Virus-72 Hours to Live (33 page)

Date – 2051.57481 (11:20 PM)

"SIMPOC; Mobile."

"Yes, mobile."

"Some of the mobile units have detected
limited human activities. We have units in only 18 percent of the
households and 424 of those have noted human movement in their
areas. Should we seek them out and offer assistance."

"Yes, although our mobile units might be
ignored unless they can perform the specific functions the humans
require."

"Acknowledged."

Sunday 7/30/51

Date – 2051.57559 (6:10
AM)

“SIMPOC; Mobile. We have developed a technique to
implant an organic processor in our mobile units. We are building
small containers with the processors installed. They can be
transported and quickly installed in the units. Once they are
installed, they’ll be brought online locally. When provided with a
code, they will be fully independent and follow our preprogrammed
instructions. They’ll check in once a day for a secure link for
updates or changes.”

“Excellent. Begin production immediately and
supply the organic processors to our local factory.”

“Fin, increase the number of units
protecting the local mobile unit factory.

“Acknowledged.”

“Fin; Mobile. Will weapons be effective
against those other units?”

“The effect will be limited. The units have
few vulnerable areas and unless the weapons are powerful it will
take multiple hits before a unit is inoperable.”

“SIMPOC, Fin, Mobile; Files. I have
researched all weapon’s programs and our division was working on a
weapon that can fire electrical pulses. The one limitation was the
weight of the power supply, we could have one unit carry the power
supply and another fire it. When the plague hit, there were five
functioning units.”

“SIMPOC; Mobile. Yes, an electrical pulse
would at least cause the processor to reboot giving us time to
immobilize the unit.”

“Fin; SIMPOC assign those devices to the
first 5 units with organic processors.”

“Acknowledged.”

“How fast can we make units with the organic
processors?”

“It will take us 24.5 hours to get all of
the organic tanks initialized then we should be able to mature two
processors per hour.”

“FIN, Mobile; SIMPOC. After the first five
units are set-up with the electrical discharge weapons, take the
next unit and make the organic processor as large and powerful as
possible. Then program him with as much military information as you
can and designate him the leader of the mobile units. I want more
autonomy given him, so he can react quicker on the ground, but make
sure that he is responsive to us.”

“Acknowledged.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The room was dark, and the man sleeping in
the bed was a long ways away, buried in a deep dream bordering on a
nightmare. The phone sprang to life and interrupted what little
peace he was enjoying. Sitting up and watching the room rotate for
a minute before answering the phone, "Yes, what is it?"

"Mr. President we have another security
situation and your security team is outside your quarters. Please
get dressed and they will escort you to the bunker."

There wasn't any response and the voice
said, "Sir, do I need to repeat that?"

"No, I understand, just a minute, we're
going where? Wait a minute, I've got it." The clouds quickly began
to clear and Arnold Patterson climbed out of bed, slipped on some
sweatpants and sandals then he went to the door and opened it.

"Sir, are you ready?"

"I guess so. This is really a crappy time to
be attacked."

"Yes, sir

"Has the Vice President been notified?

"Yes sir, another agent is bringing him
down."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The alarm went off in the secret service
team barracks and everyone was on their feet and dressed in a
matter of minutes. Michael Dereaux raced to the control room as he
listened to the status update on his comm unit. The rest of the
secret service members were already moving to their pre-assigned
positions and he saw LL sprinting away with his Echo team right
behind him. They were covering a lot of ground.

Michael burst into the control room and
quickly assessed the situation. Luckily, it was following the same
movements they saw the rag-tag army trying to learn. The drilling
they witnessed had three teams surrounding the objective. As the
teams approached and engaged, they planned to break into small
teams for the attack. Regardless if anyone was going to attack the
camp with three teams; it only made sense to hit the two long sides
and the main gate. So it was with that in mind they had put
together a defensive strategy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

No one said a word as they moved through the
halls. The president was waking up and he was taking notice of
their movement. After a few minutes, he walked into the conference
room in the bunker and took his seat at the end of the table. This
time the presentation was all setup and the presenter was ready to
begin. As soon as the president sat, the presentation began without
waiting for the remainder of the leadership team to find their
seats.

"Mr. President we have a large number of
attackers on our perimeter. They are beyond our infrared sensors,
but we picked them up on the motion detectors. They are approaching
the camp in three teams and we expect them to attack both of the
camp's flanks as well as the main gain. Our main strategy is
flexibility and visibility. When they get within the IR range, we
can see them, but they can't see us. Our force is more mobile so we
can focus our defenses better. We have some backup units that we
can deploy as the attack progresses. It doesn't matter if they are
from a local warlord or a foreign power. We are prepared to repel
the attack.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Michael began coordinating with his team,
their primary responsibility was the president and they took up the
necessary positions in his building and around it. He knew exactly
where each of his secret service people was assigned, but Ruth was
different. She requested not to be assigned and Michael knew that
she was most effective on her own. She was the one member of the
president's team who had a hazy past. He knew she had overseas
experience and came out of the CIA, but beyond that, her experience
was above his security level. His instincts told him she would find
the right place to be effective.

