Wasteland Rules: Die Fighting (The World After Book 4) (7 page)

   “Hey, I think the core exists. We just need to find
out where.” He told her.

   “And how do we do that?” She snapped.

   “Don’t take your frustration out on me.” He warned
her. “I didn’t send us on a wild goose chase, Augie did. Maybe he can make it
up to us.”

   “Maybe. I’m just disappointed that we came all this
way and all those men died for nothing.” She grumbled.

   “It’s not a total loss.” Derek pointed out. “The
N.R.T. will probably join the war against the U.S.T.G. now. That was part of
your goal wasn’t it?”

   “Yeah, but it doesn’t help complete my father’s
vision.” Rora said defeatedly.

   “You have to take wins when you can get them.”
Derek told her sagely. “Come on, let’s get out of here and get back to the
plane. Maybe Augie will have something for us.”

In the air, East of El Paso, Texas

September 14, 2029

   The Rangers had given them a ride back to the
airport and they had taken off shortly after arrival. The Rangers had left a
small contingent to secure the town and build a small outpost. It would serve
as an early warning station should Aztlan decide to attack along the
interstate. The rest of the Rangers had returned with them to the airport.
Derek had wanted to stay for the funerals of the dead Rangers, but Rora had
insisted they didn’t have the time.

   Now they were flying at top speed across the
southern states for NASA. Augie had been disturbed to find out his intelligence
had led them into a trap. It indicated that either his sources had been
compromised or there was still a traitor within NASA, or both. He had insisted
they meet in person to discuss the next steps. He thought he had a promising
lead for them, but wouldn’t share it over the radio.

   While they were flying back, Derek reviewed the
latest brief Augie had sent them on the war between the U.S.T.G. and the C.C.A.
The news wasn’t good. The U.S.T.G. had taken Bowling Green in a bloody
offensive. They had thrown waves of troops against the C.C.A.’s positions until
the defenders had literally run out of ammo. The casualties had been
ridiculously high, but the government forces had broken through and overwhelmed
the C.C.A. troops. There were reports of atrocities and the massacre of
surrendered prisoners of war.

   The U.S.T.G. forces were now moving down towards
Nashville. Every citizen who could pick up a gun was being mobilized into citizen
militia brigades to help defend the city. The troops previously needed to
contain the Reapers had been sent to Nashville, the threat diminished by Derek
and Rora’s actions in North Carolina. But they wouldn’t be enough. The U.S.T.G.
was reported to have a new supply of armored vehicles and a seemingly never
ending supply of fresh troops. Nashville might hold out for a while; but unless
they got some assistance, they were going to be defeated.

   Once the C.C.A. was out of the way there wouldn’t
be anyone capable of stopping the U.S.T.G. According to Augie’s update the
Collective was in the middle of some sort of civil war. Their units had stopped
any advances on new territory and were fighting amongst themselves. Details
were sketchy because the Collective prevented satellite coverage of their
territory. By the time they finished tearing themselves apart, the U.S.T.G.
would be in control of the rest of the country.

   They wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past
invasion of the Collective. This time they would be prepared and would come
with overwhelming force. Even the tech advantage of the Collective wouldn’t
save them. If the U.S.T.G. took over, Derek would have to leave the country.
Forget about the price on his head, he had no desire to live in a fascist
dictatorship. Maybe he would go into Mexico south of Aztlan; there would be
need of his skills there. Since there was nothing he could do about it right
now, he decided to take a nap. His body was exhausted from healing his wounds
and he quickly dropped into a deep sleep. Annoyingly, Rora shook him awake
thirty minutes later.

   “The co-pilot wants to talk to you.” She informed
him.

   With a grumble Derek got to his feet and walked up
to the cockpit. Upon entering the co-pilot turned to him and spoke. “We have an
incoming transmission for you.”

   “It can’t wait until we land?” Derek asked in
annoyance.

   “It’s not from NASA…” The co-pilot told him with a
bewildered look on his face.

   “Who’s it from?”

