Apocalypse unleashed

18

United States 75th Army Rangers Outpost

Harran

Sanliurfa Province, Turkey

Local Time 0733 Hours

Standing over Danielle Vinchenzo, Goose leveled the M-4A1 and fired by instinct. Instead of using the assault rifle, he pulled the trigger on the M-203 grenade launcher mounted under the rifle barrel. The 40mm grenade thumped from the launcher and struck in the middle of the Bedouins.

Knowing he’d be fighting at close quarters around his own men, Goose had loaded a high-explosive round in the launcher’s chamber instead of an antipersonnel grenade. The area of effect would be reduced, and the likelihood of hurting a fellow soldier-if he used the weapon judiciously-was reduced. He felt certain the thick mudbrick walls would protect the Rangers inside the house.

The HE round exploded and flung five Bedouins backward. The lead man who had taken the brunt of the detonation was dead, his chest and face almost obliterated.

The Bedouin on the rooftop tried to keep his weapon on target. Rounds chewed into the mud bricks beside Goose. At least one of them ricocheted off his Kevlar vest and drove some of the wind from his lungs.

Forcing himself to remain standing and alert, Goose pulled the M-4A1 toward the Bedouin and slid his finger over the carbine’s trigger. He stitched a three-round burst from the Bedouin’s right hip to his left shoulder. The man stood for just a moment, then toppled from the roof.

By that time the Bedouins on the ground had semirecovered. They fumbled for their weapons and brought them up as Goose fired the M-4A1. The bullets chopped two of the Bedouins down, but two others escaped.

“Falcon Eleven.” Goose had to force the words from his mouth as his lungs labored for air. The run and then the ricochet had left him short of breath.

“I’m reading you, Sarge.”

“You got two hostiles in your twenty. I’m right outside. How are you?”

“Got a man down, Sarge. He’s leaking all over the place. I’ve been hit.”

“Affirmative. You sit tight, and I’ll come get you out of there.” Goose looked back at Danielle.

The reporter lay sprawled in the dirt, just now getting her breath back. Dirt covered one side of her face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

“That was a brave thing you did, ma’am, but you need to stay back now. This is going to be bloody.”

Danielle nodded.

Staying low, the carbine held across his body, Goose sprinted across the open space. His knee ached but held together. The sounds of the battle and the approach of the Syrian heavy armor echoed all around him. The sun beat down on him unmercifully.

Somewhere ahead of him, at least two hostiles were in motion, and the close-set houses were a rat’s warren.

United States of America

Fort Benning, Georgia

Local Time 0034 Hours

Aching inside, Megan watched the video footage of the battle in Harran. She hated how helpless she felt while Goose laid his life on the line.

The picture was tagged with a slug line at the bottom: Live Feed from Special OneWorld NewsNet Correspondent Danielle Vinchenzo.

On the television screen hanging from the ceiling in the break room, Goose went forward into the mass of bodies that had been scattered by his weapon. The camera followed his movement, and the swaying camera motion only added to the sick feeling churning Megan’s stomach.

“You just hold on to yourself, girlfriend.” Evelyn threw her arms around Megan and held her fiercely. “That man of yours is savvy. He knows what he’s doing.”

“I should be there.” Megan’s voice was hoarse. “I should be there. Not here. Those men over there, they don’t have anybody. With the situation being what it is, they’re not going to come home anytime soon. The Bible talks so much about the final battle being fought in the Middle East.” She shook her head and fought her tears. “That’s where they’re going to serve until this thing is finished.”

“You don’t know that.”

Goose kept moving forward till he disappeared around the house.

Danielle Vinchenzo, captured in the camera’s eye, waited a moment. Then she grabbed the cameraman’s sleeve and pulled him forward. From the erratic movement of the camera, it was easy to see that his compliance was anything but willing.

“I do know that.” Megan tried to hold on to that last view of Goose. “Those men are going to be there. As long as they’re able to fight. The Holy Land is going to be the eye of the storm.”

“Megan’s right,” one of the other women gathered in the break room said. “When the Antichrist comes-and he will-events are going to unfold over there that are going to bring about the end of days. It’s all in the Bible. All you have to do is read it.”

“That doesn’t mean those men are going to be the ones stuck over there.” Evelyn remained stubborn.

“They will be,” Megan said. “The Rangers are always put in the line of fire.” And she couldn’t imagine Goose stepping away from the duty he’d sworn to see through.