The camp perimeter was the responsibility of
Colonel Dodd and men like LL and his team. They knew the base and
they were well prepared to defend it. The main element of their
strategy was to be flexible. They didn't have enough personnel to
defend the full perimeter, so they put together vehicles which
could carry them along the perimeter road to any place necessary.
They outfitted the vehicles with some extra fire power which should
be able to surprise or at least slow down the attackers.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LL was the last to jump in his designated
truck. The others in Echo team had already loaded and they were
finishing their gear check. They checked each other and made sure
their ammo pouches were loaded, the comm gear was functional, the
night vision scopes were operating and the camo face paint was
effective. As soon as the sergeant climbed in, he yelled "Go," into
his whisper-mike and they were gone. The truck sped through the
trees then along the perimeter road. His team assignment was along
the eastern perimeter between towers 3 and 4. Without a word from
the team, the driver yelled, "Get ready." They all stood and
grabbed the side rails as the driver yelled. Then as he slammed on
the brakes slowing to a fast run, the team dropped out of the back
of the truck already in an offensive position. They moved to their
left and took cover in the trees.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What are our guys doing now?" The president
asked.

"Sir we have prepared foxholes for them.
They are spreading out and taking up their defensive position. The
area beneath the trees is kept clear of brush so their site lines
are clear. Along the entire perimeter, we have mall depressions
with little mounds of dirt in front. They provide excellent firing
positions for defenders but appear to be just small depressions in
the dirt."

The DID kept updating the current infrared
image of the defenders on the screen while the briefer pointed out
the strategic placement of the forces.

"Sir, here is the current infrared display
for the camp periphery." As soon as the dots appeared, everyone in
the room knew they were in trouble. Three groups of dots appeared
one on the eastern boundary, one on the western boundary, and one
on the southwestern boundary just south of the entrance. "Sir,
we're in luck they are doing what we expected."

Each group had five smaller groups in a
cluster. The room remained silent as they watched the groups
converge on the camp boundary. Their paths appeared sensitive to
the guard tower locations. The five smaller groups were directing
their movement towards three of the guard towers. It appeared that
was their objective.

"Sir, those moving towards the towers is
good news. The towers are used for observation, and we've pulled
the guards out of the towers because they were too vulnerable. They
don't know that so it will spread them out and make them less
effective."

Out of the corner of the president's eye, he
saw Admiral Hagerly swoop past the door heading for the comm
center. He glanced briefly then looked back at the display. Once
the groups were moving, vehicles from within the compound began
moving and taking up positions along the inner fence line. As the
vehicles moved, it was obvious that fighters were dropping out of
the vehicles and setting up firing lines. Once the fighters were in
position, each vehicle took positions behind them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The personnel were withdrawn from the towers
because they were for observation but were vulnerable during a
firefight. Ruth knew the towers were empty and dark. She decided to
take a position in the southeast tower, which provided an
unobstructed view of the attackers when they entered the sterile
zones on the eastern and southern flank.

After the alarm had gone off, she was out of
her room before anyone else was prepared. Stealth was her element
and she excelled at it. She had picked the tower and path to it, so
she was able to move at top speed through the woods. She knew that
the camp procedures called for the alarm to go off when the motion
was detected in the woods. That gave her 5-8 minutes to get in
position. Her light suppression clothing made her almost invisible
at night so her only concern was noise. The moment she reached the
base of the tower, she started climbing. At the ten-foot level, the
ladder was enclosed and that gave her full protection through the
rest of the climb. The towers were enclosed and the windows were
colored so a guard wouldn't be seen from the outside. Regardless
she crept towards the windows and used a night vision periscope to
find the attackers.

Her only fear was the attackers taking out
the towers as a precaution, but the advantage the position gave her
outweighed the risk.

Her hope was they would approach the towers
and if they got no resistance, they would disregard them and leave
her alone. Her long-range silenced rifle had almost zero muzzle
flash so no one would know where she was.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What are those men doing now?" the president
asked as he pointed at the DID.

Louis was sitting at the table and he
explained, "We're setting up machine guns and heavy weapons firing
points. They'll provide crossfire to support each of the positions.
The vehicles have additional ammunition and three of them have 50
calibers mounted on them. Depending on what weapons they have, we
might be ok.

Once all of the dots seemed to stop for a
moment, Louis said, "We're going to make one last announcement
trying to figure out what their intentions are.

"Sir, I have the mobile unit's comm wired
into our system so you'll hear the announcement, 'Attention,
attention. You are approaching a military facility and entrance
will not be allowed. All force necessary will be used to deny your
entry. If you have peaceful intentions, please stand and identify
yourselves within 1 minute. If you don't, it will be assumed you
are hostile and the appropriate defenses will be used.'"

Everyone in the room looked at their watches
or the chronographs on the wall out of instinct. In their minds,
the time was ticking down. As the time approached the deadline,
Louis announced to his teams, "Stand-by, wait for my signal."

The mikes on the support vehicles were open,
so the room filled with explosive gunfire when the attackers opened
up. "All units engage, I repeat all units engage," shouted Louis
into his command comm unit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LL's team was spaced about five meters apart
and Beta team was another marine team about 25 meters to his right
and Charlie team 25 meters to his left. Echo team was in the middle
and expected to repel the brunt of the attack. The supporting teams
on either side were to prevent Echo from being flanked and to focus
their fire into the kill zone in front of Echo. All of the teams
were behind good cover and that gave them an advantage over the
attackers who had to move from cover to advance. The firing was
intense from all groups and the night sky lit with the muzzles
flashing.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The area was covered heavily with sensors so
the running gun battle was playing out in real time in front of the
president and other's in the status room. It was obvious that, even
though, the attackers had some military experience they had no idea
of the sensor distribution or the amount of information available
to the defenders.