chapter 4

The large sea serpent bellowed and pulled its massive head under water. Arnold was still trying to get in a single breath of air into his lungs. He was soaked from all the sea water and his hair was a mess. He was getting far too old for all this. His bad knee was acting up again. He sat down and draped his M16 across his legs. Lorth was barely standing. He was leaning on his cane. Only eight of them had made it. After they had sent out the warning message to O’Neil more of those lizards had smashed the door down. Arnold and the six of his men had shot them down but more were coming and that really big lizard had taken a large chunk out of the bridge view port. They escaped out a side door and found Lorth out by the side of one of the gunwales. One of the sailors carried Lorth on his back. There was no other choice but to jump over board. Once in the water they swam for the dock. But before they reached it these sea serpent creatures attacked them. Two of his sailors were snatched up by them. Arnold and the others managed to climb on to the dock and fight them from land. Now there was only eight of them. Arnold hauled himself up.

“Come on boys let’s get inside.” He said to them. They entered the elevator and took it to the first floor. The lobby was the same from what they had seen on the cameras. If Arnold remembered right there was a control room down the hall that they could hold up in. The light on the key pad was green. Charles and his boys hadn’t locked it when they left. He put his hand on the door and it slid up. It was exactly the same it had been on the monitors back in the ship.

“Alright boys we’ll hold up here for now.” He said. “Markus you and Robert will take a look at the computer system find O’Neil and the other.” He was tired as hell. He sat down in a little corner and leaned his head back. The others were finding similar places to relax. He closed his eyes and fell into the quite calm of sleep.

He was shaken awake by what seemed like a second later. Marcus and Robert were standing over him.

“What time is it?” He asked. If they had woke him up for nothing he’d kill them.

“It’s ten in the morning sir.” Marcus said. “There’s something you should see.”

Marcus held out a hand for him. Arnold took it. Markus and Robert took him to one of the monitors. Robert pointed at the screen. On the monitor Arnold could see a large Hovercraft. It looked like it was in a large cavern full of water.

“A Hovercraft, well that’s lucky. He said. “But where is that.”

Marcus typed in some figures on the key board for the monitor. A diagram for the facility appeared on the screen.

“The reason there is a Third sub level of the facility is because there are cave passages that run under the whole island. There are several different entrances to these cave tunnels.” Marcus said. He typed on the key board some more. This is the Harbor it is built in side a large cavern. All the tunnels lead to this cavern. So a harbor was constructed there. Ships enter through one of these openings then sail their ships through the tunnels and unload their cargo at the harbor.”

Marcus pointed to a smaller cavern next to the large cavern. “This is where the Hovercraft is, it’s in a cavern separate from the larger one. They sealed off the entrance to the cavern with a large metal door. The door opens so that’s not a problem.”

“Well how do we get to the Harbor?” Arnold asked.

“We looked that up too.” Robert said. “There is a customs room for visitors; Kirk no doubt was going to have officials from several countries here. That’s one way to get to the harbor; the other is a side hatch from a concrete tunnel system that runs under the whole island. There’s a video feed of the conference room.” Robert told him.

“Well what are you waiting for? Put it on the screen.” He ordered.

Marcus typed some more and a video screen popped up.

“What the hell?” Arnold said. On the screen they saw a red haired man holding a large gun carrying a blond haired girl. He was aiming the gun at O’Neil and the others.

Arnold began to talk fast. “Robert you wake the others, Marcus we’ll take the other way and nab the red heads. That’s probably Kirk.” Robert woke the others and Marcus memorized the way. Arnold explained the situation to the other.

“Let’s get moving time is of the essence.” He said. He ran out of the control room the other followed behind him. He ran down the passage past the med station and through the forest path. He didn’t let up for a second. He ran right through the cloning station. He only stopped at the elevator. He hooked up a hand scanner to the key slot. After a few minutes it beeped and the doors slid open. They entered the elevator. Arnold pushed the B3 icon on the touch pad screen. The elevator doors shut and the elevator moved. It stopped and the doors opened. He ran for the B3 control room. He pushed the door open. He ran to the second door and pushed it open. He ran left along the large concrete tunnel the other hot on his heels. His legs were hurting and his breathe was coming in short. If he didn’t get to that hovercraft first they would be trapped on this island forever. He ran faster pumping his leg muscles. He saw the hatch up ahead. He didn’t slow down. He banged into the metal hatch and started spinning the wheel. His face and chest were hurting from the impact. He shoved the hatch open and ran full pelt down the hallway. He barged through a stenciled door and found himself in the harbor. Three large cranes towered over head. Large metal crates were stacked along one wall of the cavern. He took a moment to breathe since he found himself lost. Marcus ran up beside him with the other sailors in tow.

“This way sir,” Marcus said. He ran off towards a metal door at the other end of the Harbor. At least Marcus knew the way. Arnold thought. He took in a deep breath and ran after him. Marcus held the door open for the rest of them.

“Down the hall,” He said told Arnold. Arnold didn’t let up. He continued to run down the hallway. He saw a open door to his right. He burst through it and saw that Kirk had put the young women down. He saw Arnold and lifted his gun. But Arnold had never let up for a second. Even as Kirk was lifting his gun Arnold was almost to him. He barreled into him and pushed the gun away from him. Kirk had pulled the trigger at the same time Arnold had knocked it aside. A bolt of blue lightning shot out of the barrel and hit the wall behind Arnold. Arnold wrestled the gun out of his hands. The others had arrived. Marcus and Robert grabbed Kirk and forced him down to the ground. Arnold took a moment to breathe they did it. They got Kirk and secured the only way off the island. Hell of a day. Arnold thought.


O’Neil struggled up. The others were trying to do the same. He had to stop Kirk.

He was going to be damned if they were going to spend the rest of their life here. He stumbled after them. ‘Adrenalin huh well two could play at that game.’ He thought “Jessie…” He began to say but Jessie was already tossing him an injector. The great thing about Jessie was that he wasn’t stupid if O’Neil came to a conclusion then so did Jessie. Special Forces medics like Jessie were equipped with an arsenal of the best medical equipment, Including steroids and special adrenalin shots. Adrenalin was a very useful thing especial for the tired and weary. He injected himself with the adrenalin. After a minute he could feel the air rush into his lungs he felt energized as if he could run a thousand marathons. But all adrenalin rushes lasted for only a little while. He shouldered his gun and ran. He really pushed it. If the adrenalin wore off before he reached Kirk then O’Neil would be beat down again and maybe this time Kirk would just shoot him. If Kirk shot him with the T-rifle…, He ran faster. If he was going to die then he was going to give the others a chance to live. On the walls were little signs that pointed the way to the Harbor. He followed the signs on the walls until he found the port where the hover craft was housed. He readied himself t to take on whatever Kirk had to through at him. When he got there he was stopped dead in his tracks by what he saw. Kirk was sitting on a wooden crate hand cuffed, Carmen was checking out the Hovercraft, and Commander Arnold, Lorth and six of the ships sailors were there. He couldn’t help but laugh. They all spun around to see him.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” O’Neil asked shaking his head.

