Shelter: Book 2, A Long Days Night (25 page)

“Captain, radio, sir, we’ve got the Washington on line one secure.”

“Washington, Missouri actual, how do you read?”

“Missouri, Washington actual, read you five by five. We took one missile mid deck, it exploded inside the ship. Damage control is fighting the fires, we have 40KIA and 120WIA.”

“Washington, we are 12 mikes and closing.”

“Roger, we’d like to fly helo’s with wounded to you.”

“Roger, the landing pad is clear. We’ll have medical staff standing by.”

Two helicopters loaded with the severely wounded approach the Missouri.

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Franco and his sons slowly make their way to my back door, the sky above them resembles a war zone with the loud explosions of thunder and lightening that lights up the night’s sky. The wind is picking up in strength and large droplets of rain are falling. Franco knocks on my rear door, “Jay, are you there?”

“Who’s calling? We’re armed.”

“Jay, it’s Franco and my sons.”

“Franco, what are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to break the seals and leave the shelter.”

“Jay, you guys need to come back RIGHT NOW, very bad storm coming. Lacy said tornado.”

“Shit, OK, we’re coming.” I turn to yell, “Guys, we’ve got to get out of here ASAP, a tornado is coming.”

Tony says, “Oh shit, we’re coming, we’re coming, we’re out of here.”

As the four of us meet Franco at my back door, we hear a sound like a train in the air, looking to our front we see a large funnel cloud forming, its spinning and moving towards the ground it’s heading in our direction. Our eyes get wide, we’re all thinking, “Oh shit.”

Chapter 16

Captain Jefferson hitched a ride on one of the Washington’s helicopters to meet with Admiral Long. As the helicopter drew close to the USS George Washington, he saw the dense black smoke covering the carrier. There appeared to be a huge hole in the center of the 3-acre flight deck. He sees a crack that goes up four stories in the 150 foot high island, smoke is coming out of the crack, all of the windows in the flag plot and primary fly, the control tower of the aircraft carrier, are shattered. Most of the antennas on the top of the island are either missing or broken, the domes over the satellite communications antennas look like broken eggs. Hundreds of men wearing different colored vests are everywhere holding fires hoses trying to put the fires out. The helicopter pilot says, “Captain, we have to land on the bow, the smoke is too dense and toxic from mid-deck to the stern. Try to stay out of the smoke. The Admiral is in CIC, he’s waiting for you. The XO will meet you when we land. We’re going to pick up additional wounded and take them to the Missouri.”

“Thank you.”

The helicopter lands, Captain Jefferson, jumps off the bird, he’s met by the carrier’s XO, Commander Paul. “Sir, welcome aboard the George Washington. If you’d follow me, the admiral is waiting for you.”

“Commander, how bad is it?”

“Bad, the damn DF 21 penetrated our hull before exploding. We were trying to launch everything we could when we got hit. We got the fires in the hanger deck under control before a fuel line split, it sprayed fuel which ignited the area we had just gotten under control. As you can see the flight deck is torn apart, the shock and explosion wrecked the island. We’re out of this fight.”

“Can you save her?”

“Yes, we’ll save her. The problem is, we can’t launch aircraft. We don’t have a carrier that’s able to launch any aircraft.”

“Oh, crap.”

The two men make their way through the 1,000-foot ship, they pass hundreds of people fighting the fires and working on various equipment. They’re interrupted by the overhead speakers, “Attention George Washington, this is the Captain, we have reactor one critical, we’re restoring electrical power to the ship. Reactor two is shut down, we can’t risk restarting it due to the cracks in the containment dome. We have sealed reactor two’s area, there is no danger of radiation leaks. Repeating, reactor two is shut down and sealed. We’re able to make turns for eighteen knots, I’m going to turn the ship so the smoke is blowing to the port side clearing the stern.”

Looking at the XO, Captain Jefferson says, “That sounds better than I expected.”

