Brigadier General Matthew Jacobs, commanding general of Fort McClellan, along with most of his senior staff. The second rocket smashed into the front lobby of the base hospital, bringing the second floor crashing down into the first, killing hundreds of innocent patients.
When Lance’s vest detonated, a high powered explosive many times more potent than C-4, vaporized his body along with every living thing inside the gymnasium. The structure that had once promised frightened, weary refugees the possibility of a new life came crashing down. Since most of the deceased had not yet been processed into the system, no one would ever know that three hundred nineteen innocent people had just been murdered.
The polite man on the other end of the phone told his two associates that he was going out to the car for a quick smoke. He walked to the end of the driveway and opened the driver’s-side door. With great anticipation, he lit his cigarette, took a long, satisfying drag and slowly exhaled. Once the nicotine rush hit him, he reached into his coat pocket and produced a small device. Carefully typing in the requisite five digits, the man hit the enter key and watched, smiling, as the McGee residence erupted in an explosion that rocked the neighborhood. Car alarms wailed, dogs barked. The polite man always tied up loose ends, and he certainly wasn’t looking to take the blame when The Silent Warriors would be more than happy to take credit for his actions.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Are you sure it’s time to make such a bold move, Richard?” Howard Beck knew the day was coming, but he never envisioned it would be so soon.
“We have a lot of preparation to deal with before we’re ready to move forward, but it’s time to set things in motion. What do you think, Max?”
“I’m nice and comfy with things the way they are, but we have to move at some point and it might as well be now. My only concern is maintaining the resources we have to secure our own borders.”
“You don’t think Hal can manage it?” asked Howard.
“I have no doubt that Hal can keep the drones busy, but can he repel thousands of troops if they move on our borders? Even worse, what if Sterling decides to wipe us off the map with nukes? What does Stacy think?”
Howard was quick to answer. “Our top spy tells us that Sterling wants the nation intact. He’s confident that once he fully restores power to The Pulse Zone and squashes The Silent Warriors, he’ll have little trouble conquering our quaint little nation, as he calls it.”
“All the more reason for us to strike a serious blow to that smug asshole while he’s weak,” said Richard.
Howard agreed.
“How in the hell does he think he’s going to stop The Silent Warriors? Terrorists don’t exactly walk around in uni form and engage the enemy in direct combat,” said Max.
“Stacy isn’t sure exactly what his plan is, but she did say he seems quite confident that he can pull it off,” said Howard.
“Hal, how many attacks have occurred outside The Pulse Zone?” Richard knew his plan would prove difficult if they had to reallocate manpower to deal with terrorist attacks.
“Only minor incidents, sir. From the intelligence I have gathered, The Silent Warrio rs have attacked two hospitals—one in Nevada and the other in California. Both attacks were quickly repelled with only minor damage. Several fires spread across California have managed to destroy seven residential areas; however, the possibility remains that The Silent Warriors were not responsible for four of the fires.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Howard.
“Or they’re kind enough to stay out of the PSA,” Richard said.
Max tapped Richard’s chair with his cane. “Okay , Richard, the suspense is killing me. How the hell are we going to invade California with the UAE wiping out anything that crosses into the no-man’s land around our
When Lance’s vest detonated, a high powered explosive many times more potent than C-4, vaporized his body along with every living thing inside the gymnasium. The structure that had once promised frightened, weary refugees the possibility of a new life came crashing down. Since most of the deceased had not yet been processed into the system, no one would ever know that three hundred nineteen innocent people had just been murdered.
The polite man on the other end of the phone told his two associates that he was going out to the car for a quick smoke. He walked to the end of the driveway and opened the driver’s-side door. With great anticipation, he lit his cigarette, took a long, satisfying drag and slowly exhaled. Once the nicotine rush hit him, he reached into his coat pocket and produced a small device. Carefully typing in the requisite five digits, the man hit the enter key and watched, smiling, as the McGee residence erupted in an explosion that rocked the neighborhood. Car alarms wailed, dogs barked. The polite man always tied up loose ends, and he certainly wasn’t looking to take the blame when The Silent Warriors would be more than happy to take credit for his actions.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Are you sure it’s time to make such a bold move, Richard?” Howard Beck knew the day was coming, but he never envisioned it would be so soon.
“We have a lot of preparation to deal with before we’re ready to move forward, but it’s time to set things in motion. What do you think, Max?”
“I’m nice and comfy with things the way they are, but we have to move at some point and it might as well be now. My only concern is maintaining the resources we have to secure our own borders.”
“You don’t think Hal can manage it?” asked Howard.
“I have no doubt that Hal can keep the drones busy, but can he repel thousands of troops if they move on our borders? Even worse, what if Sterling decides to wipe us off the map with nukes? What does Stacy think?”
Howard was quick to answer. “Our top spy tells us that Sterling wants the nation intact. He’s confident that once he fully restores power to The Pulse Zone and squashes The Silent Warriors, he’ll have little trouble conquering our quaint little nation, as he calls it.”
“All the more reason for us to strike a serious blow to that smug asshole while he’s weak,” said Richard.
Howard agreed.
“How in the hell does he think he’s going to stop The Silent Warriors? Terrorists don’t exactly walk around in uni form and engage the enemy in direct combat,” said Max.
“Stacy isn’t sure exactly what his plan is, but she did say he seems quite confident that he can pull it off,” said Howard.
“Hal, how many attacks have occurred outside The Pulse Zone?” Richard knew his plan would prove difficult if they had to reallocate manpower to deal with terrorist attacks.
“Only minor incidents, sir. From the intelligence I have gathered, The Silent Warrio rs have attacked two hospitals—one in Nevada and the other in California. Both attacks were quickly repelled with only minor damage. Several fires spread across California have managed to destroy seven residential areas; however, the possibility remains that The Silent Warriors were not responsible for four of the fires.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Howard.
“Or they’re kind enough to stay out of the PSA,” Richard said.
Max tapped Richard’s chair with his cane. “Okay , Richard, the suspense is killing me. How the hell are we going to invade California with the UAE wiping out anything that crosses into the no-man’s land around our
Similar Books
