Wasteland Rules: A New Dawn (The World After Book 3) (24 page)

   “Get in!” He ordered. “Rora, man that machine gun!”

   “Awesome!” She yelled back. “I finally get to use the
gun!”

  He laughed as they got in and strapped in. Once they were
secure he threw it in reverse and turned hard. They zipped backwards in a spray
of dirt until they were facing the middle cargo car. When they were a hundred
feet away Derek slammed on the brakes and they slid to a halt. They stopped
just as the soldiers inside had managed to free the door and were lowering the
ramp.

   “What are you doing?” Rora yelled down at him.

   “We need to make sure there isn’t any pursuit!” He yelled
back as he opened fire with the SAW on his side.

   Bullets spit out in a steady stream at the cargo car in
front of them. Rora got the idea and opened fire with the machine gun. To
Derek’s surprise, the hacker merely sat there and didn’t fire the gun on his
side. The gunfire lit up the cargo car. Sparks flew as the rounds impacted the
steel walls of the car. Unfortunately for those inside the walls were too thin
to stop the heavy rounds from the M2, and they punched through and shredded
those inside. Derek focused his fire on the open door and his concentrated fire
caused the FAV inside to explode.

   Derek ceased fire and Rora followed suit. The sound of
falling brass echoed for a moment and then it was completely silent. Flames and
smoke poured out of the two front cargo cars and the third sat silent. Derek
nodded in satisfaction at a job well done and threw the FAV into drive. He
glanced over at the hacker and saw he had a brief look of disgust on his face
before resuming the neutral demeanor he always seemed to project.

   They raced forward up the train and along the passenger
cars. The last passenger car was all shot to hell by Rora, bullet holes pock
marked the entire rear and Derek could see plenty of blood and bodies. A few
survivors took potshots at them as they passed, but they were too broken to
offer any real threat. The front car was a different story. What looked like an
entire company of troops was pouring out guns at the ready.

   The soldiers hesitated for a moment when they saw the
dune buggy heading towards them. The FAVs were supposed to be on their side so
they didn’t fire at first for fear of hitting their comrades. That delay proved
fatal as Derek and Rora opened up with the FAV’s machine guns. They mowed down
the soldiers as they passed by and then shot up the train engine for good
measure. Derek considered another pass, but most of the soldiers were dead or
dying and the survivors were too disorganized to come after them.

   Rora howled with glee as they zoomed away from the
disabled train. Derek smiled, that had been a thrilling and successful rescue
mission. They had the hacker, now all they had to do was get him out of the
U.S.T.G. They needed a way to cross the border and there was sure to be other
pursuit once the troops on board the train rallied themselves. He hadn’t
thought this far ahead since he hadn’t been sure they could pull it off.

September 8, 2029

Train Tracks East of Des Moines, Iowa

   The first thing Tom felt on regaining consciousness was
pain, intense pain. It felt like he had been hit by a truck. Every muscle and
bone in his body hurt. The suit had prevented any broken bones from the fall,
but the impact had bruised every part of his body. He opened his eyes to find
Roberts kneeling over him. She gave a sigh of relief when he looked up at her.

   “Oh thank goodness, I thought you might be in a coma.”
She said as he sat up.

   “Where is everyone else?” He asked as he looked around.

   “Sasha and Valderra are dead, Storm killed them.” She
said softly. “The FAV crews are dead and most of the soldiers are dead as well.
Storm stole an FAV and shot up the train as they escaped.”

  “We have to go after them!” Tom snapped as he struggled to
his feet.

   “How?” Roberts asked him plaintively. “We’re all that’s
left and you just sustained serious injuries.”

   “Are any of the FAV’s still usable?”

   “Yes…”

   “Then go get one!” Tom ordered her. “We cannot let them
escape.”

   As she ran to the last cargo car to retrieve one of the
armed dune buggies, Tom walked slowly towards the soldiers milling about the
train. He could see rows of dead bodies laid out alongside the train and medics
working on the wounded. It was incomprehensible to him how Storm continually
managed to thwart him. It was like the man delighted in defeating and
embarrassing him. A train full of troops in U.S.T.G. territory and Storm was
somehow able to rescue the prisoner and escape.

   “Who is in charge here?” Tom demanded when he got to the
soldiers.

   “I guess I am sir.” A young sergeant responded reluctantly.
“All the other officers and noncoms are dead or seriously wounded.”

   “What about the prisoner and the targets?” Tom pressed.

   “Uh, they escaped?” The sergeant offered with a cringe.

   “And what are you doing about it!” Tom roared in the
young soldier’s face.

   “Um, what are your orders sir?” The sergeant replied
tentatively.

   “Worthless!” Tom spit as he turned and stormed away.

   A dune buggy rolled up beside him with Roberts at the
wheel and he climbed into the back. “Do we know where they went?” He asked as
he strapped himself in.

   “Yes sir. They headed southwest towards Kansas City.
Attack choppers and other units are en route.” Roberts reported.

   “Then let’s get after them.” Tom ordered. “We still have
a shot to get them back before command decides to drop the hammer.”

