Wasteland Rules: Kill or Be Killed (The World After Book 1) (17 page)

  It looked just like an iPod so he turned it on like
one. The small screen flickered to life. A simple menu displayed with sliders
for on and off along with a slider measured in meters. Derek slid his finger on
the screen changing the menu option Cloak from off to on. Nothing seemed to
happen so he wasn’t sure if it worked or not. Well, they would find out
shortly.

 He heard an amazed laugh from the voice. “It
worked, I can’t believe it. You are invisible. They shouldn’t be able to see or
hear you now. I can still see the girl, have her get close to you.”

 “What if they come into the tower with us?”

  “As long as you don’t touch or interact with them
directly, it will be as if you don’t exist.”

  Derek pulled Rora close to him and they waited in
silence as they heard the Collective agents enter the building and begin to
search it. Both Rora and Derek held their breath as they heard the heavy
footsteps approach the door to the tower. It opened slowly and the Humek looked
into the room. He looked directly at Derek and Rora. Neither one of them moved,
waiting for a reaction from the cyborg. But it simply closed the door and left.
Both of them let out a big sigh of relief, somehow the device had worked.

  Derek stood up a few minutes later when he heard
the sound of an engine start up. It didn’t sound like a regular engine because
it was quieter and smoother. He saw the Humek take another look around and then
get into an armored van. A few minutes later it headed out from the complex and
left in the direction of Jonesboro.

  He quickly grabbed Rora and hustled down the
stairs to the damaged Humvee. Derek shoved a backpack at Rora and grabbed as
much gear as he could carry. They would have to leave some of the camping gear
and tools behind because it was too much to carry. They needed to move quick so
they could be gone before anyone else came to investigate.

 “What happened?” Rora asked breathlessly. “He
looked right at us.”

  “The device. It supposedly blinded him to seeing
us.”

  Her eyes widened in response to that bit of
information. Derek thought he heard her whisper. “So it does work.”

 The voice in his ear startled him again, he would
have to get used to that. “Major. Bring me the device as soon as possible,
before anyone else can come after you.”

  “I want triple what you were paying me.” Derek
demanded.

  “Done. Just bring me the device.” The Voice agreed
quickly.

  Derek hesitated. The unknown buyer had agreed way
too quickly and sounded desperate, this thing must be worth even more. It
looked like the U.S.T.G. was after it as well as the unknown buyer and the
Collective. The Humek had probably hired all those goons to come after them
because the Collective was trying to keep its involvement secret. Just like the
U.S.T.G. was using the Outfit. Although the Collective had just abandoned that
pretense and come out into the open. Maybe making the bearer invisible to the
Collective was just the beginning of what this thing could do.

  “Help us get to NASA and I will hand it over to
you.” Derek bargained.

  “Major, you are testing my patience. There is a
closing window on the value of the device. If I don’t get it soon, it will be
worthless.”

  “All the more reason to help us. The faster we get
to NASA, the faster you get the device.”

  “Fine.” The Voice agreed reluctantly. ”I will help
you get to Jacksonville. You can meet my asset there and hand over the device.
He will take you to NASA.”

  “How are we going to get to Jacksonville?”

  “There is an Express Station about twenty miles
away as the crow flies. You will have to walk there and then trade for a car.
From there I can guide you to Jacksonville.”

  “Guide us?” Derek asked confused.

  “Yes. Leave the phone on and the earpiece in. That
will allow me to track you and stay in constant communication with you. I will
be able to warn you of obstacles or any pursuers.”

  “Why didn’t we do this before?” Derek asked.

  “Because I couldn’t risk anyone detecting the
signal. But with the device active that should be a problem.”

  “What about the battery? It’s not like I have a
universal charger.”

  The Voice laughed. “It has an Eternity battery.
That thing will still be powered long after you’re dead.”

  “That might not be so impressive.” Derek muttered
to himself. At the rate this mission was going he would probably be dead soon.

  “I forgot to mention that with the earpiece in, I
can hear what you hear and you can subvocalize to speak to me.” The Voice
warned him.

  Derek groaned internally. Great, now he had big
brother in his ear. But, he had his deal. All he had to do was get a car and
they would have a good shot of making it to Jacksonville. That was only a few
hours north of Cape Canaveral. He would decide about handing the device over when
he got there. This thing might be priceless or potentially worthless if the Voice’s
deadline meant anything. So they better get going, someone else was bound to
come looking here. Best they are long gone by then.

