Fade to Grey (Book 1): Fade to Grey (45 page)

Michelle pulled out a small ear bud from underneath the
collar of her blouse and placed it into her right ear. The trailing cord
disappeared into her neckline, looping once around the center bridge between
her bra cups before descending further south, terminating in the small metal
plug that was tucked into her waistband. It was plugged into nothing.

“Fear. That’s the third rule of covert warfare. Very few
operatives depend on superior firepower. But you can certainly make your
enemies believe that they are faced with overwhelming odds. And if they fear
retaliation, or imminent destruction from forces beyond their control, beyond
the scope of what they have any hope of defending themselves against, many of
them won’t even question your ability to inflict that destruction, whether you
actually have it or not,”
Andy had said.

Michelle pressed two of her fingers against the small speaker
embedded in her ear. She had practiced this speech several times . . . just in
case.

Touching her thumb to her throat, she tilted her head
slightly. “
Phoenix Flight Nine, Phoenix Flight Nine, this is Silver Hammer,
over
.” The hallway was silent, watching and listening. After a short pause
Michelle continued, “
Phoenix Flight Nine, Silver Hammer lead requests a
holding pattern above target zone for ten, repeat ten minutes, authorization
Cricket 2947 delta
.”

Michelle cocked her head as if listening to the response from
the imaginary bombers, or fighters, whatever the hell a Raptor was. Then just
like they had practiced, she looked towards Andy and nodded, confirming that
the illusionary pilots understood the phantom orders.

For every listener’s benefit, she spoke out loud. “Switching
frequencies.” A quick a reach into her pocket with her left hand added to the
façade. “
Silver Hammer to Forge, Silver Hammer to Forge, come in
.”

Another pause.

“
Confirmed encryption protocol, standing by for relay to
War Chief Seven.
” Michelle looked up at Andy who nodded and replied.

“Tell the general that I am placing Major Larrabee in charge
of this unit. Colonel Jordan has been relieved of command but not terminated. Yet.”

Michelle nodded, relaying the orders to the fantasy general
before removing the ear bud and tucking it back inside her blouse.

Andy inclined his head toward the athletic cage door and said
to no one in particular, “Open it.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Estes said as he used a key taken from Tango
Three’s leader to unlock the makeshift “chain and Master lock” door security. Andy
led the way, followed by Estes, Colonel Jordan, Michelle, and two other members
of Estes’s squad.

The room was bathed in flickering illumination that emanated
from several sets of four foot, double fluorescent light fixtures. Several
large wire bins filled with a variety of athletic equipment were attached to
the back wall. Handcuffed to the bins were two people. One of them was a silver
haired man of about sixty. He was dressed in an antiquated pale yellow suit
coat and matching pants that showed several drips, splatters and splashes of
blood, the source of which was obviously his battered face. He appeared
unconscious. One of his hands was cuffed to the bottom of a bin that held
baseball equipment—bats, gloves, helmets, and other implements of America’s
pastime that Michelle couldn’t make out. The other man had dark colored sweats
and a t-shirt on, no shoes or socks and sported what could only be called a
seriously pummeled face. Bloated cracked lips, eyes both swollen almost
completely shut and skin crisscrossed with cuts and abrasions that still wept
fluid. His dark hair was plastered with dried blood. Swollen face and dried
blood aside, Michelle could still tell that it was Sam Ironfeather. Each of his
hands were cuffed separately to opposite sides of a metal cage filled with
basketballs and sets of shoulder pads. The sound of their approach caused him
to slowly look up.

“Baf fo thum ore fu . . . fu..nnn?” he coughed out defiantly.

Andy immediately set in. “Well, well, well, look what we have
here. Do you remember me?  Oh, I think you do. I told you a long time ago that
this day would come. I promised you that I would be the one to put a bullet in
your brain. LOOK AT ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Andy snarled. “LOOK . . . AT . . . ME
. . .”

Even through swollen eyes Michelle could see the glimmer of
recognition on Sam’s face.

Andy continued, “I swore to you that one day I was going to
put you on display in my executive conference room. Do you remember that
place?  I’ll bet you do.”

Andy walked over and knelt down next to the handcuffed state
trooper. Grabbing his bloodied mop of hair with his left hand, Andy said, “LOOK
IN MY EYES.”

Twisting Sam’s neck with enough force that he grunted in
pain, Andy went nose to nose with him and hissed something that Michelle
couldn’t make out. Then he stood up, shook his head in disgust and spit on Sam’s
face.

“Stand that son of a bitch up against the wall,” Andy
commanded.