“Well when the ship was over run we got out onto the deck and jumped overboard that was a bad Idea.” Arnold said. “The water was full of sea serpents two of my men were dinner for the cocksuckers. We got to the dock and held up in the control room delta force found. Then we saw on the monitors what was happening back in that room with yall and Kirk so we found an alternate root and took him by surprise.” Kirk was sulking staring at the ground not saying anything. O’Neil guessed that the serum wore off while he was gloating. And judging from him being hand cuffed he didn’t have another one. The rest of the teams came half running, half staggering to see what had happened. They were all breathing very hard some were even wheezing. They looked worn out and bedraggled. He was glad that this would all be over. They were delighted to see that some people survived the attack on the ship. It was a small silver lining on a very dark cloud.

Carmen’s voice broke in to the little reunion.

“Mr. Arnold I’m afraid that the Hovercraft just isn’t built to go long distances. She doesn’t have nearly enough power to reach the main land or this Nexus ship.” She told them.”Even though Pulssonic energy recycles itself we still won’t have enough.”

“Well there goes plan B.” O’Neil said. “If only we could send a message…”

“Send a message? Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Carmen asked. “My father had the workmen build a special antenna dish so we could stay in contact with the mainland. In fact I have the password to get it running.”

O’Neil whacked his forehead, “Of course, Lee told us about some antenna room earlier.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Never mind, Wedge, Jessie, Biggs you three will accompany Carmen to the antenna room. Make very sure nothing happens to her.” He told them. They saluted. Carmen led the way and they followed. “Nick escort Kirk onto the Hovercraft. If he should refuse… use excessive force.” O’Neil ordered. Nick winked at O’Neil grabbed Kirks arm and hauled him up. Kirk went without a word. O’Neil really wished he’d put up a little fight. He guessed Kirk wasn’t as stupid as he sounded. The Hovercraft was fifteen feet long and ten feet wide. The cockpit was big enough to hold them all with room left over. There were small benches built into the wall for passengers to sit. Nick set Kirk down on one of them. Nick Drew out his side arm and stuck it in Kirks face.

“Don’t move.” He said. Kirk just stared at the gun.

“I can’t move you peon.”

“Which pocket is it in?” Nick demanded.

“My left pocket,” Kirk said. Nick reached in and pulled out the data chip.

“The URSA thanks you for your research Dr. Kirk.” Nick said with a smile.

Kirk chuckled. “So tell me who was it that sent you? Is it that rascal General Mathis?”

“As a matter of fact it is.” Nick said. “How did you guess?”

Kirk chuckled again. “Oh believe me boy you’re not the first to come after my research except the last time the man who attempted to acquire my work couldn’t bring himself to give the URSA such power.”

Nick snorted. “His loss when I hand this over it’s a sure fire promotion.”

Kirk tilted his head and said. “Tired of standing in O’Neil’s shadow?”

Nick snorted again. “Standing in O’Neil’s shadow is the only thing that has kept me alive. Just because I might get a promotion doesn’t mean I can’t recommend him.”

“I see, you get a promotion they give him a bigger promotion and you stay safe in his shadow just now you’ll have more opportunities.”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself.” Nick agreed.

“Well I guess you don’t know who to trust these days isn’t that right Colonel?” Kirk said.

Nick spun around. O’Neil was standing in the door frame. His arms folded over his chest.

“I suppose your right Dr. Kirk.” He said. “One doesn’t know who to trust these days.” Nick was silent. “I’m sorry O’Neil executive orders.”

“How long have you been Mathis’s lackey?” O’Neil asked.

“Since the beginning,” Nick said.

O’Neil walked up to him and took the chip from him. He turned to leave.

“O’Neil what are you going to do with the chip?” Nick asked.

“Destroy it, too much of anything can destroy a thing. This is too much power for one government or even one man to handle.” He continued to the door. Nick lifted his pistol and trained it on O’Neil.

“Stop,” Nick ordered. His hand was shaking. “I can’t let you do that.”

O’Neil turned slowly Stared Nick square in the face.

“You better not miss.” O’Neil said to him. Nick leveled it at him. His finger poised on the trigger. He was sweating bullets he felt hot like he was on fire. O’Neil had the look. Every one of them had the silver eyes from their bio-enhancement. But O’Neil’s eyes had this deep emptiness whenever they were on a mission. You would look in your eyes and see nothing but yourself. Even as Nick stared into those eyes and saw his reflection he wasn’t sure if he could shoot him. He felt the nerves in his fingers ready to receive the command from his brain. But as he stared into those empty eyes his brain wouldn’t work. He knew his orders. But he just couldn’t. He dropped his head and lowered his gun. Without a single word O’Neil turned and left the Hovercraft. Nick sank into one of the benches. He put his head in his hands. He actually raised a gun to O’Neil the man who saved his life more than once. It was unthinkable. He had never in his wildest dreams would have ever thought that he would pull a gun on him. If someone had told him that he would do something like that to O’Neil he would have said they were crazy.

“How poetic the betrayed and the betrayer.” Kirk taunted. He was chuckling. A wide smile was on his face. “At least I never betrayed the select few I care about.”

That was great, Kirk was a self absorbed psycho and he was worse than him. If Nick had hated himself before he absolutely loathed himself now. He considered putting the pistol to his own head. But he was sure that he wouldn’t find peace even in death. Not after this day.


Transtime energy

Carmen led them to the roof top where the chopper used to be. Past the Helipad was a small tower. She typed in a pass code on a keypad, next to a heavy set metal door. There was the sound of the bolts unlocking. She pushed the door open. Inside was a computer terminal with a microphone. There was a window that lookout at a large antenna. She typed in another pass code. The terminal glowed to life.

“Alright boys type in the frequency and send your message.” She said.

Wedge typed in the emergency frequency that was given to them. He pressed the transmit button and spoke into the microphone. “This is an SOS our ship is destroyed request immediate rescue.” It was a few minutes before there was a reply.