   “We don’t know. It’s overriding our radio system.”
The pilot said worriedly. “The only way they could do it is if they had the
codes from headquarters. That shouldn’t be possible but it is happening. ”

   “Put it on.” Derek growled. He was very curious who
was reaching out to him.

   “Storm. So nice of you to take my call.” A voice
snarled sarcastically.

   “Zabrowski?” Derek asked in disbelief. “You’re
alive?”

   “No thanks to you.” The man snapped angrily. “And
I’m going to pay you back personally for that. But first I want to make you
suffer. I want to terrorize you.”

   “I’m not afraid of you Zabrowski; I’ve already
bested you multiple times. I think we both know you can’t handle me.” Derek
said with a laugh.

   “That was before Storm.” The former Red Beret said
smoothly. “Things have changed. I’ve changed.”

   “Whatever.” Derek said dismissively. “I’m still
better than you, and messing with me has only brought you pain. So leave me
alone.”

   “I’m not the man I was. Tom Zabrowski is dead; but
he has been reborn as Deimos, god of terror!” The man thundered through the
radio. “You will pay for what you have done, YOU WILL PAY.”

   “I’m tired of this, ‘Deimos’.” Derek said
derisively. “Is there something you wanted besides babbling drivel?”

   “Very well. Have it your way Storm.” Deimos said
evilly. “I am going to take everything away from you before I kill you, and to
do that I decided to start by taking a page out of your playbook. Say goodbye
to your patrons at NASA. I’ll see you soon.”

   The former Red Beret chuckled nastily and then he
cut the transmission. The pilot and co-pilot looked at Derek with looks that
mixed scared and confused. Derek looked out the window as he tried to figure out
what “Deimos” had meant by his cryptic warning. He saw NASA in the distance and
then it hit him.

   “Turn the plane around!” He demanded urgently.

   “What?” The pilot asked, confused. “We are like ten
minutes out.”

   “Turn the plane around, NOW!” Derek demanded again.

   “What is going on?” Rora asked, having moved up to
the cockpit during the conversation with Deimos.

   Before Derek could respond there was a bright flash
of light centered on the NASA base that lit up the entire sky.  Everyone
involuntarily covered their eyes. When they uncovered them, they could see the
distinctive mushroom cloud starting to rise above Cape Canaveral. There was a
moment of stunned silence as they all realized the NASA headquarters had just
been nuked. Everyone and everything was now gone, all the technology and
expertise was now lost, and the last bastion of true learning was now
destroyed.

   The pilot and co-pilot sat there in stunned silence
and Rora made small moaning noises. All three of them were frozen in shocked
disbelief. Derek ground his teeth in anger. The so-called Deimos had indeed
taken a play out of his playbook. One that Derek would have preferred been
forgotten. He wished he had never used that backpack nuke in Savannah. All the
people at NASA had died for one man’s insane need for revenge. He had disliked
the man before, but now it was very personal. If Deimos wanted revenge then
Derek would give it to him. He would track him down and end him. But first,
they had to survive the shockwave.

   “Turn the plane!” Derek ordered the pilot urgently.
“We need to ride out the shockwave!”

   The pilot snapped out of his shocked state and
threw the plane hard right. Derek and Rora tumbled to the side of the cabin and
onto the floor as the plane banked hard. They had almost completed the turn
when the leading edge of the shockwave created by the nuclear blast struck
them. The plane was tossed violently about and was pushed up from behind. The
nose of the plane dipped dangerously towards the ground and the stall warning
began to blare. Rora screamed as the view of the ground quickly replaced sky in
the plane’s windshield.

   As the plane began to fall, the pilot and co-pilot
frantically worked the controls trying to stabilize the plane. It was creaking
ominously as the stress from the shockwave flexed the plane. Derek and Rora
hung on for dear life, helpless to do anything that would save the plane. The
pilot and co-pilot yelled almost incoherently at each other as they flipped
switches and pulled on the yoke. Finally they went to full thrust and the plane
leveled out a mere several hundred feet from the ground. As he staggered to his
feet, Derek could see the brown expanse of the ground rushing by beneath them
they were that close to the ground.