Michelle reached into her fanny pack and withdrew a small set
of keys. Her front door, office, personal, and work truck were all represented
on the ring. Nestled between the two larger vehicle keys was a standard
handcuff key. She drew the stainless steel pistol from its holster, handed it
to Andy and walked over to where Sam was handcuffed. Kneeling down she unlocked
his right wrist, stood and walked two paces over, and repeated the operation on
his left.

“Stand up,” Andy said in an emotionless monotone.

“Fuu..ewww . . .”

“You can stand on your feet and die like a man, or I can
shoot you right there like a dog, on your knees and begging for mercy. Just
like you did to those families in Dallas and Phoenix. The families of my men.”

The only response was a slowly raised middle finger.

Andy quick stepped over and put his shoe on the bruised and
bloodied figure’s shoulder and shoved him to the ground face down. Stepping
deftly to the side with his left foot, he planted his right foot squarely
between the shoulder blades of the downed man.

“Time’s up asshole.”

Aligning the sights of the silver gun on the hollow at the
back of the man’s neck, he pulled the trigger.

BANG
!

The brief silence had been thick before the explosion blasted
into their eardrums, ringing, magnifying and echoing in the enclosed cement
room. Michelle jumped slightly at the sound, then caught herself and froze. Sam’s
body spasmed and flopped for a few seconds before becoming still.

“Body bag, now,” Andy said as he handed the gun back to
Michelle.

One of Lieutenant Estes’s men who was still in the hallway handed
it forward. The two that were already in the room opened it up and laid it out
next to the face down figure.

“Get him inside. I don’t want that traitor’s blood on
American soil anymore than it has to,” Andy ordered.

The two men unzipped the black nylon carrier, scooting it
next to the body before rolling the corpse onto its back and into the bag. A
few quick shifts and adjustments and it was zipped back up with a speed that
indicated familiarity with the task.

“Let’s get a few volunteers to carry this piece of a shit,”
Andy said to no one in particular but in a tone that carried the unspoken
command of ‘do it now’ along with it.

Four of Estes’s men spaced themselves around the bag and
reached down, each grasping one of the multiple sewn in handles along the side.
On the count of three they lifted.

Andy turned and ushered everyone out into the hallway. Looking
around at the gathered faces he said, “Men, regardless of what you may think of
me or my organization, what I just did was on the orders of the director of
Homeland Security. Additionally, I’ve been appointed to make the call on the
disposition of the previous command structure up here. For the callous, and
cowardly decisions made by Colonel Jordan I am immediately and permanently
stripping him of his rank and command. He will be held without bail in whatever
capacity necessary to prevent his departure or escape until such time as a full
military tribunal can decide his fate. The world is turning to shit, gentlemen.
The last thing we need is to have to put up with douche bags on top of all of
our other problems. Lieutenant, who is the man in the yellow suit and why is he
in there?”

“He’s the mayor of this town. Colonel Jordan had him thrown
in there because he wouldn’t shut up about the rights and needs of the townspeople,
sir.”

“Get him out of there and up to medical immediately. Check
that, have medical come down and get him. It doesn’t look like he’s in any
shape to walk. Uncuff him and take him to the gym until they get here,” Andy
said. Turning towards the colonel and members of Tango Three Andy said,
“Gentlemen, your room awaits.”

In short order the cage was occupied by the four men, each
handcuffed to a separate athletic bin. The lock and chain was reapplied to the
door and the key given to Lieutenant Estes. Regrouping outside the door between
the gymnasium and tunnel took only another thirty seconds.

Turning towards the gathered soldiers Andy asked, “Does the
colonel or any of the guys from Tango Three have friends here who might try
something stupid?”

Several of the soldiers exchanged glances and a few nods. One
of the members of the scout platoon spoke up. “Sir, there’s probably a few
troublemakers who have something to lose if the colonel’s not running the show,
sir.”

“You know who they are?”

“Some, but not all of them, sir.”

Andy frowned. “How is it that you have you been serving with
these men and don’t know who’s playing for what team?”

“Sir,” Estes said, “it’s because this unit has been pulled
and pieced together from several different divisions. We’ve got regular army,
army reserve, a few air force and navy as well—mostly on the medical teams
though. There’s even two Marines that came in on a helo last night. And as you
are aware of sir, we had National Guard as well. Had.”

“Well, in that case I guess we better post a guard.” Turning
towards the scout platoon Andy said, “Echo Bravo Niner, split yourselves into
two shifts. I want this door guarded 24/7. Nobody in or out without direct permission
from Lieutenant Estes—and even with permission I want them searched. No
weapons, no keys. Got it?”

