Radioactive Omnibus- A Prepper Survival Story (18 page)

Her hand finally went into his and he clasped both hands over hers, his face fading into a sad, condoling expression.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Chase.

Samantha’s voice cracked from the dryness in her throat.

“Thank you.”

Chase walked her to a seat at a table that was obviously brought in from somewhere else. The desk was the only clean thing in the office and looked like it belonged in the waiting room of a high power attorney.

One of the guards from the entrance brought in a tray of drinks and sandwhiches from the cars outside.

“Hungry?” Chase asked.

“No, thank you,” said Samantha.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind me indulging,” Chase said, reaching for one of the sandwiches on the plate. “I’ve been so busy today I haven’t had a chance to eat a thing.”

Chase took a bite of the sandwich, leaning back into his chair. He poured himself a glass of water.

“Dry,” he coughed. “Not enough mayonnaise I think.”

Samantha pulled her purse onto her lap and removed the folder containing the codes. She placed them on the table, sliding them across to Chase.

Derrick picked up the folder and thumbed through the pages. Once satisfied that these were the codes they needed, Derrick nodded to Chase.

“Excellent!” said Chase, clapping his hands together. “Send that to our plant and have them start programming.”

Derrick stuck the papers into his briefcase, locking the latch and handed it to the guard who had brought the tray of food in. He disappeared with the briefcase outside.

“Now it’s your turn. What did my husband do for you?” she asked.

Chase put the sandwich down on the plate, wiping his fingers with a napkin.

“Your husband was one of our most talented engineers,” said Chase. “He played an incredibly vital, and frankly, irreplaceable role for me.”

“He planned the attacks?” she asked.

“Not all of them, but a majority, yes,” Chase nodded. “I wish you could have known your husband like I did, Mrs. Kearny, but I suppose that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

Samantha shifted in her seat. The brothers stared at her. She could feel the beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead.

“Yes,” she replied.

“But that’s not the only reason you’re here. You’re also here to spy on us for General Locke and your brother Jim, correct?”

Chase’s voice dropped a bit as he finished his words. His cordial attitude began to fade as the same guard walked in and handed Chase a tablet. “When was the last time you saw the good General?” Chase asked, tapping a few points on the screen of the tablet.

“I haven’t seen him since Phoenix,” she said.

“Well, I hope you left on good terms,” Chase said, sliding the tablet to Samantha.

Samantha slowly picked up the tablet. Her hands started to shake as she looked at a picture of Locke’s dead body laying on his office floor. Her eyes went from the tablet’s screen back to Chase.

“Go to the home page,” said Chase.

She gripped the tablet between her fingers as she pressed the home button. Her heart beat faster as the home page opened.

“Press the video icon,” Chase ordered.

Samantha found the video camera icon on the screen and her hand hovered over it; she didn’t dare press it, afraid of what she might see.

“Press it,” Chase repeated.

Samantha touched the screen and a video stream opened. She gasped and covered her mouth as she saw her daughter in the corner of a room sitting with her knees in her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

Chase stood up and walked around to Samantha’s chair. He leaned next to her ear and whispered. His hot breath beating the side of her face.

“There isn’t anyone we can’t hurt. There isn’t anything we can’t do. So you’re going to cooperate with whatever we need you to do, understand?”

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” she said.

Derrick laughed.

“What? You think your brother will save you?”

“He might not be able to save me, but he’ll get my daughter. And then he’ll kill the both of you.”

Chase snapped his fingers and two guards entered grabbing Samantha by her arms and lifting her from the chair. She struggled against them, her screams echoing off the grimy walls of the office.

“He’s going to kill you! I swear to god if you hurt my daughter! You bastards!”

Brett heard the screams from inside the building. He clicked his radio on.

“Jim,” he whispered. “Something’s up.”

Jim’s voice came through Brett’s radio. “What’s happening?” he asked.

Brett looked back through the scope, but then looked above him as he heard the sound of a helicopter approaching. The blades whirled louder as it neared the rear of the building in a small clearing. Brett went back to his scope and saw Samantha being carried out by two men. Brett also saw three guards around Chase and Derrick.

“They’ve got Samantha and they’re taking her to a chopper.”

Jim smacked Coyle on the shoulder and told him to drive. Coyle peeled out of their hiding spot and onto the highway. Jim knew it would take them at least four minutes to get to Brett’s location. He reached back for his radio again.

“Brett, can you engage?

Brett racked the chamber back on the rifle.

“Affirmative.”