   He was unsure why exactly they were heading for Kansas
City, Missouri. There was nothing there. Until recently it had been the base of
operations for a large tribe of raiders, but U.S.T.G. forces had just wrapped
up a campaign to clear them out. The fighting had been brutal and had resulted
in a lot of the city being destroyed. Air strikes had finally been called in to
finish off the last few raider defenders.

   The city was largely empty, most people being killed in
the Collapse and Aftermath or had fled when the raiders moved in. Tom knew the
government had plans for the city and was currently constructing a rail depot
there. As usual, volunteers had been called for to proceed with resettlement
and reconstruction. If enough people didn’t volunteer than workers would be
conscripted. It usually wasn’t too hard to get volunteers; they got increased
benefits and were first in line for promotions when the population grew. Some
even got Party membership out of it.

   There had been a sizable military presence, but they had
been recalled when the war with the C.C.A. had proven more difficult than
expected. The veteran units in K.C. had been sent to the front lines and
replaced with a small garrison of green troops fresh out of boot camp. The more
Tom thought about it, he realized that it would be an excellent place to steal
a helicopter and quickly fly out of U.S.T.G. territory. The rookie troops there
would probably pose little threat to Storm.

   “Step on it!” He called down to Roberts.

   She responded by eking a little more speed out of the
dune buggy. The ride was very bumpy as they rattled along the hard packed Iowa
ground. It had once been open prairie but the plant virus had killed almost all
of the grasses. The bare ground had proved very susceptible to wind storms and
the heavy thunderstorms that occurred during the Aftermath. The continuing
winds kept the plains scoured free of any plant life.

   They were at least fifteen to twenty minutes behind
Storm, but they had a slightly lighter load. It was possible they could catch
up before he got to K.C., but unlikely. Their best opportunity was to catch the
fugitives from behind as they encountered a patrol in K.C. If they got there
before the heavier elements, it was possible that Tom could reclaim the hacker
first and still get rewarded.

   That was proven to be unlikely about thirty minutes later
as two F-16 fighter jets rocketed by overhead, heading in the direction of
Kansas City. If fighter jets were being called in, he knew the situation had
escalated. It was very likely the top brass would decide to just call in
airstrikes and be done with it. Within minutes Tom heard some minor explosions
followed by two earth shaking booms. Twin fireballs rose up in the horizon.
That wasn’t good.

   “Any word on what is going on up there?” He asked
Roberts.

She grabbed the radio headset and listened for a few seconds
before responding. “They have Storm cornered, but something else is engaging
our forces. It’s just up ahead.” She reported.

  In a few minutes they cleared a small bluff to find
themselves on the edge of a warzone. The downed planes were just the tip of the
iceberg. Smashed and burning tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles or IFVs lay
scattered about. Dozens more were still engaging the enemy, a male figure stood
amongst the ruins of a gas station facing a semicircle of armored vehicles.

   The tanks and IFVs were all firing as fast and as much as
they could at the metal man standing in the center of a scorched patch of
ground. Attack helicopters arrived and added their rockets and gunfire into the
fiery mix. Explosions lit up all around him and shells whizzed by him, but he
seemed unharmed and began to advance on the attacking vehicles.

   “What is he doing here?” Tom yelled in confusion.

   “I’m receiving a communication over all channels that
Derek Storm is in the area.” Roberts informed him. “It sounds like an
all-points bulletin from us, but it isn’t. And it’s playing across all
channels.”

   “That clever bastard.” Tom murmured. “He lured the metal
man here to act as a diversion for his escape.”

   “It’s working.” Roberts cried out. “Command is ordering
all available units to engage the robot, Storm is a secondary priority.”

   “Not for us.” Tom snarled. “Circle around and get back
after Storm!”

September 8, 2029

Oakview Mall, Omaha, Nebraska

   The rubble had pinned Stefan down for several hours, but
he had finally been able to blast his way free. The battle with the psychopath in
the silver mask had been exhilarating and he had lost himself in the
destruction. They had battled throughout the upper level of the mall, blasting
each other with their weapons. The rail gun hadn’t been able to penetrate his
armor, but the impacts had done internal damage. More surprising was that the
man’s armor had been able to shrug off the pulse bolts.

   He had finally been forced to use a piece of steel beam
to bludgeon the silver masked man to death. The rush he had gotten when he
bashed the man’s head in was quickly lost when multiple explosions rocked the
mall. Stefan had glanced down to see the dying man clutching a detonator. His
last action had been to bring the mall down around them and attempt to entomb
them both.

   Fortunately, the internal repair systems had repaired the
damage while Stefan lay pinned under the rubble. Then he had burst free and
flown up above the ruins of the mall. He had hovered there for a moment as he
tried to determine where Storm and the girl had gone. There was minimal
satellite coverage of the area and he was unable to find them. Frustrated he
had been forced to turn his attention to his other ongoing mission, regaining
control of the Collective.

   His current location was too far to maintain contact with
his new followers so he had been forced to leave them on auto-pilot while he
was chasing Storm. A quick trip back to Boise put him back in contact with them
and he was pleased to see that they had made great progress turning more
Collective forces to his side. Almost a quarter of the towers had been disabled
and the forces there converted. The only resistance was amongst the Humeks.
Some of them remained loyal to the existing order and were actively fighting
his forces.

