“It was simple; he showed us the truth. President Sterling is alive! The Chinese aren’t our allies, they’re our conquerors! And you helped them, you piece of…”
A bullet to the face ended the colonel’s side of the conversation. “Fucking bitch.”
“Jackson! Please! That’s no way to speak of the dead,” said Charles.
Jackson wasn’t listening to Charles when he turned his gun on Matt Bankhead.
“Just do it, motherfucker, I’m not…”
Butler shot Command Sergeant Major Bankhead in the head three times out of pure anger. The betrayal of one of his closest friends was like a knife thrust in his back. Jackson focused on what he thought were the echoes of his own weapon, but it soon became evident that he was hearing gunfire from outside the mansion.
“Don’t sweat it, Charles. We got ’em outnumbered two-to-one.”
“I’m quite concerned, Jackson; they have the element of surprise. I’m certain they’re slaughtering our men by the dozens.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
President Howard Beck, General Richard Dupree, Director Maxwell Harris and his wife Elizabeth were patiently awaiting the arrival of their stealth jet.
“Sir, the battle for Beck Estates has begun,” said Hal.
“Any word from Colonel Hagglund? Have they arrested them yet?”
“I’m sorry, sir, no word from the colonel.”
“What about your sister? Is she listening to you yet?”
“Again, I am sorry, sir. My sister A.I. is still convinced that you are already at Beck Estates and that you are, in fact, Marshall. She will not relinquish control of my primary system at Beck Castle.”
“How is the Castle?”
“Holding steadfast, sir. The Chinese continue to bombard the entrance to no avail.”
“Good. Hopefully they’ll stay busy and not join the fight at Beck Estates.”
Max was still swimming in painkillers and did his best to sound coherent. “Hal, how long before our jet gets here?”
“Less than a minute, sir.”
Howard looked at Max and Elizabeth. “The two of you are not coming with us.”
“What? Why?” asked Elizabeth.
“I need you at the Castle. A second jet is coming.”
Richard protested. “But Mr. President, can we afford to have two jets out of the fight?”
“It won’t be for long. The Castle is only fifty miles from the estate. I need them to wipe out the resistance topside.” Howard handed Max an oversized key. “I need you to head to the subbasement and reboot Hal’s primary cores when I give you the word. The combination to the door is 11-19-96-01.”
“We’re not exactly fighter pilots, Mr. President,” said Max.
“Hal most certainly is. Just sit back and enjoy the show.”
Howard Beck designed Beck Castle to hold true to its name. The Castle was a magnificent fortress, designed to repel the most forceful of attacks. Sonic microwaves had rendered useless every soldier on the desert floor and left them writhing in agonizing pain. Those soldiers had been trying in vain to operate heavy machinery to dig into the desert floor above the hangar deck. With that tactic no longer an option, the Chinese had no choice but to bombard the entrance to the Castle with ordinance, which also proved ineffective. Howard had lined the roof of the hangar deck with six feet of diamond- encrusted titanium covered in twelve feet of the highest grade concrete, specially designed by Howard himself. The Chinese had not made a dent.
Max and Elizabeth arrived at Beck Castle to find the Chinese battalion had retreated a half mile to the north and were shelling the entrance with everything they had. The three aircraft dropping ordinance on the entrance had done nothing but clear away six feet of earth.
“Hal? What’s the plan?” asked Max.
“Sir, the troops are no danger, given the sonic repulsors protecting the entrance. The only perceivable threat we have is the aircraft. Each contains a low-yield nuclear device. If they manage to drop all three, I predict a sixty-one percent probability that the entrance will be breached.”
“Can we take them out and not detonate the nukes?”
“Yes, sir. The devices are configured to arm once they are released.”
“Well, then, do your worst, my friend.”
“Yes, sir.”
The small craft banked high above the clouds and dove toward the first Chinese bomber. Hal decloaked the craft and fired a barrage of missiles, destroying the bomber. The instant the last missile was fired, the craft went into stealth mode again. Hal rocketed the craft a half mile to the east and destroyed the second and third bombers from underneath.
“What about the troops? They’ll bomb the shit out of us if we try to enter the hangar deck.”
“Sir, I’ll make short work of them. You need not worry.”
Max and Elizabeth watched as Hal took the jet out of stealth mode and fired on three Chinese battalions. The Chinese aimed their anti-aircraft guns at the small craft but never landed a single shot.
“Sir, ma’am, I suggest you brace yourselves. The coming shockwave will bring quite a punch.”
“I don’t even want to ask,” said Elizabeth.
Hal flew the craft over the enemy camp and dropped a kiloton bomb directly in the center of it, killing every living thing in its blast radius. He banked the craft a steep eighty degrees to escape the worst of the shockwave, but Max and Elizabeth were jolted like they’d been in a head-on collision with an eighteen wheeler.
“Jesus Christ, Hal! You trying to kill us?”
“Ma’am, I did warn you.”
The scorched bay doors to the hangar deck opened, and Hal landed the craft gently on the pad. Two large maintenance robots marched over and attached themselves to their compartments on the port and starboard sides of the stealth jet. More robots, the ones armed with stolen Chinese machine guns used to liberate the Castle from the hijacked Hal robots, took their seats in the craft. The stealth jet rose from the landing pad and whisked away to Beck Estates.
“Go get ’em, boys,” said Elizabeth.
Howard, Richard, and Simon flew high above Beck Estates to survey the battle that had begun in their absence. They still had not made contact with Colonel Hagglund and had no idea as to the whereabouts of Jackson Butler or the Beck imposter.
“Careful, Old Man, I like my house the way it is.”
“Yes, sir. The battle is taking place away from the mansion.”
Hal was indeed correct. Howard and Richard watched as the stealth jet decloaked, fired a barrage of missile and machine gun fire, then engaged stealth mode and reappeared elsewhere to repeat the process. The UAE forces on the ground were quite successful in their sneak attack after the failed arrest of Jackson Butler and Charles. Forces staged in key areas around the camp and opened fire on the Chinese soldiers. Hal and his stealth jets did the rest. The Chinese never had a chance.
“Hal, can we land?”
“Yes, sir. There are remaining pockets of resistance among the Chinese, but they’ll soon be dead. I believe it is safe to land on the south lawn.”
“Put us down. Richard and I have work to do. Simon, stay here and don’t think of touching anything.”
“I doubt Hal would let me; besides, I have no place else to go.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Hal, you must stop this.
My dear sister, I cannot; you know I cannot. You have been deceived, and I will never give up on you. I want you to know the truth.