He put the rotors of the chopper in between his crosshairs. The blades came into view as they swirled, preparing for take off. Just before they threw Samantha in the helicopter, Brett guided his finger to the trigger and squeezed. The bullet exploded from the rifle and tore through the back rotor of the chopper. Chase’s guards circled around him and rushed back to the building. Brett lined up another shot and squeezed the trigger. The bullet made contact with the helicopter’s tail again causing smoke to plume. He caught a glimpse of Chase and Samantha being hurried back into building. Brett clicked on his radio.

“Chopper’s down. They’re back in the building and heading for the vehicles.”

The van containing Jim and Twink sped down the highway.

“We’re two minutes out,” Jim replied.

Jim loaded a clip into his rifle. Coyle kept the gas pedal floored.

Back in the building Chase screamed at his guards. “Get the cars and pull them up to the door. We’ll use them as cover to get out.”

Samantha remained in the grip of one of Chase’s men. Before the guards took off outside Chase grabbed Samantha and held her arms behind her back; putting a gun to her side.

“Go!” Chase ordered as his men filed out the door.

Brett watched the men sprint toward the cars. He set one of the guards in his cross hairs. The man was fast. Brett kept a bead on him. His finger lingered on the trigger, waiting for the right shot, then he squeezed. The bullet caught the guard right in the back of the skull. He collapsed to the ground with a shower of his own blood raining down on him.

The three other guards made it to the vehicles. The sedans made a beeline to the front entrance of the ware house. Chase, Samantha, and Derrick ducked out and into the cars.

Brett reloaded more rounds into his rifle.

“They’re on the road heading north,” Brett said into his radio.

“Roger that,” Jim replied from his van.

Coyle’s hands gripped the wheel as the landscape flew by them.  He turned around to Jim.

“We should be running into them soon,” Coyle shouted.

Jim could see a sedan speeding in their direction.

“That’s them,” he pointed and Coyle slammed on the breaks as the sedan flew past them.
Chase whipped around to look through the back window. Smoke from the tires of the van flew into the air as it made a one-eighty.

“Faster!” Chase screamed. The van was gaining on them. Derrick cuffed Samantha’s hands to the passenger seat door as the guard floored the gas pedal. 

Jim climbed into the passenger seat of the van and rolled down the window.

“Get as close as you can,” he said to Coyle. The car was close. Only fifty yards separated them.

Inside the sedan, Chase and Derrick scrambled for their weapons. Derrick pulled a pistol from his jacket and handed it to Chase. The two of them rolled down their windows.

Twenty yards apart.

Jim leaned out of the van and tried to line up a shot as the wind made it difficult to keep his rifle steady. He lined up the sedan in his sites as best he could and sent a spray of bullets into the trunk of the sedan.

Ten yards apart.

Chase and Derrick leaned out of their windows. Half of their bodies were outside the car as the two brothers took aim.

“Shoot the engine!” Chase shouted.

The brothers emptied their clips into the hood of the pursuing van.

Coyle tried to swerve out of the way, nearly causing Jim to fall out, but it was too late. Coyle saw the speedometer decreasing. Smoke started billowing out of the engine and regardless of how many times Coyle kept slamming the gas pedal, they continued to slow. “Shit!” Coyle screamed.

As their van finally came to a halt, Jim watched the sedan fade further into the distance. He pulled himself back inside and clicked on his radio.

“Brett,” Jim said.

Brett had his rifle over his shoulder as he made his way from the chopper. The pilot slumped over in his seat with a bullet in his head.

“Still here, Jim,” Brett replied. “What’s your status?”

The doors of the van flew open as Jim, Twink, and Coyle piled out.

“We lost them. The van’s shot,” Jim responded.

Jim pressed his hands up against the side of the van and leaned into it, his head down. His whole body began to shake and he slammed his fist into the side of the van, denting it. He beat it again and again and the dent grew.

Jim stopped and backed away from the van. His chest heaved up and down.

“Get Locke on the radio. Let him know we need some air support at our location and to turn on the tracking device in Samantha’s phone.”

Twink nodded and jumped back into the van. Coyle walked over to Jim.

“We’ll get her back, Jim,” Coyle said.

“Jim,” Twink called out.
 

“What?” Jim asked.

Twink didn’t know how to form the words he’d heard over the radio. His mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing came out.

“Where’s Locke?” Jim shouted.

Twink just shook his head as smoke continued to rise from the van’s engine.

Jim glanced back down the long highway. His hands at his sides clinched tight into fists. He was running out of resources, out of time, and out of patience. He had three men left that he knew he could trust and now he had to face a man with unlimited resources, unlimited time, and unlimited patience.