“We should be there,” a young woman said. Tears ran down her cheeks as she watched the television.

Megan looked at the woman, whose words echoed her own thoughts. They should be there. Those of them that still had family members in Turkey should be with them.

Gunshots cracked through the television speakers. Megan jumped. Evelyn tightened her grip and offered soothing encouragement.

I should be there, Megan thought and felt guilty that she hadn’t realized that before.

United States 75th Army Rangers Temporary Post

Sanliurfa, Turkey

Local Time 0735 Hours

Cal Remington watched the action on the television feed that had opened on one of the computers. Danielle Vinchenzo’s reports from ground zero couldn’t be ignored. The fact that she was, again, so close to Goose- like a bad penny, Remington couldn’t help thinking-displeased the captain. But the intel she was sending back about what was taking place in the city was valuable.

Remington was torn as he watched Goose move carefully through the ancient city’s narrow streets. On one hand, it would have been easier if Goose were killed or medevaced out. The schism that was starting to pull the Rangers in two directions would heal. Or at least not be exacerbated.

The problem was that Goose was also the one man Remington knew he could count on to get the job done when the chips were down.

“Captain Remington,” one of the security team said from behind the captain.

Remington answered without turning around. “Busy, soldier.” He watched Goose sweep the alley with his assault rifle, then glance back at Danielle Vinchenzo and wave her away.

“Yes, sir,” the guard said. “But CIA Special Agent Alexander Cody says it’s urgent that he speak with you at this time.”

The CIA section chief’s name grabbed Remington’s attention immediately. Cody was a dangerous man. He was also a direct conduit to Nicolae Carpathia.

Remington nodded. “Bring him forward.”

“Yes, sir.” The corporal spun and trotted back.

Remington kept his attention riveted on the television broadcast and computer monitors relaying the live video feeds from other news network and satellites. He glanced at the Syrian cavalry leaving a line of dust in the terrain. They’d fed up the main highway from Syria, then spread out into the foothills.

“Lieutenant Archer.”

“Sir?” The lieutenant turned from the marker board where he was doing the latest update.

“What’s the ETA on the Syrian forces?”

“Minute, minute and a half, sir.”

CIA Section Chief Alexander Cody stepped into a position next to Remington. The agent looked tired and worn. Under the baseball cap, his short-clipped black hair seemed to have gone grayer at the temples. Wraparound sunglasses masked his eyes. He wore a light Windbreaker over khakis and a white golf shirt. Combat boots completed the ensemble.

“Captain.” Cody’s voice was a dark rumble.

“I take it you weren’t looking forward to this meeting,” Remington said.

Cody’s answer was unflinching. “No.”

Remington glanced at the wave of advancing Black Hawk helicopters on one of the computers and raised his voice. “Lieutenant?”

“Sir?”

“Where are my helos?”

“Four minutes out from Harran, sir. Making good time.”

“Com.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Open a frequency to Black Angel.”

“Roger, sir. You’ve got a frequency… now.”

“Black Angel Leader,” Remington greeted, “this is Base.”

“Affirmative, Base. Black Angel Leader reads you.”

“I appreciate the haste. Those men there at the site will appreciate it more.”

“Affirmative, Base. Looking forward to spreading the love with those hostiles.”

“The Rangers there have orders to pull out shortly before your arrival.”

“Understood, Base.”

“Those Rangers need your support to effect a successful exfiltration. Equally important, we need to damage as much Syrian hardware there as we can.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“I’m counting on it. Good luck, Black Angels.” Remington glanced at the television feed again and watched Goose for a moment. “Now, Section Chief Cody, what brings you back to my watch? The last I recall, we weren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

“Since your sergeant wrecked my communications site, I haven’t had much cause to be exactly trusting of you.”

“Right back at you.” Remington didn’t look at the man.

“If I hadn’t been ordered to work with you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Remington smiled cruelly. “Just because you’ve been ordered to work with me doesn’t mean I’m going to work with you.”

“You will.” Cody sounded far too sure of himself.

“Why?”

“Because we share the same mysterious benefactor.”

Nicolae Carpathia. The name hung between Remington and the CIA man like a weeping sore.

As if on cue, Remington’s sat-phone vibrated. He hauled it from his BDUs and checked caller ID. Nicolae Carpathia showed on the viewscreen. The number was in New York. Remington knew Carpathia had recently been appointed as leader of the United Nations.

Feeling a little nervous, Remington flipped the phone open.

“Remington.”