“This is the Nexus we have received your transmission.” Wedge sighed in relief. They’d soon be out of this nightmare. “Alright let’s go and report the good news.” They exited the tower. Outside he heard hooting. It sounded close.

“Oh shit,” Carmen hissed. She was looking around for the sores of the noise. That put wedge on the alert. He shouldered his gun and activated his goggles.

“What’s out there?” He asked her. “Their called Dilophosaurs their about eight feet tall and they spit a Hematotoxin that can blind and paralyze you.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Any suggestions,” He asked.

“Yeah just one run,” Carmen yelled. She ran for the door. They followed right behind her. One of the Dilophosaurs jumped out on Wedges right all the while making its hooting noise. It was at least eight or nine feet tall at the most, large thick tale powerfully built hind legs, long curving neck. Its head was bird like with two arching crest that ran from the eye to the nose meeting up in the middle to form a V shape atop its head. The crests were red with black stripes like a tiger. Its skin was black and pebbled lake a lizard. The first thought that came into his head was ‘it’s beautiful.’ A liger’s beautiful but still you don’t pet it. If Carmen was scared of these animals then its beauty is merely a dangerous tool to lure its prey. His M16 was equipped with a grenade launcher. He stopped, his targeting goggles locked on to it. He fired. The Dilophosaurs front half was blow apart its big body stood there a second or two before falling over in a heap of blood and intestines. ‘That’s one’, He thought. The hooting increased in volume and number. Two more jumped down from a higher part of the roof to their right. Another pare flanked them from behind and yet another pair cut of their retreat by placing themselves in front of the door to the second floor. To their left was a shear twenty foot drop to the jungle floor below. The four of them formed a loose semi-circle. Wedge was sure he Jessie and Biggs could handle them but he wasn’t sure about Carmen. She had a little air pistol. What was in it he didn’t know?

“Look Carmen why don’t you get behind us.” He suggested.

She stared at him incredulously. “Like hell I will!” She yelled. She raised her pistol and shot one of the ones flanking their rear. A dart stuck out of its neck. It hissed at her. The others started hooting excitedly. The one that was hit took a step forward. Then suddenly it stopped and toppled backwards. It started to convulse and thump its tale and the concrete roof of the facility. Foam began to bubble out of its mouth. It made gargling noises. Carmen had a smirk of triumph on her face.

“When my father cloned the first specimens he invented a serum that would kill the dinosaurs but not harm any of the workers.” She motioned to the Dilophosaur that had finally stopped convulsing. The others were reluctant to attack. They hooted and bobbed their heads from side to side. Unsure of what to do, in fact they were stepping away from them. Wedge wasted no time he aimed for a second kill.

“Aim for their heads.” She told them. “Dilophosaurs are slow bleeders. If you fire a whole clip into their chest that would do the trick, but it’s not the best way.” Wedge took her advice and fired at their heads. Sure enough she was right it took only a short burst to take one down. Apparently no matter how slow a bleeder they may be put a bullet through the brain and there down for the count. He made short work of them. Their reluctance to attack was a fatal move. He easily blasted them to kingdom come. He rested the gun on his shoulder. Biggs next to him was sulking. Being a big heavy set man he always used the mini-gun. He was very trigger happy when it came to the mini-gun. Give him the order to go weapons free on an enemy unit and he’d wipe them out by himself.

“Ah don’t you worry Biggs you’ll get your chance to let loose.” Wedge assured him. Biggs gave him a look that said ‘who are you bullshitting.’ As if on cue from the higher part of the roof came shrieking and snarling. A raptor appeared at the edge of the roof. It shrieked at them, and then came a second and a third, a fourth a, fifth. Suddenly the higher part of the roof was swarming with them.

“Oh how could this get any worse?” Jessie exclaimed. The hooting started up again. And then they could see Dilophosaurs up there as well a good deal of them. Wedge noticed that all the Dilophosaurs were standing in pairs unlike the raptors who were scattered in a loose line. The odds just got worse.

“You stupid mother fucker,” Wedge yelled. “You just had to say it you dumb piece of shit!”

“So blow me Harrison,” Jessie yelled back. Biggs always had this large Cuban cigar in his mouth. He said that it was a gift from his girl. But they hadn’t met her. The cigar made Biggs look like some guy from an old world war two movie. Whenever Biggs was going to go into a fight with the odds against him he always lit the cigar so he could have one last puff before he died. He took out a lighter from his vest pocket. It had the symbol of their unit a Capitol A with a sword through it. He flipped the lid with his thumb and lit his cigar. He let out a puff of smoke and snapped the lid shut with his forefinger. He put it back in his vest pocket.

“All right boys let’s dance!” Biggs yelled. He took a couple steps forward and hefted the Mini- gun. He squeezed the trigger and fire into the horde above him. Several raptors were shredded by the wall of bullets. Several Dilophosaurs fell as well. Biggs started to laugh and whoop as usual. He was a trigger happy lunatic from Texas. But they had to admit when he started firing that gun nothing survived. The Dilophosaurs began to spit their Hematotoxin at them. Lucky for them these guys were terrible shots. Biggs got a little on his vest. It smelled like dried vomit.

“We need to get out of here!” Carmen shouted over the drone of the Mini-gun. “The Dilophosaurs are partially short sighted; they have trouble getting a clear shot from long distances. But that doesn’t matter they can spit as far as a whole foot ball field. The Hematotoxin splatters everywhere so even a bad shot is potentially dangerous. Besides eventually one is going to get a good shot!” She was right the raptors were jumping down while the Dilophosaurs were advancing. Biggs couldn’t get them all. The raptors were fast to fast and the Dilophosaurs shots were getting better as they got closer. To make it worse he would soon run out of ammo and it took far too long for him to reload.

“Biggs we need to make a tactical retreat!” Wedge yelled.

“I’ll watch our six!” He yelled back.