  “All right, we have an arrangement. Send me the
location of the Express Station on the phone.”

  The phone vibrated to indicate a new message.
Derek checked the map and the heading. Twenty one point three miles over rough
terrain and in broad daylight. He would be ok, but Rora was going to struggle.
This was going to be fun he thought sarcastically.

  Rora had silently watched him talk on the phone
and waited until he had finished. “So, what are we doing? Is he sending a
ride?”

  “No, we need to take a short walk to go get one.
Put on that backpack and let’s get going. We don’t want to be here when the
next wave arrives.”

  Derek ignored her question of how far they were
walking and assessed his load. He could probably carry more and they would need
to trade for the car. So he headed out to the still smoking bodies of the
Outfit soldiers. He stripped them of canteens and shoved as many as he could in
his and Rora’s packs. Rule #8, and they would need plenty on their hike. He
noticed Rora staring at the smoking holes in the bodies.

  “Pulse rifles” He informed her. “They fire bolts
of plasma. Only the Collective has that technology and they don’t usually
display it so openly outside their territory. They must want the device very
badly. Do you have any idea what it does?”

  “No, father never told me anything about it.”

  Derek was sure she was lying, but unless he was
going to torture it out of her there was nothing more he could do. She would
share what she knew when she was ready. He continued to search the soldiers,
taking small things of value like energy bars. His eyes fell upon the M-4F3
Carbines the Outfit gunmen had carried. They were in pristine condition and
were fully tricked out with laser sights, flashlight, tactical sights, a
collapsing stock, flash suppressor, and extended magazines. He had used a rifle
like this for almost his entire career. When he had used the one in the bank it
had felt like a natural extension of his hand.

  Despite the extra weight Derek decided to take
one. He slung it over his shoulder opposite the M-14 and loaded up his pockets
with clips. He even shoved a few in Rora’s pockets. Rule # 18, you could never
have enough ammo. He checked the other weapons. The SAW was too big to carry
long distance, the grenade launchers were out of ammo, and ammo for the sniper
rifles was too hard to come by. The 7.62mm rounds for the M-14 were very common
and it was a very reliable rifle. Satisfied he had everything they could carry;
he led Rora out into the dry waste.

June 13, 2029

Outside Jonesboro, Arkansas

   As the van drove towards the nearest populated
area of Jonesboro, Maximillian tried to figure out what had happened. He had
been tracking the girl and the Major via satellite as they exited the foothills
and were attacked by the Outfit gunships. He had watched the soldiers corner
them in the solar facility and surround the building. Maximillian and his
drones had arrived and made short work of the pathetically overmatched
soldiers.

  He had enjoyed the thrill of blasting the choppers
from the sky as they had moved in to provide support for their beleaguered
comrades. He should have been above such things, but the small piece of his old
self still loved the adrenaline rush of combat. When he had been a soldier he
lived to fight and now that he was more evolved those opportunities had been
far between. At least the hunt for the Major had gotten him back in the field
again. He would thank him with a plasma bolt when he saw him.

  Once they had eliminated the soldiers, Maximillian
had searched the facility. His augmented vision should not have allowed them to
hide from him. But there had been no sign of them after the battle. They must
have escaped during but there was no sign of it on the satellite feed and he
had been monitoring it throughout the fight. Where could they possibly have
gone? Had he missed something? The only aberration had been a mysterious signal
he had detected as he had arrived at the facility.

  The signal had been heavily encrypted and he
hadn’t been able to break it. He also hadn’t been able to lock down the source
or its destination other than the general vicinity of the facility. Then
shortly after the battle it had disappeared. There was nothing in the
Collective database about a signal like that or anything similar. Maximillian
started a search through the other databases he had hacked into, but that would
take a while.

  In the meantime they would go to the closest
inhabited town and see if he could pick up the trail there. However Storm and
the girl managed to escape they would probably head to the nearest town for
supplies. Maybe he could even beat them there and ambush them. Storm’s luck had
to run out some time.

