“What you got?” inquired Dalton, his view blocked by Flood.
“Fucker’s killed Kinney. Cut his face and throat bad. Bled him out. Goddammit.”
Dalton didn’t respond, just hung his head.
Flood understood everyone in the squad was tight, they’d fought together for several years down south. They’d all seen men die. Killed many themselves, but it’d been a long while since they’d taken a loss.
“Listen up,” said Flood, ashamed and angry. “The pipe comes to an end nearby. Whoever killed Kinney left that way. We’re going to follow and find the guy. When we do, we’re going to fuck him up. Got that?”
“Yeah, Sergeant. But what we gonna do with Kinney? We can’t just leave him here.”
Flood stared down at his fallen soldier. The sight worsened his mood. Composure shaken, he had to think straight and get his shit together. He glanced towards the end of the pipe, then back to the body beneath him. “We gotta crawl over him to get out, no choice. But Kinney won’t care. He’d want us to catch whoever did this to him. Afterwards, we’ll damn sure come back and take good care of him. For now, follow me and be ready to kill.” Haunted, hating to do it, Flood crawled over Kinney’s body.
In a minute, Flood was out of the pipe and standing on the main highway. Turning in every direction, he spotted no one. Determined, he searched for evidence. There had to be a blood trail. He looked down at the asphalt. Needing better visibility, he flipped on the headlamp and from his combat vest pulled out a small pen light. He bent over and, using the improved illumination, examined the black top. There it was: drops of blood coming from the ditch. Down the highway he followed the trail, a steady drip. He’d gone twenty meters, and then it vanished. He frowned at the suddenness. The bad guy couldn’t just vanish into thin air. Someone must have picked him up and drove away. He imagined the killer hijacking a vehicle at gun point. Flood wasn’t sure which way the bastard had gone, but the trail ended in the lane nearest him, westbound. But it didn’t matter.
With Corporal Dalton at his side, Flood flipped down his visor and checked his comms. The signal was strong. He’d call it in and have any recent vehicle traffic searched. Confidence returning, he felt close. Soon, he’d catch Kinney’s murderer and take revenge.
Chapter Twenty-One
THE TRUTH
May 9, 04:30 (PDT)
Displayed on a huge flat-screen monitor mounted on his bedroom wall, the morning news channel flickered with a boring life insurance commercial. Like most mornings at this hour, inside the White House, President of the United States George Cyrus Tower II was lying in his bed. With covers pulled to his chin, propped on pillows, he awaited his favorite news analyst. Within a moment, the advertisement ended, and he smiled when the silver-haired pundit came on the screen. Behind the talking head, images from the day’s events popped up while across the bottom of the screen salient headlines scrolled. The president listened and watched, as he did almost every day, ready to pick up the phone if warranted.
“Good morning and welcome to the Truth Network. I’m Edward Roth, and this morning we have breaking news out of Mesquite Nevada where US forces, yesterday afternoon, defeated the murderous forces of the ROAS. But first the background. We all know the story, but it bears repeating.
“This past January, to stir up civil unrest and disrupt the US political system, the ROAS ordered and carried out the brutal assassination of United States Vice President Justin Ferrier. While attending a White House dinner, two ROAS invited guests poisoned Ferrier. After being apprehended and when confronted by a host of damning physical evidence, both men confessed. But there was more. During questioning, both ROAS officials implicated President Julia Ortega as the true commissioner of the assassination…”
Lying in bed, Tower thought of his daughter. He had warned her not to marry Ferrier; something was off about the guy. Still, Ferrier’s strong family business connections and good looks appeared like a perfect match. It was only later that Ferrier’s true colors emerged. Outraged and despondent, his own beautiful daughter came to him, upset and desperate to be rid of the man. Divorce, public shame and humiliation, were out of the question. There was no pleasure in killing the man, but his unfortunate demise fit well within the bigger picture, and his daughter could no longer abide the marriage. Just like her father, she was one tough cookie, and Tower felt a tinge of pride. It had to be done, he thought, and the means justify the ends. Oh well. The president focused his attention back on the talking head.
“…afterwards, the United States issued an international arrest warrant for Ortega seeking her immediate extradition. In discordance with international law and norms, in denial of all facts and proof, the ROAS ignored the legal process. Even worse, they claimed zero responsibility for the most heinous political crime ever committed. Since then, things have gotten worse. Instead of behaving as a responsible world citizen, in defiance of all that is true and just, the ROAS responded with further hostility. Case in point: the ROAS called up its military and massed troops along key points near the US border— a clear threat to US sovereignty…”
Tower smiled. Ortega was stupid. Sending troops to the border was perfect for him. Her mistake gave him a further excuse. Besides, she and the whole ROAS were too weak, too liberal, to defend themselves. Without him, the Chinese would be all over them soon. Wiping sleep from his eyes, he continued to watch the only sanctioned news.
“…so murdering the vice president of the United States wasn’t enough; the ROAS objectives remain clear and haven’t changed. Their hatred of freedom continues to grow. Under the shining light of US truthful transparency, the socialist ROAS loathing of liberty is unmasked. The ROAS seeks nothing less than the complete overthrow of the US government and the destruction of our constitution and Judeo-Christian way of life. They seek to take away our freedoms and put us under the yoke of their immoral and tyrannical rule…”
The president laughed at the line. Reality was, the ROAS couldn’t overthrow anything. They were a mess, and without his intervention, soon they’d be eating nothing but Chinese food. Still, he sure did like Roth—the Truth Network pundit was good.
“…even with all their crimes, lies, deceptions, hate, and military posturing, the US remains patient. Throughout this most recent crisis, under the guidance and wisdom of President Tower, the US negotiated in good faith.
“Then, yesterday, after months of denials, by agreeing to extradition, President Ortega finally admitted to the greatest atrocity in the annals of political history. Sources claim this admission of guilt came only after trying to defeat our armed forces near Mesquite, only after learning the US was about to carry out the lawful execution of her accomplice in assassination, only after the US offered peaceful terms to the murderous ROAS military forces, and only after ROAS troops killed United States service men defending our border. Look at this clip just released by the ROAS press showing a female ROAS soldier, obviously brainwashed and forced into service, shooting down a US Custer aircraft. Note the animal joy she exhibits in the killing, the wanton taking of life, an emotion forced upon her by the hate-filled ROAS political leadership. Notice how the ROAS press is using this disgusting act to incite their people to further violence and bloodshed! Yesterday…”