They ran for the door while Biggs covered their retreat. They got to the door. Wedge and Carmen went inside. Jessie held the door open for Biggs. He had an Uzi as a weapon. Medics didn’t have many weapons. The space was better used for medical equipment. Most medics only had side arms. But Jessie proffered a small automatic like an Uzi instead of a pistol. He whistled at Biggs to let him know to run. Biggs stopped firing and bolted for the open door. The raptors wasted no time they bolted after him. Jessie fired at them. They scattered but didn’t stop their pursuit. ‘Their Persistent bastards, I’ll give them that.’ Jessie thought. He was beginning to have a type of respect for these animals. One might be formidable or even two but when they’re in a group they’re nearly invincible. Their entire strategy relied on team work. Even now they were scattered to make themselves less of an easy target but their scattered order was in a kind of strange formation. They were still unified. Biggs ran past him. Jessie slammed the door shut. The raptors banged themselves against the door. It dented inward. They were powerful too. The door wouldn’t last long not at that rate. The four of them ran to the security room on the first floor. They took an elevator to the B3 level. Even then they didn’t stop the Dinosaurs had gotten to all the levels except B2 it was only a matter of time before they got to the harbor. When they got there O’Neil was passing. He looked like he was in a bad mood. He had that look in his eye. Few people saw that look and lived. Usually because the person ‘the look’ was directed at died, O’Neil killed them. At first they were reluctant to talk to him. But he saw them standing there so they spoke.

“We got a message to the Nexus.” Wedge said. “But even at full speed they won’t get here for a while.”

“That isn’t the least of our problems.” O’Neil said. “Lee suggested we test to see if the door would open and they won’t!” ‘Oh yeah, he was in a bad mood all right.’ Wedge thought to himself. He felt sorry for the poor bastard he was mad at. O’Neil went on. “And to make it worse we don’t know if it is a power failure or if something is blocking the way.”

He raised his hands above his head in defeat and slumped down on a crate. He removed his helmet and through it to the ground. Wedge took a step back. O’Neil was at boiling point. A man wouldn’t want to be near him when he exploded.

“Well did you check the cameras?” Carmen asked.

“Yes, yes the cameras are at a bad angle we can’t see the door. And something is wrong with the camera controls so we can’t turn the camera.”

“I’ll take a look at it.” She said. She strolled off. Wedge, Jessie and Biggs followed after her. She’s a hand full. Wedge thought. She walked along the passage to the customs room. She went over to one of the terminals and began typing. O’Neil was right there was something wrong with the controls. She ran a systems check. Power had been diverted from all secondary systems to all the main systems. ‘That was odd.’ She thought. Primary systems were lights, the barriers, door locks and most of the computer terminals. Secondary systems were the security cameras, air conditioning, heaters, and intercoms. When you diverted power from these things they operate only on a minimal level. Ergo the cameras didn’t move, air conditioning didn’t work worth shit and the intercoms would be down. She diverted the power evenly between the two systems like they should have been. The cameras could be rotated with a little sphere connected to the key board. She spun it. The camera moved over to give her a better view of the door. ‘Just perfect,’ she thought. A cargo ship had been on its way to dock with the port and had been turned into a chew toy by the Rexes. What’s worse they must have panicked and hit the throttle. The ship was steered of course and rammed against the door. It had dented it inward a little but that’s all it took to jam the door. She zoomed in on the ship. It was a mess. Torn and dented metal shattered glass. At the far back of the ship she could see piled bodies. They had been torn apart like rag dolls and were just piled in a gory heap. She quickly zoomed out.

“So what’s the problem doc?” Wedge asked her.

“Well it looks like a cargo ship dented the door in so it’s jammed.” She told him. She shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry not much we can do.”

“Great that’ll put the colonel in a good mood.” Wedge said. O’Neil had been at boiling point a few minute wasn’t enough time for him to cool down. But if they took their time it would make him even angrier. Wedge shook his head. “So who’s going to tell him?”

“Don’t look at me.” Jessie said. Jessie looked at Biggs.

“I ain’t that ready to die.” Biggs said.

“Oh for heaven’s sake I’ll do it.” She said. She marched off to the harbor.

The three men looked after her for a few minutes.

“Twenty says O’Neil blows his top.” Wedge said.

“Ten says O’Neil throws her into the water.” Jessie said.

“Twenty says O’Neil dose nothing after all she’s just a girl.”

They waited to hear if maybe his screams would carry.

A few minutes later they heard a very distinct and clear voice shout.

“What the hell!” Then they heard a scream and a very loud and clear splash.

“Yup told yah he’d blow his top, all right suckers pay up!” Wedge said.

“Hold on I bet he’d through her in the water.” Jessie said.

“Alright then Biggs pay up.”

He grumbled as he handed over the money. “Alright let’s go see if we can save the poor girl.” They ran down the passage. When they got to the port O’Neil was passing again. Carmen was soaked she had a towel wrapped around her. She looked very pissed and everyone else was sitting or lying about. Nick was standing on the deck of the hovercraft. He looked like someone had walked over his grave. O’Neil looked over at him a few times. They must be having a fight or else they would be having a counsel. Wedge went over and sat on a crate. O’Neil stopped passing.

“Arnold what did you do with that gun Kirk had?” O’Neil asked.

“We broke it and tossed it in the water.” Arnold said. Arnold pointed to a large gaping hole in the wall. O’Neil nodded his head.

“Great that gun might have helped us.” O’Neil said.

“Why don’t you get Kirk to make another one?” Wedge said.

O’Neil looked over at the Hovercraft. He seemed to be thinking of what to do. Then he squared his shoulders and marched on over. He had a determined look in his eyes. Wedge had seen that look a hundred times before. He whistled at his other team mates. They saw O’Neil heading to the Hovercraft and they saw his determined look. They all got of their butts and followed after O’Neil. It didn’t take a genius to see that there was trouble brewing. Carmen followed after him in a hurry. O’Neil stood in the door way of the cockpit. Kirk was sitting at ease. He saw O’Neil standing there.

“Something wicked this way comes” Kirk quoted. He was unfazed by O’Neil.

“Something very wicked,” O’Neil retorted.”Can you make that gun you had?”

Kirk chuckled. “Of course I can you Neanderthal.”

“Will you make one is the question.”O’Neil said.

Kirk smirked. “That is the question and here’s the answer, no.”

O’Neil pulled out his side arm and stuck it in his face. Kirk raised an eyebrow.

“You won’t kill me O’Neil, if I die your all dead.” O’Neil knew that and Kirk knew he knew. O’Neil hauled Kirk up and dragged him out of the Hovercraft. He slammed him against the side of the hull. He stormed over to Carmen Grabbed her shirt collar dragged her to Kirk and put the gun to her head. Everyone froze. No one dared to breathe. ‘He would do it to.’ Wedge thought. ‘He would shoot her if Kirk doesn’t cooperate.’ The look in his eyes told wedge that his determination was ironclad unflinching and unbreakable.

“Make the gun or I’ll blow her brains out!” O’Neil yelled.