  The van was almost all the way to Jonesboro when
it hit him. He cursed himself for missing the obvious. The Major had activated
the device and it had worked. The damn thing actually worked. Despite Father
telling him how powerful the thing was; Maximillian hadn’t really believed him.
It sounded like the boogeyman stories his mother used to tell him. But that
would explain how he hadn’t seen them leave and he hadn’t found them in the
facility. The Major had activated the device and hidden in plain sight. It must
have a radius of effect allowing the girl to be concealed as well.

  The fuzzy feeling he had gotten looking into the
tower, it must have been an effect of the device. They had been there but the
device had prevented him from seeing them. It was just as dangerous as Father
had said and Maximillian needed to remove that threat. Hopefully Storm didn’t
know how to use its other alleged functions, but the girl might. He had to get
it back as soon as possible. But if he couldn’t see them how was he going to
track them and get the device back?

  He turned the van back towards the facility with a
quick thought and put out notice of a $50,000 bounty on the Major and $25,000
on the girl, paid in gold. He added dead or alive to the notice in a rare
moment of vindictiveness. That ought to get some people interested. He would go
to the facility and see who turned up to collect. Maximillian was irked that he
would again be dependent on others to complete his task, but he had no choice.
He might not be able to see the Major and the girl, but normal humans could. And
they would do anything for money.

June 13, 2029

Outfit HQ near Asheville, North Carolina

    Sergeant Mark Maxwell U.S.T.G.A Ret. stood at
parade rest in the shadows and watched as his boss, Al Prinz, stood in front of
the giant video screen in his office and stoically withstood the tongue lashing
from the President of the U.S.T.G., Rickard Channing. Channing’s bald head was
bright red with veins popping out as he screamed his displeasure at the head of
the Outfit. Mark was impressed that his boss wasn’t reacting at all to the
tirade directed at him.

  Al Prinz had been preparing for a disaster from
the day he built his company from a small group of special operators into a
global security business with thousands of employees. Prior to the Collapse
they had been the world’s largest private military contractor with troops
serving all over the world. He had seen the end coming and had built a
fortified complex in the western hills of North Carolina capable of
withstanding a nuclear blast and stockpiled with food, water, and medical
supplies. Vehicles, weapons, and ammo had been bought and stored in large
bunkers within the complex. Every possible need had been thought of and
prepared for. So when the Collapse had happened, the Outfit had emerged from
the Aftermath ready to profit from the new environment.

  Before the Collapse they had worked for any
government or corporation who could afford them. They were well known for
completing a mission at any cost. If you wanted to guarantee the success of a
mission, you hired them. Following the Aftermath they had attempted to maintain
a form of neutrality and work for the highest bidder, but now they deferred to
the U.S.T.G.. In effect they had become the de facto black ops arm of the U.S.T.G.,
operating where the U.S.T.G. couldn’t or wouldn’t. Al Prinz was an honorable
man who tried to keep his employees safe and taken care of and that was taking
its toll. He was a consummate professional and it was wearing on him physically.

  The President however, was another story. Formerly
Vice President under a previous administration he had miraculously risen to
power following the Collapse. He had disappeared for a few years prior to the
Collapse and had reappeared looking younger and in fantastic shape. Now in his
early eighties he possessed the vigor of a forty year old. A far cry from the
multiple heart surgeries needed during his terms. Despite his physical
resurgence, the President still maintained the fierce temper and domineering
attitude he possessed before the disappearance.

  Based on reports he had heard, Mark was aware that
the man was becoming increasingly erratic and that the U.S.T.G. was becoming
even more controlling. Rumors were coming out that the President had purged
some of his closest allies in the government and the military. Many had just
vanished overnight with no explanation. But, the U.S.T.G. paid big and paid on
time. Plus being their errand boys meant they probably wouldn’t decide that the
Outfit was a threat and bomb them into oblivion.

  The President was winding up his tantrum, so Mark
paid closer attention. Channing had been yelling at his boss for the failure to
collect something he referred to as the device. Mark wasn’t sure what that was
but Al would tell him what he needed to know. Channing paused and delivered one
final line before he cut the communication.

  “Bring me the device or you can consider your
contract terminated. Permanently.” Channing emphasized the last word.

  “Yes sir. I’m putting my best man on it.” The CEO
responded deferentially.