“Yes, sir, damage control is working miracles.”

Is Commander Scott still in charge of engineering and damage control?”

“Yes, he’s a real miracle worker, without him we might have lost the ship.”

Opening the sealed door to CIC, the XO says, “Captain Jefferson, Vice Admiral Long. Sirs.”

Admiral Long says, “Thank you, Commander Paul, you may return to your duty station.”

“Aye, sir.”

Admiral Long looks at Captain Jefferson, “Captain, as you see, we’ve lost the tactical ability of all four of our carriers. Three have their full air arms intact, but with damaged props and rudders they’re useless. We’re towing them back to Pearl. The Washington, as you see, is out of the war until she has her deck and steam lines repaired. Even if we patched the deck, we lost the steam lines to the catapults. We also lost most of the equipment in the island, PRIFLY is damaged, all of our radars and our satcomm antennas are gone. Taskforce 77 has lost all of our long range strike components. Just before we got hit, we received intel that the Chinese are sending additional ships to reinforce their fleet. As you know, our cruisers and destroyers are armed with only Harpoon missiles and a 5-inch gun, both are short-range weapons. the Missouri is the only ship in TF 77 that can survive a close in fight with the Chinese. Your armor should protect you from anything they can throw at you. Any ship you hit with your main guns is finished.  Basically, they can’t hurt you and you can tear them up.”

“Sir, what is it you want the Missouri to do?”

“Captain, I want you to take the Missouri into the middle of the Chinese fleet and tear them a new asshole.”

“Sir, I could use resupply, we shot up a lot of our shells.”

“A resupply ship will rendezvous with the Missouri in two hours.”

“Sir, will I have any escorts?”

“Yes, I’m sending six DDG 51s with you. They are thin-skinned. However, their Aegis should be able to provide you with anti-air protection, your guns will be our firepower. The key battle of this war now rests on your shoulders and the on the back of a 70-year-old ship.”

“Admiral, they should never taken the BB61s out of service. We had plenty of fight left in us and as we’ve proven, nothing can get through our armor.”

“Captain, you’ve proven that. I’ve asked the CNO to kick the weapons boys in the ass to get you some additional sabot rounds and to see if they can quickly come up with other surprises you can use. The good news is they’ve found an additional twenty sabot rounds which are in transit. They should arrive in four hours. We assume Admiral Zin thinks we’re all out of them, the new rounds will come as a nasty surprise to our Chinese friends. Captain, use them well, they are likely to be the last such rounds you get for a long time.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Captain, you’ll be in charge of what I’m naming, Task Force 66. Good hunting and good luck.”

“Thank you Admiral.”

“One last thing, transfer the wounded to the resupply ship, I don’t want you going into battle with them on board.”

“Aye, aye sir.”

The two men shake hands, Captain Jefferson turns around to make his way to the flight deck to catch his ride back to the Missouri. He’s thinking,
A seventy-year-old ship no one wanted is now our last hope of stopping the Chinese from taking Hawaii, where the Japanese dragged us into World War 2 by sinking most of our battleships. Karma’s a stone cold bitch. At least someone found us additional sabot rounds. I’ll use them to target their supply ships, without supplies they’ll be down to whatever they left on their ships, plus they won’t be able to launch any more of their damned DF 21 missiles.

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Captain Sarnoff met with his buyers. Within a span of three hours over four thousand AK 47 and AR 15 rifles were handed over to various militias and gangs. Sarnoff laughed to himself thinking of the surprise he’s about to deliver to the American Army working their way south. One, maybe two quick engagements with the American army and we will report to Darkenov that we met and engaged the enemy per his orders. Then will slip away. This is a large, rich country, we were paid in gold coins, it should be easy for us to disappear and live off the grid. Once we are someplace safe, I’ll slip a note to the Americans that Darkenov is the FSB illegal, I am sure they will be happy to pick him up, when they do, I will not have to worry about him again. Smiling to himself, Captain Sarnoff reviewed the amount of gold they received for the rifles and ammo. His thoughts are interrupted by his friend and political officer.