Kirk was fuming but he didn’t take his eye off the gun. He looked from it to him and then to her. O’Neil cocked the hammer to emphasize his words.

“Fine O’Neil you win I’ll make the damn gun.” Kirk said.

“Then lead the way.” O’Neil said. O’Neil let go of Carmen and grabbed Kirk.

“Wedge, Biggs take Carmen and follow us.” O’Neil ordered. O’Neil walked off the Hovercraft his team followed after him and Kirk. They walked along the passage to the customs room, through the door to the security room, and out into the B3 loading bay. As they were passing past the large cargo elevator it began to move. They all stopped. The large screen that showed the different levels began to count down. When it reached B3 the elevator stopped. There was a loud bang against the metal door. A second bang and they could see the metal bend. Then at the bottom of the large metal door three large claws stuck through. The big metal door began to open. A large reptilian head stuck through the opening and forced the metal door open. The Rex bellowed at them. He held the door open with its massive body. At his feet was a swarm of Raptors, Ovalraptores and Dilophosaurs.

“Let’s move people.” O’Neil yelled. They ran for the elevator. They stuck in the security card for the elevator. It was rotten luck that the elevator was at the first floor. O’Neil swore.

“Alpha team defensive positions,” O’Neil yelled. They formed a semi-circle in front of the elevator. Biggs blasted away at them with his Mini-gun. The raptors kept on coming. The elevator bell dinged and the doors slid open.

“Alright people inside now.” O’Neil ordered. Everyone except Biggs ran into the elevator. As soon as everyone else was in he turned around and ran in. The doors slid shut and the elevator began to move. Everyone was breathing heavily. It was a close call. The raptors and the Dilophosaurs was one thing but once the Rex joined the fight there would be little hope of escape. It was so big. One foot stomp and they’d be tor jam. The elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open.

“Carter this is O’Neil do you read me, over?” O’Neil said into his headset.

“This is carter here go ahead Colonel.”

“Carter the loading bay is crawling with Dinos, have some of your boys watch the security room.”

“Will do Colonel, Carter out’”

He gave Kirk a little push. Kirk led them to a door marked experimental weapon design. He inserted his key card and entered the room. The room was full of tables with weapons and designs for the weapons. There were crates full of parts and tools.

“I assume everything you need is right here?” O’Neil asked Kirk.

“Yes it’s all right here.” Kirk said. “It’ll take a few days to complete the gun.”

“We don’t have a few days.” He said. “We only have a few hours at the very most. You have a few hours to make the gun.”

“A few hours won’t give you much fire power. At the most you’ll have one good shot.” Kirk said.

“We’ll only need one.”

“Very well take these cuffs off me.” He lifted his hands. O’Neil removed the cuffs.

“All right you to bring those crates.” Kirk pointed to wedge and Biggs then to a few crates in a corner. “And you bring me those tools on that table. He pointed to Nick and Jessie then to a table at the far corner. He had them bring the crates and the tools to an empty table. He took a blue print design and studied it for a second. He pointed to Nick and wedge. “You two get these two items from the room across the hall. A pointed to a diagram of a canister and what looked like the large version of a firing pin for a gun. They shrugged their shoulders and left the room. He opened the crate and started to lay large metal segments on the table.

“What the hell is all this?” O’Neil asked.

“The T-gun is assembled in large segments; it will only take an hour to assemble the gun.”

“Then what was with all that a few days shit you were saying earlier?”

Kirk sighed. “Fine O’Neil I’ll try to help your feeble brain understand.” He lifted his head to look at the ceiling. “Ok let’s Say you have a large piece of lead, you can cut a piece of that lead and then you can cut that piece, and then that piece and so on. You can cut that piece down to its very essence, which is Atoms. Atoms however can’t be cut by any kind of instrument. But when you focus Transtime Dimensional energy it literally cuts the atoms around it. When you set of a nuclear bomb mater and anti-mater combine to create that massive explosion. Transtime energy when mixing its anti-matter doses the same thing but instead of an explosion it creates a miniature black hole. A black hole is basically a rip in space when a small shock wave of Transtime energy reacts with matter it basically rips the atoms apart giving you a black hole. We were lucky that the black hole was unstable and collapsed on its self.” He sighed at the memory. “If you were to shine a light into a black hole that light would be swallowed up. We experimented by making one of these holes with Transtime energy, then using Pulssonic energy to help steady a beam of Transtime energy, we fired that beam into the hole and did something unexpected. The very space around the hole which was a spherical generator to contain the hole disappeared; we thought at first that it had been engulfed and destroyed. But we were incorrect we soon found out that the containment sphere was not destroyed; it was transferred into a different place in space. But we soon learned that it had not been transferred but was instead exchanged with the space of a different time!”

The blank expression on their faces was a little disappointing to him. He shook his head and sighed again. He talked very slowly.”I developed the ability to time travel.” He dragged out the last word. Understanding entered their expressions.

“Hold on time travel is impossible.” Jessie said.

“No it’s not just improbable,” Tom countered.

Kirk cleared his throat before going on. “This gun uses the same kind of principle. It focuses unfocused partials of Transtime energy.”

Mack cleared his throat. “Um excuse me doc but you just contradicted yourself, how can you focus unfocused particles?”

He shook his head. “No, no, no focus was the wrong term. The large firing stabilizer which is the large firing pin contains a steady beam of pulssonic energy when the Transtime particles interact with the beam it causes a reaction that is channeled through the stabilizer and when the reaction interacts with the atoms in the space around it, it looks like lightning to the naked eye because of the way it reacts with the matter around it. When the particles come into direct contact with any item it cancels it out. A concentrated burst of Transtime energy splits atoms and makes a black hole. An unfocused burst obliterates the atoms like they never even existed.”

“So that’s what happened to the door.” O’Neil murmured.

“Exactly, now to answer your question the Pulssonic beam needs to build up intensity in order to get more than one shot. You can increase the pressure of the beam and it will give you a wider range of destruction, you want the weapon done in two hours? Two hours will only get you one good shot.”

O’Neil shrugged. “Then we’ll make the shot count.”

Kirk shrugged. He picked up an electric screwdriver and started screwing segments together. Nick and Wedge returned with the Stabilizer and the canister. O’Neil noticed that some of the segment had electrical components. After connecting the barrel to the gun he inserted the stabilizer into the barrel. He then connected the canister to the stabilizer. He then screwed the last segment over the space above the canister and the gun was complete. Kirk turned the dial on the side of the gun to full blast.