  He followed that with “Asshole” once the
communication had ended. Turning to Mark he said. “You saw what the President
said, but I need you to understand the seriousness of this situation. If we
fail he will terminate us, not just the contract. He only keeps us around as
long as we are useful to him.”

  “What do you need me to do sir?” Mark had replied
eagerly.

  “Go to this location in Arkansas and figure out
what happened to our men.” His boss told him showing him a map on the video screen.
“Then track down this man and retrieve the device he has on him.”

  The split image of a man flashed onto the screen.
On the left he was in an Army uniform and on the right was a candid shot of him
in a random town. He looked very rough in the second picture with long hair and
bushy beard compared to the squared away clean cut Army shot. The man wore
dirty jeans tucked into scuffed combat boots. He had on a faded old school
camouflage jacket over a red t-shirt that said “Born to Fight”. That wasn’t asking
for trouble. The butt of a sawed off shotgun and the hilt of a machete stuck up
over his right shoulder, a pistol was on his right hip, and combat knife in his
belt on the left hip completed the look. He looked weathered, but surprisingly
not that old. This was odd since at least twelve years had probably passed
since the pictures were taken.

  “Who is he?” Mark asked unimpressed.

  “Meet Major Derek H. Storm formerly Special Forces
for the U.S. and the U.S.T.G..”

  The name rang a bell in Mark’s memory. “Wait, this
is the guy that punched General Merkel in the face? I thought they executed
him.”

  “Apparently not. And I think they are regretting
that right now. He has something the U.S.T.G. desperately wants, and he has
left a trail of bodies from Colorado to now Arkansas of everyone who has tried
to take it.”

  “Are you telling me he has taken out three squads
and two gunships all by himself?”

  “Possibly, but others may be involved. That’s why
I’m sending you instead of more troops. Stealth may be the better option here.
Find out what happened to our men, and then track this man down. If you need
backup you have unlimited access to every resource we possess. I’m counting on
you to get this device. Failure is not an option.” Al said very seriously.

  “I won’t let you down sir.” Mark replied with
equal seriousness.

  “I know” The CEO said and then dismissed him.

  Mark was bursting with barely contained
excitement. Derek Storm was a legend. His exploits for the U.S. government were
only exceeded by his mission successes working for the U.S.T.G.. His nuclear
strike on the European forces was a stroke of genius. It was unfortunate that
he had cracked under the pressure and attacked a commanding officer. Mark had
just been entering the service when Storm had been supposedly executed so he
never got a chance to work with him. Now Mark would get a chance to test his
skills against a true legend, even if he was older. This was going to be fun.

  Entering the armory, Mark began requisitioning the
weapons and gear he needed to complete the mission. The armorer had balked at
handing over such valuable and limited gear, but the notation in the computer
that Mark could have whatever he wanted won him over. He had started to explain
how the gear worked but Mark waved him off. He knew how to use it; he wasn’t
some rank amateur, he was a professional.

  He put on the suit he had selected; the XS-3B
Stealth Suit, nicknamed the Spider Suit, and grabbed the XRG-2C rifle he had
ordered. Both of these were brand new and experimental, provided by the U.S.T.G.
as payment for services rendered. The Outfit only had three of each, making
them extremely valuable. Mark probably wouldn’t have been allowed to play with
them except for the unlimited access he had been given. He sobered for a second
when he realized how important that made this mission. If he failed, the entire
company would probably be wiped out by the U.S.T.G.. He quickly regained his
confidence. He was the best operator out there, and he had the best gear. There
was no way he could fail.

  Knowing time was of the essence he headed to the
helipad and commandeered a gunship to take him to Arkansas. Again, the
unlimited access gained him a quick ride even though the pilots didn’t have a
flight plan in hand. He gave them the coordinates and sat back while the crew
loaded his motorcycle on the helicopter.

  During the ride he inspected his gear. He needed
to be 100% ready when he got there. The Stealth Suit covered his entire body in
a thick sheath of material similar to latex. It was fireproof and bullet
resistant. More importantly it concealed his body temperature and absorbed some
light. Someone would have to be looking directly at him to spot him. The
headpiece contained breathing apparatus with filters, a built in radio headset,
and the goggles had a pop up HUD. Very impressive; but the best feature, and
the reason it earned its nickname, was the amazing ability to climb up walls
and flat surfaces.