The clatter of small arms fire interrupted their response. Seconds
later the staccato bursts of several more weapons joined into the fray,
cresting in intensity before slowly trickling off. Sporadic firing continued
for another thirty seconds before the radios on the scout platoon and Estes
squad crackled to life.

Incursion northeast zone, twenty plus hostiles, interior
perimeter not breached, requesting medical assistance for sweep team, over.

After a brief pause the speakers sounded again.

Negative on medical at this time, repeat, negative on medical
at this time. If no friendly’s are injured, we’ve got our hands full up here
right now. Keep sweep teams contained until later. Over.

Roger that medical, we’ll leave ‘em lay.

“Lieutenant, get on the horn and have all available command
structure at the front of the school in five minutes. I have a few choice words
I want to say before I leave.”

Estes nodded as he walked over to the radioman in his squad. Stretching
the coiled cord to its maximum length brought the transmit microphone barely a
foot from the soldier’s shoulder. Estes keyed it and relayed Andy’s orders.

Several questions immediately came back, asking for
clarification of “available” command structure.

“Tell them that available command structure means all
officers and squad leaders who are not currently being shot at or performing
open heart surgery,” Andy said to Estes.

Estes grinned and transmitted the orders.

With a final look around, they headed out of the gym and up
to the school’s main entrance. Michelle noted that their black SUV had been
backed in to the handicapped spot closest to the stairway entrance. It was
idling quietly. Corporal Henry was standing at attention near the license plate.
As they approached he shouted out “SIR, YOUR VEHICLE IS FULLY FUELED AND READY
TO GO.”

“Very well private, dismissed,” Michelle replied as she
walked past him and up to the driver’s side door. Lifting the latch to reveal
the interior, she intentionally leaned over to reach for the remote attached to
the keys.

“If we have to use our guns, then that means our plan fell
apart. But there are other weapons in our arsenal. We’ve got Thompson’s
knowledge of the layout and command structure. We’ve got my experience . . .“
Andy said accompanied by a quick
double raise of his eyebrows
, “in this type of situation. And Michelle,
we’ve got you.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be much help,”
she had said dryly
.

“On the contrary my dear, you are the glue that holds our
plan together. Pardon my saying, but with a body like yours squeezed into that
tight little outfit, every guy in that place is going to develop eye strain and
a limp. Hell, you may even convert some of the gay ones just by walking past
them.”

“I doubt that . . . and what happens if we run into some
female soldiers?”

Andy’s eyes twinkled with his reply
. “In that case, they
will be staring at you even harder than the guys. You know what they say about
all those women in the military, right?”

“Great. So if this all falls through and we end up in front
of a firing squad, I can at least rest in the knowledge that my executioners
asked me out on a date before pulling the trigger.”

She had tried on several different outfits before narrowing
it down to two. There was a dark mocha business suit that she purchased last
fall for a regional awards banquet that she attended in Denver, and the inky,
slithery deep purple number that her mom had bought her shortly after
Michelle’s divorce. She felt like a fool modeling the choices for Andy and
Thompson, but both of them picked the purple outfit hands down.

Depressing the bottom button on the remote triggered a
clack
that unlocked all of the vehicles doors. Turning her head she absently noted
that the fuel gauge needle was pegged all the way to the right. More gunshots
erupted and she jerked back into a standing position. Radio chatter indicated
several more walkers had been located, only these had been inside the fence
near the athletic field bleachers. Medical again declined to accompany the
sweep teams. Walking to the rear of the vehicle she opened the doors and
inclined her head towards the interior.

“Dump him in here,” she said to the four carrying the body
bag. Several officers had already assembled and watched the mysterious
procession take place. One of them was the major from the medical team. He was
still wearing his scrubs. A standard surgical mask was pushed off of his face
and gathered around his neck.

“Is that  . . .” The major hesitated as his eyes darted from
the rear of the SUV to Andy.

Ignoring his question Andy scanned the gathering, noting many
familiar faces from the meeting in Colonel Jordan’s office less than an hour
ago. Looking down at his watch he turned to Estes and said, “Let’s give it a
couple more minutes.”

Estes nodded, looking at his own watch in the process, and
then over at Michelle.

“Something wrong, Lieutenant?” Michelle said, meeting his
eyes.

Estes looked up, then back at Michelle before glancing over
his left shoulder at the assembled soldiers gathering around Andy.

“No sir. It’s just that . . .” His voice was muted, like he
was trying not to draw attention to his words.