Kirk let out a breath. “There the stabilizer has had at least an hour to charge but even at full blast it will still only give you one shot.” Kirk shrugged. “Make it count.”

O’Neil hefted the gun. “You got it doc.”

They put the hand cuffs back on Kirk and they left the room.

The elevator dinged as it arrived at the B3 level. The door slid apart. The sight they beheld was depressing. The whole B3 level was swarming with Raptors and Dilophosaurs. There was no other choice but to blast their way through. Biggs went first. They charged and fired at the same time. Biggs cut a path through the horde with his Mini-gun and the others followed in his wake. Wedge fired grenade shells into the horde. The Rex was gone that was a lucky break. Carter and her team came out from the security room and fired at the horde from their side. O’Neil and his team ran past them into the security room. Carters’ team fell in behind them and sealed the door. The Horde started to bang on the door. Already it was denting. They ran past the customs room down the hallway and into the harbor. They ran onto the Hovercraft.

“Everyone strap your selves in!” O’Neil yelled.

O’Neil tossed the T-Gun to James. James was one of Carters men his Special ability was enhanced targeting so he was the perfect one to shoot the gun.

“Get to the front of the Hovercraft.” O’Neil said.

James nodded his understanding. He ran off to the front.

“Carmen you get her started up.” O’Neil shouted.

She yelled back “Ok,” The large fans started to whirl. O’Neil entered the cockpit. Carmen and Lee were already getting the Hovercraft moving. Through the windshield O’Neil could see James getting into position. Carmen pushed throttle forward and the ship began to move. O’Neil heard shrieks behind them. He ran back out on deck. The Raptors had gotten past the security room. They were swarming on the harbor. A couple jumped onto the deck. O’Neil raised his gun and fired. He blew the head of one and put an entire clip in another. The Hover craft sped down the long tunnel leaving the harbor behind. The Hovercraft bounced up and down as it sped along the tunnel. O’Neil ran to the front of the Craft. The large doors were getting a lot closer. James leveled the T-gun at a spot on the left door. The hover craft bounced up high and came down with a crash. O’Neil was sent sprawling. This was going to be a bumpy ride. The door was about fifty feet away. Then forty, thirty, twenty! He fired. The beam of the gun dissolved a fifty foot hole in the door. “One shot,” Kirk had said. Well one shot was all they needed. The Hover craft bounced along the side of the massive ship. Luckily there was a clear shot to the bay. He just now noticed in the center on the deck here was a strange little barrier. He walked over to take a better look at it. In the center of the metal barrier was a pipe. He looked into it and it looked like you put something there. If he didn’t know any better he would have sworn it was for a gun torrent. He scratched his head, wonders never end. There was a deafening roar to the right of them. On the deck of the ship was the Rex. His missing eye still bled a little. It glared with its one good eye. O’Neil watched in dread as a second Rex appeared on the deck. It roared at them too. Both Rexes jumped into the water and swam after them.

“Don’t these guys ever give up?!” O’Neil shouted.

“I guess not,” James shouted back. O’Neil ran to the back and raised his gun. He fired at the Rexes. He wouldn’t do much damage but maybe he could slow him down a bit. They swam just like Alligators with the tops of their heads just above the waters surface. They roared at them again they were getting closer.

“Carmen speed her up!” He shouted into his head set.

“You got it Colonel!” She said. The Hovercraft lurched forward sending O’Neil sprawling on his back. He could see the Rexes falling further behind. Thunder rumbled over head. They were now heading out into open sea. Carmen turned the Hovercraft into the direction the Nexus was coming from. O’Neil hauled himself up. The craft still bounced and lurched. He grabbed onto the gunwales to steady himself. The island was still visible. They would all be safe and sound once they reached the Nexus. The Hovercraft was lifted up into the air. It spun crazily. O’Neil was thrown up against the hull of the craft. It fell back down to earth with a great splash and shower of water. The wind had been knocked out of him. He lurched to his feet. He swayed a little then steadied himself. He never really liked boats. Hell he never went fishing. Next to the craft a long thick curving neck emerged out of the water. The neck was wide and muscular. At the top was a small and narrow head. This must be the sea serpents Arnold was talking about. The monster opened its mouth to show rows of long sharp jagged teeth. It hissed at O’Neil. It arched its head back and like a snake launched its head at him. He somersaulted to the side, the creature wacked its head on the deck. It reared back and bellowed. The sounded was like a deep throated moan. O’Neil lifted his gun at its head and fired. It hit right between the eyes. It howled and shrieked tossing its head back and forth, sending plumes of water flying everywhere. Its head and neck went limp and smashed down on the water’s surface spraying the deck with sea water.

“Carmen, get us moving.” He said into his head set.

She pushed the throttle forward. The Hover craft sped away. He stared back at where the serpent had died. The neck was still lying there but he could see part of its body. The thing was massive. No wonder it could toss them into the air. From the depths of the water emerged the heads of several more serpents. They moved with incredible speed as they caught up with the Hovercraft. He heard the shot of a rifle and one of the serpents’ heads exploded the long headless neck plopped down on the waters surface. James was on top of the cockpit with his specially designed field rifle. James gave O’Neil thumbs up.

“Exploding rounds,” James said into his head set.

. O’Neil returned the thumbs up. More serpent heads began to emerge from the water’s surface. James shot at the ones father back, while O’Neil shot at the ones closer to the Hovercraft. O’Neil shot a short burst of bullets at every serpent that came to close. He had just finished blowing a hole in one head when he heard a low whistle from above. He looked up. O’Neil could see dark shapes gliding above him. He switched his targeting goggles to Night vision. He saw in the bright fluorescent green five large flying dinosaurs. Each wing span must have been thirty of forty feet long. They were flying in a common wedge formation. The lead one gave a low whistle folded its wings and dived. The others followed its example. They were diving strait for O’Neil. He threw himself to the ground as the five zoomed past him. He really didn’t want to know what would have happened if they had hit him.

He rolled over to look at James.

“James areal hostiles make sure to watch your six!” He waved his acknowledgment. A serpents head poked over the side of the ship and snarled at O’Neil.

“When will you call it a day,” He shouted. It lunged at him. He rolled over and shot along the length of its neck. It bellowed as it reared up. He jumped to his feet. Another low whistle came as another winged dinosaur hurtled towards him. He aimed up at it and fired. He shot along the length of the body. The creature continued to hurl down. He jumped out of the way just as it crashed onto the deck.