“Captain, you look happy this evening.”

Opening the heavy gym bag he’s carrying, he says, “Would you not also be, if you had just been paid in gold for equipment we were supposed to give away?”

“I am smiling, so long as we do not get caught.”

“I have a plan to ensure we will not be caught. Come, let me tell you about it while we share an American beer.”

“I accept your kind offer.”

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Looking over my shoulder at the twisting, spinning cloud of death, I yell, “RUN, run as fast as you can.”

We run towards the shelter door, I’m hoping that someone inside sees us running towards the door and opens it before we reach it so we can save time. The twister is gaining on us. It’s tearing up everything in its path. I think I’m about to lose my house, all things considered, it might be a blessing, Lacy won’t have to see the mess the Son’s of the Devils did to her house. We can start over and build a new house. I pray the twister doesn’t reach down to our subbasement.

Next door in Fred’s home, Jason is woken by the howling winds and crash of thunder. He sits up looking around, the lightening flashes make the room look like there’s a strobe flashing. He walks to the window, looking outside he sees the funnel cloud being formed, he yells, “UP, everyone get up! We’ve got to get out of here. Wake everyone and get out, start running south, we’ve got to get away from here.”

People sleeping on the bedroom floor stir, some look at Jason, they roll over thinking they’re dreaming. Jason kicks them, “Get up, we’ve got to get out of here.”

A girl around nineteen asks, “Why?”

“A tornado is coming!”

The word tornado got through to most, they jump up, some are naked, some wearing only a t-shirt or undergarments, all start running out of the house. Jason yells, “Out, get everyone out of the house, we’ve got to get away from the storm! Someone tell the others to also go, we might as well leave here. Let the MC have it.”

The mob members who were sleeping in Fred’s house take off exiting both the front and back doors, none know where south was, a few run towards the funnel cloud, a few run to the sides and a handful run towards the rear of my house where we are running towards the shelter.

The only thing we can hear is the howling winds of the storm. It’s drowned out our voices. We’re running as quickly as we can, the seven of us are trying to get into the shelter before the twister grabs us. I turn my head to ensure all six of my friends are still together, I count additional heads running with us. I don’t know who or where these people came from. I assume they came from the mob that overran us. There’s light growing in front of us, someone must have started opening the shelter door. The camo has been pulled back allowing us to see the door opening for us. I pray no one else sees the light. I wished whoever opened the door had kept the inner lights off so the light didn’t lead them to our door. It’s too late now, at least it looks like we’re going to make it.

The twister is at my front yard, it’s sucking up everything in its path, the fence, cars, even the school buses the MC used. We reach the shelter’s door, I stand guard while the other eight dash into the shelter, I don’t see anyone else heading in our direction, I flip around entering the inner room between the outside and first set of inside doors. I hit the emergency close button which slams the shelter door down. The lights blink off and on. I look to the front of the small room, Tony is holding his rifle pointed at three young people, two women, one wearing a man's shirt the other only a bra and panties, the man is wearing a pair of sweatpants which look like one of Fred’s. Tony says, “If any of the three of you are armed, drop it right now.”

The woman wearing the bra and panties says, “Where would we be hiding a gun? We’re almost naked. What is this place?”

“Shut up and don’t speak again.”

The man says, “What are you going to do if we don’t listen to you?”

Tony strikes the man in the gut with his rifle but. “Shut up and pay attention, or if you’re lucky we’ll toss you out into the storm. If you’re unlucky, I’ll kill you.”

The three look into Tony’s cold eyes, they realize he’s serious about killing them. All three shut up, they raise their hands over their heads. Tony says, “I’m going blindfold each of you with strips torn from my t-shirt. I’m also going to zip-tie your hands behind your back. Speak, give me any bullshit, don’t follow my directions and out you go or I’ll just a put a bullet in the back of your head. Do you understand? Nod yes if you understand.”