   The pilot wisely made the decision to land so they
could examine the damage. They were already almost on the ground so he found a
clear stretch of road nearby and set the plane down. The landing was rough and
they were jostled about some more, but eventually the plane came to a stop. Everyone
breathed a sigh of relief as the co-pilot locked the brakes.

   “Everyone okay?” Derek asked calmly.

   “No I’m not okay!” Rora snapped angrily. “We just
lost our only chance to recover the ARK and complete my plan!”

   “You mean your father’s plan?” Derek asked
cautiously.

   “Right, of course. My father’s plan.” Rora quickly
agreed.

   “Hey, I’m upset about this too.” Derek said
pointedly. “Someone just killed over a thousand people to get back at me.”

   “How do you manage to make your enemies hate you so
much that they will go to such extremes to get revenge on you?” She asked heatedly.

   “My charming personality I guess.” Derek retorted
sarcastically.

   “I hate to interrupt. But what do we do now?” The
pilot asked despondently. “We just lost everyone we know and love.”

   Derek looked at the man with sympathy. He saw a
wedding ring on the man’s finger and knew the pilot had just lost his wife and
very likely his kids. Every friend and acquaintance he and the co-pilot knew
had just been wiped off the face of the earth as well. There was no possibility
of survivors. Both the pilot and co-pilot looked completely lost. Their jobs
and very purpose for existing had just been eliminated as well.  

   “I have a suggestion.” The Voice suddenly said in
Derek’s ear.

   “I’m open to anything…” Derek said quietly.

   “I’m sure you are familiar with the saying ‘the
enemy of my enemy is my friend’?” The Voice replied.

   “I am.”

   “I may know more about the Faceless then I let on
to you.” The Voice told him cautiously.

   “Do tell.” Derek said through clenched teeth.

   “They are servants of one of the Illuminati, the
Discordian Society.” The Voice explained. “An organization dedicated to
creating complete chaos.”

   “How does this help us?” Derek asked loudly,
causing the others to stare at him quizzically. He held up a hand to forestall
any questions.

   “They are diametrically opposed to the Old World
Order, which is served by my former masters at the CIA.” The Voice continued.
“Since the CIA is their enemy, they are quite possibly our only remaining
friend, and the best chance at getting revenge on Zabrowski.”

   “The Voice is saying the Faceless, and by extension
Zabrowski, work for something called the Discordian Society.” Derek informed
Rora. “And that the CIA can help us find them.”

   “The Discordians are a joke, Derek.” Rora said
vehemently. “They are a bunch of crackpots following a cryptic and silly
quasi-religion.”

   “Put me on speaker.” The Voice demanded, and Derek
complied.

   “The Discordians were once a joke.” The Voice
agreed. “But a new and very sinister leader took over prior to the Collapse. He
transformed them into a legitimate Illuminati with very real and very serious
motives.”

   “If Zabrowski and the Faceless are working for them,
then they must be legitimate.” Derek agreed. “Killing thousands of people isn’t
something you do for laughs.”

   “That is true…” Rora agreed reluctantly.

   “Take the jet to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South
Dakota. I will arrange transport from there to the CIA base.” The Voice
instructed.

   “It’s that easy?” Derek asked mockingly.

   “Not exactly.” The Voice allowed. “I’m currently
persona non grata, no persona nullus jokes please; but when I explain who I am
bringing and why, they will probably let us in.”

   “Okay. It’s not like we have any other good
options. Take us to Ellsworth.” Derek ordered the pilot.

   Maybe the CIA could help, but Derek doubted it. His
interactions with them as a Special Forces operator had not been good. They
were very arrogant and exuded that obnoxious frat guy personality. He had
several friends get hurt when the CIA had given them bad intelligence and then
the spooks had blamed it on the operators. The fact that they hadn’t seen the
Collapse or the Aftermath coming and done something about it also knocked them
down a few pegs in Derek’s estimation. But, with limited options it did seem to
be the best course of action.