    As the current leadership became aware of the growing
insurrection, they had begun shifting more Humeks to lead their forces against
the converted. Stefan could also tell that they were building more towers and
encrypting the signals with a stronger algorithm. The surge of conversion was
starting to slow. He would soon have to enter the fray himself to push the
rebellion forward. So far he had managed to keep his identity concealed, but he
would eventually have to reveal himself. At that point he would become the
focus of the current Collective leadership, so he needed to be ready before he
was forced to do that.

   Surveying the overall strategic situation, Stefan moved
some of his forces around to target weak points and create more confusion
inside the Collective. He needed to keep the current leadership busy putting
out fires while his forces grew. He was still unsure exactly who was in
control, but he assumed it to be Reinhardt. Interestingly, the current leader
had used an avatar of Doors to communicate with the Collective. Many of them
still thought him in control.

   His strategizing was interrupted as he intercepted a
communication going out all across the spectrum. It purported to be a bulletin
for U.S.T.G. troops to keep an eye out for Derek Storm near Kansas City, but
the coding was wrong. He suspected it to be a trap, but other chatter in the
area supported that information. It would only take him a few minutes to pop
over there and check it out, so he put his forces on cruise control and fired
his jet pack.

   Traveling at Mach 3 Stefan quickly passed into U.S.T.G.
territory. As soon as he did he detected two fighter jets coming fast to
intercept him. As soon as they were in range they launched their missiles at
him, but he blasted them apart and flew right through the debris field. The metal
fragments pattered off his armor but did no damage. He was traveling so quickly
that he was on top of them before they could evade and he raked them with pulse
fire as he passed by. He smirked as the two planes crashed to the ground and
exploded into giant fireballs.

   He reached the supposed location that Storm was trapped,
a ruined gas station in the middle of the plains. There was no sign of Derek,
which wasn’t a surprise. Still, he landed to check it out and see if he could
find any trace of his prey. The station had been abandoned for years, possibly
decades and there was no sign anyone had been there. There were no traces of
human presence, even on thermal imaging.

   Growling in frustration, Stefan prepared to leave. But
before he launched he heard the approach of heavy vehicles and decided to see
what was coming. Maybe they had Storm and the girl already or would lead him to
them. He waited and watched as a platoon of four tanks and two Stryker platoons
approached the gas station. They were coming to check it out just like he had,
so he prepared to leave.

  Just as he launched into the air, Stefan was struck by
incoming fire from the Strykers. The 30mm shells from their auto cannons
couldn’t penetrate his armor, but they did knock him out of the sky. He managed
to adjust and land on his feet and turned towards the attacking vehicles in
anger. Before he could return fire, the explosion from a tank shell knocked him
flying. Then all the armored vehicles were firing and the gas station became a
raging inferno of explosions and cannon fire. He could probably just leave, but
now he was mad. How dare they fire on him? Didn’t they know who he was? He
would show them.

   Stefan blasted off from the smoking ruins and launched
himself into the air above the firing vehicles. He cleared their angle of fire
and was free of the explosions. Then he crashed down to the ground, using his
reverse rockets to accelerate his fall. He smashed feet first into a Stryker,
literally flattening it. It exploded out sideways in all directions from the
force of the collision, even its tires exploded from the impact. The other
vehicles turned to fire on him, but risked hitting each other.

   Pulse fire proved ineffective on any of the vehicles and
they were buttoned up tight, so Stefan resorted to brute force. He grabbed the
barrel of one tank’s cannon and tore it off. He swung it like a bat and knocked
the turret off of one of the Strykers. Then using it as a spear he threw it at
another one of the Strykers. The heavy metal barrel sheared through the side
armor of the vehicle and caused heavy damage. The spear hit with pinpoint
accuracy and struck where Stefan knew the gas tank to be. The armored vehicle
exploded as the tank ruptured.

   Unable to fire on him, the remaining vehicles executed a
tactical retreat. They all pulled back until they were in a semicircle facing
Stefan and then they all opened fire. He managed to dodge the incoming solid
sabot rounds from the tanks, since those could probably pierce his armor. The
volume of fire from the Strykers was too much to avoid, and he began to be
knocked back from the steady stream of impacts. Now he was thinking he needed
to upgrade his armor and especially get some heavy weapons. Reinhardt was sure
to have heavier weapons and this body wasn’t designed for combat. Maybe he
needed to go retrieve that rail gun from the rubble at the mall.

   He couldn’t decide whether to stay and fight or use
discretion and retreat. There was nothing to gain by staying and he took a risk
of being damaged. The decision was made when several attack helicopters arrived
and began adding their rocket and minigun fire to the mix. Time to go. Stefan
launched into the air and headed back towards the West Coast. There would be
time to settle up later once he had his empire back. As a parting gift he shot
down one of the choppers with pulse fire as he flew away.

   He had no idea where Storm had gone, and without access
to all the satellites he had limited resources available to track him down. For
now he would have to focus on regaining control of the Collective. Storm and
the girl would pop up sometime and then he could settle the score. And next
time, he would make sure he was better armored and more heavily armed.