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Patrick
The lights went out briefly while the screens flickered but managed to stay on. The only images we can see now are from the cameras wired into the house’s electrical system. The barn and paddock cameras all went dark, along with any cameras within a quarter of a mile radius. A few beeps punctuated the silence as the microwave and oven clocks reset.
“Woo wee! I can’t believe it worked! I thought Ethan was being overzealous when he installed it, but I have to give him kudos,” my dad hollers.
“What happened? How were they able to cut power to the barn and outbuildings? And what are you talking about?” I ask in rapid fire, utterly baffled.
“Son, your bosses outfitted this ranch house with an EMP shield. It’s a device that’s attached to the breaker box, and it acts like a Faraday cage, dispelling the electromagnetic pulse of energy before any of the electronic components can be overloaded. Those men out there came prepared, but I’m sure they’re a little shocked to see that we still have power,” he says, all smiles.
“You’re like a kid in a candy store, Don.” Despite his joke, Jerry’s tone indicates he isn’t as happy about the turn of events as my father seems to be.
“What’s the matter, Jerry? I thought you, of all people, would think it’s a cool toy. You’re almost as geeked out over electronics as my boy here.”
“If I had known you had one of those shields, I wouldn’t have set up over a quarter of a million dollars worth of surveillance equipment in the bunkhouse, which is likely ruined now. I would have set it up in the basement instead,” Jerry growls.
“Oh. Sorry.”
I grip Jerry’s shoulders, “Don’t worry, Jerry. Ethan isn’t going to take it out of your paycheck. Let it go for now because we need to get moving before those guys outside do something even crazier than detonating an EMP. We have a slight advantage since things didn’t go as they planned. We should get going while they’re still confused.”
“Alpha One, this is Alpha Three,” Savannah calls out.
“Go for Alpha One.”
“Jordain’s men are not coming out into the open like I expected them to. They are skirting the tree line, heading South toward Juliette’s men. If you are going to do something, now would be the time. We don’t want them to rendezvous and then attack in full force. Do you want me to stay in position or join you?”
There’s no point in Savannah staying put if she can’t get a clear shot. “Join us by circling around toward Delta Two, but only if you can get there undetected. Mama and Papa Bear, you two defend the den and flip the breaker. The rest of us will try to flank Julietta’s men and incapacitate them before Jordain’s guys beat us there.” I bark out.
My dad does as I ask, and within 30 seconds, we’re cast in darkness. We immediately flip down our NVDs and turn them on, heading for the west exit. It’s in the opposite direction of our targets but should provide us enough cover to loop around behind Julietta’s men. Hopefully, it will be in time.
As soon as we leave the house, we have our weapons in the ready position in the event that we come under fire. God is on our side because we make it to the woods undetected. I pray the rest of the way will be as easy.
“If they used an EMP, why didn’t our cellphones and earpieces get fried,” Jessie asks as she moves fast but steadily through the brush.
I’m about to answer her, but Jerry beats me to it. “The antennas are too small. We might experience some degradation as we continue using them, but they should be all right for what we need to do. We’ll resort to using our comm-out procedures if they fail.”
When we get closer to our destination, I see movement about 100 yards ahead of us and realize that Savannah still hasn’t regrouped with our team.
“Alpha Three, Alpha One,” I say.
“Go for Alpha Three,” Savannah replies.
“What’s your status?”
There’s silence for a moment, and then her voice comes through in a whisper, “I didn’t have the opportunity to rally up with you without being spotted. I’m following Jordain’s men to catch them by surprise so that when you encounter them, their attention will be on you, not me.”
“Roger, that.” I point my weapon toward the movement and hold up my fist with a single digit, informing the team silently that the range to target is approximately 100 yards. Jerry and Jessie each head in opposite directions from me so we can stagger our approach and split their focus.
I’m less than fifty feet away when a muzzle flash lights up the night, and the sound of gunfire echoes through the trees. I take cover, even though it wasn’t aimed in our direction.
“The area’s hot,” I say as two more shots ring out. When I get close enough, I take aim and discharge my weapon using the nonlethal rounds, watching as one of Julietta’s men falls to the ground. Once the guard next to him notices that we’re there, he points his gun at me. I roll to the left just in time and hear the bullet as it wizzes by my head.
“Take cover!” My team doesn’t waste time following the directive, but another one of Julietta’s men falls in the process.
“I don’t think they’re shooting at us!” Jessie whispers loudly into her comm.
A bullet ricochets off the tree I’m behind, pieces of bark pelting my skin. “Speak for yourself. At least one of them has me in their sites. If either one of you can figure out who it is and take him out of the fight, I’ll buy you a car.”
“I want a 1967 Stingray Corvette!” Jerry says as he takes aim, shoots, and hits his mark. Not only does his target fall to the ground but so does the man next to him.