“Carmen, do you know about any flying Dinosaurs?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact we made some Pteranadons, since their fused with quantum energy their much bigger than regular ones.” .

“Yeah I noticed.”

“Their attacking?” She asked.

“Yeah, I just shot one.”

“Be cautious they always travel in flocks of ten or more.”

“I only saw five.”

“There’re more, most likely they split up into two groups.” She said.”Never forget colonel that most of the Dinosaurs we cloned are all pack animals and working together as a team is second nature to them.”

“Roger that any suggestions?” He asked.

“Yeah keep on your toes they primarily fly up to a high altitude then fold their wings and smash their opponents then carry their prey off.”

‘Carry their prey off.’ He thought. Well that was great. If he wasn’t carful he’d get carried away like a fish. The boat was shoved to the left. He was showered with water as a serpent head towered above him snarling menacingly. He lifted his gun and fired. It snarled and fell back. He was knocked on his face by something from behind. He rolled over and fired. One of the Pteranadons had knocked him down. He shot it in its chest. The big lizard fell on him. It wasn’t very heavy. Twenty pounds at the most. The wings were bat like but the membrane was very thick. The wings were long and muscular. Its long jaw was full of long cone teeth. He rolled it off of him. He stood up. Out the corner of his eye he saw two shapes come at him from his side. He turned and fired. The two Pteranadons sailed past him and crashed into the ocean. He heard two shots from behind him. He turned to see James on his back firing at two Pteranadons hovering above him with his side arm. They pecked at him with their long jaws. O’Neil raised his gun to fire. He would have too aim carefully or else he might hit James. His targeting curser on his goggles kept locking and unlocking on the Pteranadons. Damn things never stopped moving. They seemed to be circling him as they pecked at him. He heard big wings flapping behind him felt the gush of the wind on his neck from the massive wings. ‘Carry their prey off.’ He felt his blood go cold. ‘Not enough time!’ He thought. He couldn’t turn fast enough. He looked over to his left and saw that Carter was standing there shear horror all over here face. He had put the chip in a container to keep it safe. He had never had the intention of destroying it. Even he could see that some good could come from all the bad. In the wrong hands it was death in the right hands it was life. He knew in whose hands it belonged. He took it out of his pocket and tossed it to the floor at her feet. His last act just before he felt the sharp talons dig into his shoulders. He shouted as he felt the pain of the talons digging into his skin yelled as the pain of those same talons lifted him off the ground.

Carter watched in horror as O’Neil was lifted into the air. She ran forward and tripped on something hard beneath her feet. She fell face down on the deck. She tried to lift herself up but her feet slipped on the sea water all around her. She banged the deck in frustration. She saw a flash of an extremely bright white light above her head. She lifted herself up again. This time she didn’t fall. She saw the Pteranadon fall into the ocean but she didn’t see O’Neil. Had he gotten loose? She switched her goggle to infer-red. She saw several large signals were under the water surface but they were keeping their distance. But she didn’t see any forms that looked human. What was that light? Had he blown a grenade? No the Pteranadon would have been in pieces. What had happened? If only she hadn’t tripped. She looked back at the ground and saw a little container. She picked up the container. She lifted the lid. Inside was a data chip. She closed the lid. Her head set crackled.

“Carter, its James where’s O’Neil?”

“He’s gone,” She squeaked. There was silence at the other end.

”On my way down,” He replied. A second later he dropped down beside her. They entered the cockpit together. All of the com units were linked. So they heard the news. Nick was bent over head in his hands. Biggs was chewing on his cigar; Jessie was staring at the floor. His toe was tapping really fast. A thing he did when he was upset. Wedge was staring out the window.

“I didn’t think it was possible for that guy to die.” Mack said. For once no one told him to shut up. O’Neil had been in some of the worst scrapes ever and gotten through them. He had once been shot through the heart with a bullet. They had gotten the bullet out and he had survived. He held on for six whole hours with the bullet stuck in his left ventral. Perhaps this was finally the end of his luck. As people said a person’s luck runs out eventually. She handed the chip to wedge.

“Check it out when you get the chance.” She told him. He nodded. She sat down and strapped herself in. The ship bounced on the water’s surface.

“Yall remember the time one of the Russian terrorists tracked him down to his home and blew it sky high.” Mack said. He laughed a little. He survived by stuffing himself in his new refrigerator.”

“He regretted it later when he had to spend three months in a hospital because the fridge had been blown twenty feet in the air.” Wedge said.

They all laughed a little. Just a little,

“Shit,” Sam heard Carmen say.

“What’s up?” Sam asked.

“The Hovercraft has a built in radar and sonar system. And right now we got hostiles coming from all directions.”

Carter said. “Most of us are running out of ammo.”

“The Hover craft was equipped with two gun torrents one on top and one at the back. We thought we might as well see about military purposes.”

“Biggs James you two take the top torrent me and Allis will take the back torrent.”

“The closet there has the guns and the ammo.” Carmen told her. Carter unstrapped herself and opened it. They were large fifty caliber machine guns. She handed one to Biggs and she hefted the other. The four of them left the cockpit. She inserted the gun into the pipe in the center of the deck and loaded the torrent. All around her long serpent necks and heads started to emerge from the surface of the water. She turned the torrent to the left and fired. She shot two to her left and another to her right. She waited until they were close to the craft before she shot at them. She heard a low whistle from above. The Pteranadons were in sight. Biggs pointed his torrent up and fired at them. They scattered but they continued to chase them.

Carmen was looking at the radar. Something big was coming up ahead of them. She heard the radio crackle. “Commander Arnold?” The voice over the radio asked. “Commander Arnold if you’re there this is the Nexus we see your Hovercraft.” Arnold unstrapped himself and walked over to Carmen. He picked up the little microphone.

“Nexus this is Commander Arnold. Over”

Radio crackle, “Commander it’s good to hear you. What’s your status?”

“Were under attack by hostiles,” He said. “If you can see them can you give us a hand?”

“Roger that Commander, hold a steady course.”

The machine gun was getting low on ammo. If they didn’t find the Nexus soon they were done for. Sam heard a loud thundering boom behind her. Then the water to her left exploded along with several of the sea serpents. She looked behind her and saw the bulking mass of the Nexus. She gave a loud whoop. Several more shots were fired from the Nexus and several more spots of the water blew up with showers of water. The Pteranadons flew off towards the Nexus. Sam watched as the large plasma cannons on the ship ripped the Pteranadons to bits.

“Alright guys let’s get inside.” She shouted.