  The XRG was just as cool. It was a first
generation rail gun, which used magnetic coils to accelerate a tungsten round
to extreme velocities. The boxy design allowed it to be folded up into a small
backpack complete with straps. Its range was amazing and the penetrating power
was awesome, it was even more powerful than the Barrett’s the Outfit sniper’s
used. Eliminating the explosive part of the bullet allowed for greater ammo
capacity and each clip held 100 projectiles in a small clip which could be
expended in seconds with the rifle’s extremely high rate of fire. In addition
it contained an advanced laser sight that doubled as a microphone and could be
connected to the suit’s HUD. All of these features made it the most versatile
and deadly weapon in the Outfit arsenal.

  The last weapon he had brought was the most personal.
It was a carbon steel ninjato, or ninja short sword, given to him by his sensei
when Mark had attained sixth degree black belt status. Guns were great, but a
blade never jammed or failed. Very often in his career Marc had been forced to
engage in close combat and this sword had meant the difference between life and
death.

  The chopper dropped Mark roughly five miles from
the facility and he made his way there on the modified Zero MMX-5 motorcycle he
had requisitioned. It used an electric motor so it was very quiet, and the
frame was made a lightweight composite to lower its profile. He covered the
distance to the facility in seconds and rolled to a stop just outside. As he
had approached he had seen the plumes of smoke drifting into the sky. Getting closer,
the source of the smoke became obvious. Both of the gunships had been shot down
and were smoking ruins.

  Mark concealed the bike outside the facility and
did a quick sweep of the area to make sure it was clear before he went in. A
brief examination of the scene determined there were no survivors. The position
of the bodies and the angles of their wounds indicated multiple assailants.
Burnt holes in the bodies of the dead troops indicated pulse rifle fire, but
nobody had those except the Collective and this was way outside their
territory. A quick check of the choppers showed similar weapons damage had
brought them down confirming the enemy had used pulse rifles.

  There were no other bodies or blood to indicate
that any of the attackers had even been wounded. It had been a massacre. Mark
found the Humvee Storm had stolen from the first team in the warehouse. It was
useless so Storm hadn’t left that way. There were van tracks leading in and
then away from the solar plant. Maybe he had left in that, but he certainly
hadn’t come that way. What would the Collective want with Storm? Were they
after the device as well? He was about to report in when the enhanced senses of
the suit picked up an approaching vehicle.

  It was almost in the main yard by the time he
detected it, so Mark did the only thing he could. He used the suit’s spider
ability and climbed up the nearest tower. The panel was damaged allowing him to
perch in the hole atop the panel and look down into the yard. With his suit
helping conceal him and him being in an unlikely place meant the chance of
discovery was very slim. He unfolded the rifle from his back and engaged the
link from the scope to his HUD. He aimed at the newly arrived van and watched
as a man, no a Humek, dressed in golden armor got out. So it was the
Collective. This must be who had wiped out his fellow soldiers.

  It took all the discipline he had not to shoot the
cyborg in the head. But Mark needed to find out where Storm had gone and this
was his only lead. So he waited. After about an hour he heard the rumble of
approaching engines. Four vehicles roared into the yard and skidded to a halt
in a cloud of dust. All four were a mishmash of parts, weapons, and armor. It
was motley collection of redneck road warrior vehicles. Two dirt bikes came
roaring in from behind the van to complete the circus.

  There was a large dual wheeled pickup truck that
looked like the front end had been removed and the thin aluminum shell replaced
with heavy duty steel armor. It had been cut and welded together giving the
front end a boxy look. A large home-made brush guard made from what looked like
steel pipe was mounted on the front. Steel plates and screens covered the doors
and windows. The back of the truck had similar plates welded over it. A fifty caliber
machine gun was mounted in the bed and was currently aimed at the van. A
confederate flag on a long antenna completed the look.

  The second vehicle was what looked to be an older
model Ford Mustang with a supercharger, but it was hard to tell with the plain
steel armor welded all over it. The doors were a different color and had metal
screens welded over the windows just like the windshield. A large steel bumper
had been affixed to the front, replacing the traditional bumper, and it looked
like a roll cage had been added as well. An M-60 Light Machine Gun was mounted
on the passenger side. Mark could hear the engine idling without the laser mike
activated.