WE LEFT JASON’S BIKE A HALF MILE AWAY FROM THE FARM and approached the site on foot. Howie watched our approach on the main screen at 3D through a high definition video feed from the aerial drone that quietly buzzed around, fifty feet above us.
“How’s it looking, Echo?” Jason asked as the seemly abandoned farm came into view twenty meters ahead of our current position. It was pitch black out, and there were no streetlights in this part of the nearly deserted rural town in which the outpost lay. Our masks were equipped with night vision so we easily navigated our way through the abandoned farm as we headed toward the main building.
“It looks like I was correct about the underground rooms. The good news is there aren’t many people inside. I only noticed four human sized heat signatures when I scanned the building with the drone’s thermal imaging lens. This is probably a communications outpost so I don’t expect a great deal of security.”
“10-4, Echo. I’ll take point. Reaper, you get my six,” I heard Jason say through my earpiece.
“You lost the race! How do you get to take point?” I whispered.
“He’s right, Reaper. This is a stealth mission, remember?” Howie said.
“10-4,” I mumbled, begrudgingly.
“Echo, any activity above ground in the building?” Jason asked.
“Negative, Ace. All four heat signatures are below the first level.”
“10-4. Let’s move, Reaper.”
As we stealthily moved forward, I was kind of pissed, partially because Howie agreed that I shouldn’t take point and also because of the way that Jason was carrying himself. It was as though he considered himself to be our leader or something just because he paid for our suits and equipment.
His cat-like strides covered a surprising amount of ground as he glided across the distance that separated us from the warehouse. I followed closely with my head on a swivel looking for any surprises.
We paused after moving to the rear of the building. My heart was thumping so loudly that I thought Jason could hear it.
“Reaper, is everything alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I’m just trying to slow my heart rate. It’s beating so fast that it might give away our position!”
We both chuckled for a bit before Howie interrupted. “Eyes on the prize, boys.”
“10-4,” Jason and I said in unison.
Jason gently tugged the handle of the rear door.
“Locked. I’ll tag it with graffiti and you rip it open, Reaper. We’ll make it look like a random gang broke in.”
Within a matter of seconds, we were inside the dilapidated building making our way through a damp musty room.
“What’ve we got, Echo?” Jason asked.
“All clear. No movement downstairs. After you deploy the bugs and the hidden cameras I need you to make a sweep of the room. I’ll let you know when I see anything of interest,” Howie said.
Jason stealthily worked his way around the room, planting bugs and miniature hidden cameras as I stood guard in the shadows near the entrance.
Back at 3D, Howie studied the footage that streamed from the cameras fitted onto the fronts of our masks.
“Hold your position, Ace,” Howie suddenly said.
Back in the outpost, Jason stopped in his tracks.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, ready to lash out at any danger that dared to show itself.
“All clear, Reaper. Ace, I need you to bug that equipment in front of you.”
“What is that?” I asked as I stared at the strange machinery that lay near Jason.
“It’s a device that allows them to communicate electronically while simultaneously staying off the conventional grid. Bugging this will allow us to monitor all incoming and outgoing transmissions for this station.”
“Gotcha,” I said, still not completely understanding the significance of the machine.
How’s the party downstairs?” Jason asked.
“Still quiet. Open the control panel and I’ll walk you through the rest,” Howie replied.
With Echo talking him through the installation Ace had the bugs planted in a matter of minutes. We were just about to make our exit when the sounds of dirt bikes approaching startled us.
“Crap, we’ve got incoming, guys!” Howie shouted.
“How many?” I demanded clinching my fists as my heart rate increased.
“Two small vehicles. I’m picking up three heat signatures. That makes it seven on two if you guys are discovered.”
“I like those odds!” I said darkly.
“This is a re-con mission, Reaper! Remember the plan! Try to find somewhere to hide.” The desperation in Howie’s voice let me know that he somehow knew how wound up I was.
My heart thumped wildly in my chest as Ace quickly darted across the room and stowed away in a supply closet. I was frozen in my tracks as I heard voices and footsteps approached the building.
“Ace to Echo, I’ve found cover. Reaper is still visible.”
“Stand down, Reaper! This is not an offensive! You’ll jeopardize everything if you take them on now!” Howie’s voice rang in my earpiece.
I knew he was right, but the adrenaline that coursed through my veins compelled me to fight. What good was all my strength if I wasted it skulking in the shadows?
The shadows of the three figures nearing the building were cast across the entrance as they approached the door. Jason watched as I braced myself and clenched my teeth in anticipation of an impending battle.
“Reaper, snap out of it!” he hissed. The sound of his harsh whisper in my earpiece brought me out of my trance in just enough time for me to zip over to the space next to the entrance.
As I pressed my body against the wall, the three dark figures entered the building without noticing me. The swinging door hid me from their view as they proceeded forward without bothering to look behind. Their black combat gear and expressionless white masks made it evident that they were Strangers. As they strolled across the room, I fought hard to suppress the urge to charge them.
I could snap their necks before they even knew what hit them, the darker side of me thought. But I could also risk ruining my chances of getting Suspect if one of them managed to escape, the more rational side of me fired back. Not yet, I repeated to myself as I watched the three figures disappear into the level below.
Minutes later, Jason and I were zooming away into the darkness in silence.
Jason finally broke the silence as he revved the engine of his bike. “What were you thinking?” he barked.
“I wasn’t thinking. Just drop it, alright? We did the job didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but you almost compromised the mission!”
I knew he was right but he was still pissing me off.
“It’s the adrenaline. You don’t know what it’s like, man. At times, I feel like I can’t control it. I just can’t sit still when it starts flowing. It’s like I have to punch through a brick wall just to get some sense of equilibrium,” I grumbled.
“It sounds like someone needs to blow off some serious steam,” Howie offered.
“What did you have in mind, Echo?” I asked, intrigued by Howie’s tone.
“If action is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask, Reaper!” Howie said jokingly. “I can access pretty much all police communications from 3D. If you guys are up for it, I say we dish out some good old fashioned vigilante justice.”
“Hell yeah!” Jason and I chimed in unison.
“Good. Keep heading south for about thirty minutes. I know just the place.” I couldn’t see Howie’s face but I was pretty sure that he was smiling as he said that.
27. REAL POWER