The Hovercraft was now right alongside the Nexus. ‘To think we were so close.’

She ignored the thought as he would have said you can’t change the past. So look to your future. ‘Well O’Neil you don’t have a future now do you.’ She entered the cockpit.


Sam was buttoning up the brass buttons of her dress uniform. The buttons had the emblem of her team, an angel with folded wings. She set the black beret atop her head. It too had an emblem; the ship was still miles away from the port in Florida. They were going to have O’Neil’s funeral on the deck of the ship. A ceremonial metal coffin will be dropped into the sea along with a ten round salute from the ships firing squad. She took a good look at herself in the mirror. She looked presentable. She left her assigned cabin. She met up with the others in the hallways. The entire crew was gathered outside on the deck for his Funeral. Carter’s team was standing at attention a little ways away from the rest of the crowd. O’Neil’s team stood on either side of his coffin. They carried ceremonial bolt action rifles. ‘Looks like they wanted to give the salute,’ she thought. A clergy man stood in front of his coffin. He said a prayer gave a little sermon then stepped Out of the way. O’Neil’s’ team raised the guns fired lowered them then raised them again and fired. They repeated this action ten times. They stepped back as two petty-officers came forward and pushed the coffin into the ocean. The Commander of the Nexus shouted.

“Burial detail dismissed.” The sailors in unison turned and left to go about their duties. Charles and Carter would be up all night righting the report for General Mathis. She walked back off to her cabin. She sat down and started filling out a report on all the events of the past couple days. She had finally finished writing when there was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” she said wearily.

Wedge entered.

“Colonel I took a look at that chip you gave me.”

“So what did you find?”

“All of kirks research was contained in that chip. You’re lucky you found it all of the information on that chip could be the starting Flare for world war three. The destructive capabilities that his research has would have every country in the world clawing for it. And with all of that power the Russian-American wars would look like a picnic compared to the casualties we’d get from a war for this information.”

“Well then what do you suggest?”

“There was a message on the chip for me. Apparently he meant to give it to me. My family owns a very wealthy company; Intec industries, is the only company that has the right to be called our competitor. He wants my families company to pretty much use all the information in here for good.” He laughed. “My resignation has been long over do. I only kept on because O’Neil was still Colonel of our squad. So I’ll take this and slowly put the less deadly research out there bit by bit.” He held up the chip as he spoke.

“Well after this mission I’ll be taking it easy for a while.”She said.

“I know what you mean.” He saluted and left the cabin. She rubbed her eyes. Life just wouldn’t be the same without O’Neil. Well she’d have to get use to it. She never saw him much any ways but just knowing that he wasn’t around made life seem a little more empty. But one thing still puzzled her where did that light come from, unless he set off a flash-grenade but why would he do something like that. There would be no need for any of that. It puzzled her. She hadn’t seen his heat signature. Like he wasn’t even there, it was all really strange. She just couldn’t get that light out of her head. She sighed. Soon enough life would go back to normal or as normal as it was going to get. She got up and lay back on the bunk. She stared at the ceiling for a moment then closed her eyes.


The large man in front of Nick socked him in the chest again. It felt like an iron hammer was hitting him. He coughed out a breath. Mathis stood just beyond the big man. Mathis clicked his tongue.

“Tisk, tisk, tisk, I really expected more from you Nick. I said that under no circumstances were you to come back without that data.”

Nick spat at him. “You can go to hell I wasn’t going to shoot my best friend for that shit.” The big man kneed him in the gut. He made a short cry of pain.

“That was very rude didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” Mathis taunted him.

“Not to fuckers like you.”

He laughed. “Well as it seems that you’re uncooperative and are unwilling to serve your country. Master sergeant Nickolas valentine under authority vested in me by the president and the Supreme Court I hereby sentence you to liquidation. May God have mercy on your soul,” The big man in front of him pulled out a pistol took a step or two back and aimed it at him. Nick readied himself. He heard a loud gunshot and he tensed himself. But he wasn’t hurt. The big man fell over face first. Blood spread from a bullet hole in his back. Arnold, the commander of the Nexus and a security detail of six men had them surrounded.

“General Mathis you are here by arrested for treason, conspiracy, attempted murder, the forging of invalid documents and corruption.”

They hand cuffed him and the two men that were holding Nick.

“You arrived just in time.” Nick said.

“Yes we have had suspicions that Mathis was operating outside the presidential orders. We also had unconfirmed suspicions that you were his inside man. This mission was also our plan to weed out anyone who wanted Kirks research for the black market.” Arnold helped Nick to his feet.”We just recorded everything you said to Mathis. Judging by everything he said to you, you thought that you were working for the president.” Nick nodded his head. “Well in a way he saved you from joining him in his cell.”

“Well that’s a relief. I never liked going behind O’Neil’s back.” Nick said.

“Yeah well you’ll never have the chance again.” Arnold commented.

Nick ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, you don’t need to remind me.”

Arnold clapped him and the shoulder. “Buck up boy everyone dies eventually at least he died defending all of you.”

Nick nodded his head.”So what happens now?”

Arnold sucked in a breath. “Well the president doesn’t like the outcome of the mission. Seven hundred sailors dead including a well known special forces team, or well known by the people in the white house, Colonel O’Neil a war hero dead and Kirk has been apprehended but he’s being uncooperative.” Arnold let out a long sigh. “So we’re all going to be debriefed and honorable discharged. The story is that the ship sunk on some jagged rocks and we’re the only survivors, we’ll all be seeing shrinks to make the story seem more believable, so take some acting lessons, and after a few months of this a report will be filed that sociological drama from the accident has rendered us emotionally unfit for duty.” He chuckled and shook his head.

Nick shrugged. “I was going to resign anyway. Alpha squad won’t be the same without the colonel.”

“Well then good luck with whatever you choose to do in the future.” Arnold shook Nick’s hand. He turned around and left with the escort. Nick stared after them. ‘It was all for nothing.’ He thought. ‘All the missions, the sneaking, the lying, the hiding in the shadows, it was all for nothing.’ He still had his Glock on him. He had emptied the clip earlier. Only one bullet was in the clip. He turned the safety of and put it to his head. His heart started to race. He could hear it pounding in his ear. Every muscle in his whole body was shouting, “No!” He squeezed the trigger. He heard a loud click next to his ear. He lowered the gun. He emptied the chamber. The small circle of copper at the back of the shell had been hit by the firing pin but it didn’t go off. There is an old saying in the corps. “’Bullets never lie.’”