, “But I knew it was always going to end badly for you.” He kept his eyes in front of him as Samantha finally turned to look at him.

“Why are you doing all of this?” she asked exasperated.

Chase smiled. “The world we live in has become bloated. There are too many people clawing for scraps. I’m pressing the reset button, but in order for me to do that I have to get rid of those that would oppose me. Right now there are over a quarter million troops stationed in San Diego. That combined with a few other large groups in Texas and Washington D.C. I’ll be able to cripple the largest military power in the world. Once that’s done I’ll have my political connections start passing amendments to restructure the military and I’ll be the one selecting those put into power. After that it won’t be America’s military. It will be mine. From there I’ll be able to pick off the rest of the weak and this country will be twice as strong it was before.”

When they arrived at the plant Samantha demanded to see her daughter. Chase granted her wish and took her to see Annie. The plant was massive. Samantha gazed around at the machines diligently working, mixing different chemical agents and packaging them into pallets that were being transported out of the facility.

“VX gas,” Chase explained when he saw Samantha looking around the plant. “It’s a nerve gas. It breaks down a person’s muscle control and causes convulsion and paralysis. Nasty stuff.”

Chase brought Samantha up to the executive offices where Annie was being kept. When he opened the door and Samantha saw her daughter they both ran towards each other.

“Mommy!” Annie screamed. Samantha scooped her up into her arms and held on tight. She put her daughter down and held her small face in her hands. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” she asked.

“I’m got scared and tried to hide, but they found me,” Annie said.

Samantha smiled as she brought her daughter in close and hugged her again. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too, Mommy,” Annie whispered back.

Chase nodded over to one of his guards and he walked over to peel Annie off of her. Samantha screamed and Annie started to cry. The guard pulled out a knife and put it to Annie’s throat. Chase’s henchman kept the blade close. Just one slip and she’d be gone.

“Please,” Samantha pleaded. She dropped to her knees. “Please, don’t hurt her.” Her voice was shaking. Her face was distorted with pain, fear, and hopelessness as she looked on helplessly. “I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt her.”

Chase walked up from behind and stood between Samantha and Annie. “You see?” he asked. “You are at my mercy. You have nothing to offer me. Absolutely nothing. I’m the one who has what you want. If you want to see it again you’ll do everything I ask.”

Samantha’s whole body started to convulse as she put her face in her hands. She nodded with her hands covering her face and then she looked up at Chase. Her eyes were bloodshot and snot dribbled down her nose and chin. She couldn’t speak anymore. She just kept nodding her head.

“Good girl,” Chase said and then ordered another guard to come and take Samantha away. When Samantha was dragged out, the last image she saw was the guard putting Annie, who was hysterically crying, on the ground.

The guard brought Samantha to Chase’s office where he got out her phone and powered it on. Chase extended the phone to her, but Samantha avoided his face as fresh tears started to form on her cheeks. He tossed the phone in her lap and she looked at him. “Call your brother,” Chase said threateningly.

Jim was sitting in the new commander’s office waiting for him to enter. He’d been sitting there by himself for almost twenty minutes. Twenty wasted minutes he could be out doing something, but instead he had to request time to meet with the acting general to get the supplies approved for his mission. He just hoped that Twink and Brett were using their time wisely.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Jim,” the General said as he entered.

Jim rose at attention and after the formalities, he got down to business. “I need the request approved, sir,” Jim said blatantly.

The General leaned back in his chair and looked Jim over. “This isn’t a traditional request, Jim. You’re asking for resources without letting the military know what you’re using them for and asking us to look the other way when you take… Well, whatever it is you’re planning on taking.” The General tilted his head to the side slightly and shrugged. “I don’t think this is something I can approve. Not in this climate we’re in right now.”

Jim didn’t have anywhere else to go. He was about to go into a fight with more unknowns than he’d like to have in a mission and the three other men that he trusted were the only ones coming with him. Jim was good at what he did, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do this without the General’s resources.

“I didn’t like Locke,” Jim blurted out.

The acting general raised his eyebrows, shocked at the statement. The General’s predecessor wasn’t even in the ground yet and it wasn’t typical for a soldier to openly criticize a general in front of a superior officer; let alone one that had just been killed in combat.

“He was manipulative. He didn’t have the slightest problem using somebody for the greater good. I know because that’s what he did to me,” Jim continued. “But the one thing I can say about Locke is that he got things done. He put himself out there in a way that I’ve never seen an officer of his stature do before. That’s all I’m asking from you, General. Help me get the job done.”

The General drew in a slight breath and his chest rose and then fell with the exhale. He stayed silent as Jim kept his eyes focused on him, drilling into him with a stare only a man with as much to lose as Jim could.

“Locke trusted you,” the General finally answered and  he drummed his fingers on his desk. He rose to walk to a filing cabinet parallel to where they were sitting. “He liked you,” the General went on as he pulled open one of the drawers and thumbed through the files inside. “He always appreciated a soldier that didn’t give a shit about the chain of command like you do.

The General pulled out a slip of paper and walked back over to his desk, pinching the white page between his fingers. He sat down and grabbed a pen from his desk and began jotting down notes on the paper in front of him. “I had a look at your file before I came in here,” he said as he continued to write on the form. “I’ve never seen a soldier have as many misconduct forms and still have more commendations than a dozen soldiers have in their career. It was impressive.”

Jim eyes lowered to the form on the desk trying to make out what it was. He was hoping it wasn’t a court marshal form, or discharge papers. It didn’t really matter if he was officially in the military or not after this conversation. He was still going to get his sister and niece back no matter what. It’d just be easier with the military’s resources.

The General signed the form and placed the pen down. He finally looked up at Jim who still had that gaze of, ‘I’m doing it with or without you’ and he handed Jim the form.

As Jim’s hand reached for the paper, the General kept hold of it for a moment and Jim looked up at him while the piece of paper hovered in the air between them. “If you cause me trouble, I will crucify you,” the General said calmly and plainly.