The three nod yes. Tony rips his shirt and covers their eyes while Franco takes zip ties and binds their hands behind their back. Tony says, “John while you’re at it, why not gag them too?” John asks, “Why waste shit on them? I vote we open the door and push them out. Let the storm have them. Maybe they’ll believe they can fly when they’re sucked up by the tornado.”

The three start to shake realizing they may be tossed into the giant storm. Tony says, “Jay, I too think we should dump them.”

“Guys, if we dump them outside and the storm doesn’t take them, we’ll be left with three people who’ve seen where our front door is.”

Tony smiles saying, “We could kill them before we dump their bodies.”

“Tony, if we do so when they’re found in the morning, someone with half a brain will wonder why three of them are dead where they are with a gunshot to the head. They’ll most likely get very nosy and start looking around. They’re bound to find our door.”

“Jay, so what, they won’t be able to enter.”

“Pause a moment and think, are you ready to risk everyone’s life on the assumption they won’t be able to get in or out and lead others here?”

“No, you make a good point.”

Franco says, “We could leave them bound here between the front and inside doors. They won’t be able to move and they won’t be able to exit or go further inside the shelter.”

“That’s a good idea.” The three mob members realize they’re very close to getting killed, they continue shaking with the knowledge they are very close to dying a horrible death. Blindfolded, and with their arms tied behind their backs and gaged they know they’ll die of thirst, bound in a small cement room between two steel doors. They want to speak, but can’t. They try jumping up and down to get our attention. Tony looks at them saying, “Look, we captured three Mexican jumping beans. Jay, I vote we dump them now.”

“Tony, shooting them in a battle is different from shooting them in cold blood. I can’t bring myself to shoot them.”

“I’ll do it for you, I won’t even charge you to do it.”

“Tony, we’re better than they are. We’re supposed to be civilized.”

“And you’re supposed to be our fearless leader. What happened to you? Did chasing ghosts mellow you out?”

“Not really…”

“Then stand aside and met me finish them. I’ll be saving us having to do it later. We can’t bring them inside and ever let them loose. Once they’re inside they become a security risk.”

I look at the three, I pull down their gags, “How old are you?”

The girl in the bra and panties says, ”I’m twenty.”

The other girl says, “I’m eighteen.”

“The man says, “I’m twenty-two.”

I look at Tony, “Kids.”

“Jay, no they’re not. They attacked us, they shot at us, they tried to kill us. Forget before the meltdown. Jay, what happened to you?”

“Nothing happened to me. I just have an issue with killing in cold blood.”

We’re interrupted by a voice on the intercom, “Are you guys ready for us to open the second set of doors?”

We all respond “NO.”

Before we can say or do anything, we hear the storm strike my house.

Chapter 17

Captain Black is happy to be returning from the mission. He invites Glenda to breakfast, “Would you do me the honor of joining me for a cup of coffee?”

“Thank you, yes I would.”

Over coffee and eggs, Glenda asks, “Did you have to kill all of them?”

“Yes and no. I have the authority to do with them as I see fit. They were all criminals. They raped, murdered and tortured. If we’d let them go, they would have taken up their old ways within a couple of hours, maybe even less if they came upon someone who had something they wanted. They look at the meltdown as a license to do anything they want. They know most of the police are without fuel, they aren’t going to waste their limited fuel chasing motorcycles they know they won’t catch. They know they can outrun the police cars. They think they can get away with murder which until yesterday, they did.”

“Captain, aren’t they entitled to a trial and have the proof of their crimes presented to them?”

“Glenda, as you know, we aren’t living in normal times. You were ready and willing to kill us when we first met. What changed in you?”

“I saw you’re good to your word. You mean what you say, you’re honest and I believe you’re trying to help the average person.”