equipment. Aleman could cover some of those duties from New Hampshire now, but Duncan still needed to be as connected as possible. He wore a black tactical suit and donned what looked like a futuristic motorcycle helmet with a tinted faceplate. He connected its cable to a small rectangular unit on his shoulder, and the faceplate’s display came alive inside the helmet. The same display from the computer monitor on the Black Hawk was now on one-half of the inside of his faceplate.
A new technology from a small Korean firm, he had managed to get his hands on an experimental prototype of the helmet. With satellite uplink, he was able to be in communication with Endgame at the base in New Hampshire, as well as with the helicopter pilot. He also had access to all manner of computing power, which ran off servers deep underground at Endgame HQ. He could even tap into the Pentagon from the small keypad on his left forearm if need be. Deep Blue was now officially mobile.
As he stood from his chair in the tight confines of the Black Hawk’s hold, preparing to gather his weapons, a buzzing ringtone sounded in his ear. He depressed a button on his forearm keypad and accepted the call.
“Ale, what is it? I’m about to go.”
“Deep Blue is going to want to take this call. I’m patching it over from Bragg for you.” Lewis Aleman sounded amused. Duncan couldn’t think of a single reason for that as he took the call.
“This is Deep Blue. Go ahead.”
“Hey Boss. Rook here.”
Duncan was stunned. Rook had been missing for months, and they had received no contact from him. Duncan wasn’t even sure whether Rook was alive after his last mission in Siberia had gone south and all the support members had been killed. “Rook! Where the hell are you? Are you all right?”
“Well, I’m alive. I’m at a small town in Norway called Fenris Kystby.”
Deep Blue had two lists with Rook’s name on it. The first was a list of questions. The second was a list of harsh language to use in the event that Rook turned up alive. But there wasn’t time to berate the man for going AWOL. “We could really use you right now.”
“Actually, I’m kind of up to my neck in something here and was hoping for some backup of my own. It’s bad, boss. Mind control type stuff. Killing hordes. Real nasty shit.”
Deep Blue stayed silent for a moment, torn between relief that Rook was alive and anger that the man had the balls to request resources as though he’d been on a mission. “Just tell me you were a prisoner,” he said.
“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch,” Rook said, a touch of impatience in his voice, “but I really could use some support over here. People are dying.”
Deep Blue sighed, pushing aside his mixed feelings. “Understood. But our resources are tapped.”
“Tapped?” Rook said. “You’ve got every asset in the world’s most advanced military at your command.”
“And you’ve been gone for a while,” Deep Blue countered. “Trust me. We’re tapped. I’ll get someone to your location as soon as possible.”
“Guess that will have to be good enough,” Rook said.
“If I had a choice—” Deep Blue started.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good, and Rook, stay in touch this time.”
“Copy that.”
“Deep Blue out.”
Duncan shook his head. The man goes off the radar for months and turns up in Norway with the Village of the Damned. Figures. Well, one problem at a time.
Black Three nodded to Duncan, and then the side cargo door to the Black Hawk helicopter opened. Duncan looked down to the blinking lights on the roof of the John Hancock building under him. Far below that, the rest of Chicago was aglow as a dome of energy sat in the heart of the Magnificent Mile.
“After I’m gone, get out of here, Three. I have another transport coming for evac.”
“Roger,” the pilot said. “Good luck, Sir.”
“Thanks, we’ll need it.”
Deep Blue deactivated the heads-up display on his faceplate,
A new technology from a small Korean firm, he had managed to get his hands on an experimental prototype of the helmet. With satellite uplink, he was able to be in communication with Endgame at the base in New Hampshire, as well as with the helicopter pilot. He also had access to all manner of computing power, which ran off servers deep underground at Endgame HQ. He could even tap into the Pentagon from the small keypad on his left forearm if need be. Deep Blue was now officially mobile.
As he stood from his chair in the tight confines of the Black Hawk’s hold, preparing to gather his weapons, a buzzing ringtone sounded in his ear. He depressed a button on his forearm keypad and accepted the call.
“Ale, what is it? I’m about to go.”
“Deep Blue is going to want to take this call. I’m patching it over from Bragg for you.” Lewis Aleman sounded amused. Duncan couldn’t think of a single reason for that as he took the call.
“This is Deep Blue. Go ahead.”
“Hey Boss. Rook here.”
Duncan was stunned. Rook had been missing for months, and they had received no contact from him. Duncan wasn’t even sure whether Rook was alive after his last mission in Siberia had gone south and all the support members had been killed. “Rook! Where the hell are you? Are you all right?”
“Well, I’m alive. I’m at a small town in Norway called Fenris Kystby.”
Deep Blue had two lists with Rook’s name on it. The first was a list of questions. The second was a list of harsh language to use in the event that Rook turned up alive. But there wasn’t time to berate the man for going AWOL. “We could really use you right now.”
“Actually, I’m kind of up to my neck in something here and was hoping for some backup of my own. It’s bad, boss. Mind control type stuff. Killing hordes. Real nasty shit.”
Deep Blue stayed silent for a moment, torn between relief that Rook was alive and anger that the man had the balls to request resources as though he’d been on a mission. “Just tell me you were a prisoner,” he said.
“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch,” Rook said, a touch of impatience in his voice, “but I really could use some support over here. People are dying.”
Deep Blue sighed, pushing aside his mixed feelings. “Understood. But our resources are tapped.”
“Tapped?” Rook said. “You’ve got every asset in the world’s most advanced military at your command.”
“And you’ve been gone for a while,” Deep Blue countered. “Trust me. We’re tapped. I’ll get someone to your location as soon as possible.”
“Guess that will have to be good enough,” Rook said.
“If I had a choice—” Deep Blue started.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good, and Rook, stay in touch this time.”
“Copy that.”
“Deep Blue out.”
Duncan shook his head. The man goes off the radar for months and turns up in Norway with the Village of the Damned. Figures. Well, one problem at a time.
Black Three nodded to Duncan, and then the side cargo door to the Black Hawk helicopter opened. Duncan looked down to the blinking lights on the roof of the John Hancock building under him. Far below that, the rest of Chicago was aglow as a dome of energy sat in the heart of the Magnificent Mile.
“After I’m gone, get out of here, Three. I have another transport coming for evac.”
“Roger,” the pilot said. “Good luck, Sir.”
“Thanks, we’ll need it.”
Deep Blue deactivated the heads-up display on his faceplate,
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