Authors: Everette Morgan
The Reunion (8 page)
To keep her mind off going and looking for him, Marcus decided to send Kim with the MAV to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville to get a replacement for the bad solar collector on the second MAV and to get the machine gun attachment for the drone. He had been there before and thought that as long as the area was cleared by Jocelyn and the drone she shouldn’t have a problem getting in and out. Plus, he knew his sister was tough and wouldn’t break if an emergency came up.
Marcus and Kim were loading the MAV and getting ready for the trip when Wynd asked to speak to Marcus alone. She took him aside and encouraged Marcus to go with Kim. Kim and Marcus hadn’t been around each other for several years. She had left for the military the year before the virus hit so it had been quite a while. Marcus wanted to stay but decided that Wynd was right about it being a good opportunity to spend some time with his sister. The trip wouldn’t take but a couple of days so he decided to go. They attached the trailer to the MAV so that they could load up with as much as they could find.
Due to the dinosaur migration they had to make several detours and stops. Roads were blocked and trees were down everywhere. Back before the virus hit, it would have taken about two hours to get there. It took them over six hours to get there today.
Redstone is a large place. Marcus had been there at least three times before and still hadn’t covered all the buildings on the property. Even that wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t stumbled across an email mistakenly sent to one of the places he had scoured. Apparently someone connected with Redstone had sent out a file with the access codes because they were shutting the place down. After inputting them into Jocelyn, he basically had access to over ninety-five percent of the base.
The two parts they were looking for took about an hour to find and locate. Jocelyn pinpointed their location but they were located in two separate buildings. Satisfied they had found the parts they were wanting, Marcus and Kim began loading the MAV and trailer with extra supplies and ammunition they found. They also found an upgraded model of the drone. It was larger than the ones they already had and wouldn’t fit in the trailer. Marcus and Kim took the drone outside to let it set in the sun. Hopefully after about an hour charging in the sun, Jocelyn could fly it home.
Later, after they had almost finished loading the trailer, they decided to stay for the night in one of the buildings that Marcus hadn’t been in before. It had a canopy shield but the command module was missing so it wasn’t active. Jocelyn was able to connect to it and activate it for the night. Before turning in for the night, Marcus and Kim investigated most of the building except for one level.
The bottom level, which was three stories underground, was off limits and Jocelyn went through every access code but was unable to access that level. It was active even without the shield being active. Marcus had an idea and had Jocelyn create an algorithm using the other codes that he had and began trying codes that it generated. It took about an hour and over two trillion codes before she hit the right one. Once she cleared it and shut down the defense grid for the level, Marcus and Kim went to investigate.
Once they were in, they realized why this level was so protected. It was one arm of the strategic defense command for the eastern United States and everything was still operational. Over five years without any human contact and the system was still up and running. Marcus was impressed. This level held the defense controls for the entire east coast of the United States. Marcus had Jocelyn analyze the system and give him an update of its capabilities. It took until about midnight for her to compile all the information.
“Marcus, I have finished analyzing the system and its capabilities,” she said.
Marcus waved Kim over and had Jocelyn use the external speakers of the room to talk.
“The defense system for the eastern United States is still approximately fifty percent operational. This system is currently linked to six other operational command centers across the eastern U.S. Missile capability stands at seventy-three percent. Air defense stands at sixty-seven percent. Naval defense stands at thirty-percent. Land defense stands at forty-one percent. Of course, these percentages are contingent upon having the human manpower to fill positions. Without the manpower, the total operational status of the system is approximately twenty-five percent,” she stated.
“Have the defenses for the other command centers been breached?” asked Marcus.
“No. Although two of the centers are currently occupied, the command center’s security remains intact,” she said.
“Do you know who is occupying the centers?” asked Kim.
“One center has a group of unknowns and one is occupied by the Jackals,” said Jocelyn.
Marcus thought for a minute and asked Jocelyn to run facial recognition on all the people at both centers and let them know if she found anything interesting. He knew it might take some time for the camera to pick up the faces so Marcus and Kim decided to get some sleep and see if Jocelyn found anything before they left in the morning.
Chapter Twenty Three
The next morning they woke up and ate the breakfast they had packed and got ready to leave. Jocelyn was still processing. She told them that she had processed approximately every face besides a couple of the prisoners at the base.
“Prisoners? What kind of prisoners do they have?” asked Marcus.
“The ones at this base are mostly there for slave labor. Several farm an area on the outside of the base to supply food. Others clean and maintain the base,” she said.
“Okay. Jocelyn, we are ready to leave. Can you close this level and secure it? And possibly maintain a connection with the base?” he said.
“Yes, Marcus. With the access codes and the control of this level I am able to have full control of anything operational at this base and the other bases,” said Jocelyn.
“Okay. That’ll work. Come on Kim. Let’s head for home,” said Marcus.
Before Marcus and Kim could leave, Jocelyn spoke up again, “Marcus, I have picked up someone on facial recognition.”
Marcus and Kim both looked at the large screen that crossed the wall. It was a picture of man working in a garden with a hoe. He was wearing a dirty jumpsuit full of holes, he was extremely undernourished, and he was extremely dirty himself. Jocelyn zoomed in closer on his gaunt face. The man had been beaten up and had dried blood on his face. Marcus and Kim both looked at each other and then again at the screen. There was no doubt. The man they were looking at was their brother David.
The End
…if you enjoyed this, be sure to be on the lookout for the fourth installment of Tomorrow’s Past entitled “Tomorrow’s Past: The Raid” by Everette Morgan. Marcus and Kim go after their brother and is someone about to find Marcus’ protected haven? Thanks to everyone that purchased this novella.
About the Author:
Everette Morgan lives with his wife and kids in the most northwestern part of Georgia at the southern tip of the Appalachian mountain chain. His hobbies include fishing, hunting, sleeping, and reading… sometimes all at the same time. This is his third venture into writing. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and you can leave any comments/suggestions at
[email protected]
. Also, be sure to ‘like’ his page on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/EveretteMorgan480
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Check out his other books on Amazon Kindle.
1.
Tomorrow’s Past: The Hunt
2.
Tomorrow’s Past: The Rescue
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