Legacy of the Guardians
by AJ Marks
Part 10
Greg practically ran into Jack’s office with the message in his hand. He caught Jack as he was about to head out for lunch, and looking forward to some soup.
“Admiral, sir,” Greg huffed, handing him the message. “This just came in.”
Jack glanced down, then handed it over to Steve who looked on, having seen Greg running to the office. Jack waited until Steve read it over.
“Well, we have an answer to one part of the question,” Steve said.
“Yeah,” Jack said, writing out some orders. “Give this to Vice Admiral Dinen, tell him to go at once.” He watched Greg run out of the room heading back down the corridor. “Well,” Jack said looking over at Steve, “looks like the Startians are involved like we thought.”
“Nor sure it makes me feel better or not,” Steve replied.
“Know what you mean,” Jack replied. “Now the question becomes are there more out there and how involved are they?”
“I guess now we wait and see,” Steve said. “I hope the teams make to Ahmed’s parents in time.”
“They should, they’ve been assembled for a while now, only waiting for the order to move out,” Jack said. “Should be a simple extraction job.”
They both looked on, knowing that lunch would be delayed. He pushed for an aide who could bring some lunch to his office. He knew his day really just began.
*****
Captain Sam Uliki slowly made his way down the street in the small Afghanistan town, keeping an eye out for anyone following him or watching the older couple in front of him. He wore a complete outfit which covered his face allowing him some cover. His team was all around, following discreetly from a distance, and took turns to hopefully avoid being detected.
So far the couple had done some shopping, but not buying much, and what they did buy, they haggled for trying to get the price down and now were heading back home.
His watch vibrated as he approached the small building his team set up as their headquarters for the mission. He glanced down, looking like he was checking the time, but read the message, they were to extract the couple right away.
Sam felt the adrenaline rush at the knowledge the mission now was underway. He knew they could expect an enemy at any moment and had to move quickly. They decided only one person would approach them, the rest covering the group. He saw his was closest and approached the couple’s house.
With a quick message to the team, they moved into positions, now alert, ready to go. Sam walked calmly to the door, knocking, and waiting for someone to answer. The man opened the door asking what he wanted.
“May I come inside, I have information about your son, Ahmed,” Sam said, so only the man could hear him. He watched as the man’s eyes widen before replying.
“Very well,” he said, opening the door and letting Sam in.
They closed the door and Sam looked around quickly before turning to them. “You must come with me, quickly,” Sam told them.
“Why should we?” the man replied. “We’ve been here for a while.”
Sam expected some resistance, and knew they could not afford to bicker for long. To his surprise, the woman spoke up.
“Ahmed sent you, you are his friends?” she asked.
“Yes, and it’s no longer safe here, we must move out quickly, and get you out of the country,” Sam said, explaining quickly to the couple the situation. He noticed their confused expression and took a bit more detailed explanation. “We believe your lives are in danger, and that the group your other son is involved in means to harm, or kill you because of Ahmed’s mission.”
“And what is our oldest son doing?” the man asked.
“Trying to save the world, and if you’re in danger, it makes his mission harder,” Sam stated. “We must leave now.”
“Let’s go,” the woman said, bundling up again and looking at her husband. “This is our chance to leave this place, and start over.”
“But we have no money, how can we live?” he asked, looking at her than at Sam.
“If I know Ahmed, he has already made arrangement for us,” she replied back to him. “Let’s take this opportunity while we can. We didn’t the last time, can’t make the same mistake again.”
Sam waited a few seconds before the man finally agreed. He quickly communicated to the others they were moving out. The next part of the extraction would be the most dangerous. Not until they were on the base could he feel safe. They moved out keeping an eye out for anyone who might look suspicious. Skartians lived in the area spreading lies and turning people against each other.
Same focused on the task, as the group made their way down the street. Turning a corner Sam noticed an unusual figure dressed in black, and unable to see if it was human. He felt his adrenaline start to flow as it reached out.
The time approaches!
Sam blinked, shaking his head as the figure which so clearly he saw, now vanished. Had he imagined the entire thing? Quickly scanning the area he saw no one who even looked like the strange figure. Continuing on down the path he made a mental note to ignore this part of the debriefing.
“We have activity in the rear,” an excited voice said over the radio. Same fought the instinct to look behind him, knowing if he did, the couple would also look back and be spotted.
“Have they spotted the cargo?” Sam asked back.
“Negative.”
Same released a breath, but urged the couple to move a bit faster. The danger increased with each footstep as he listened to the surveillance going on behind him. Whoever they were, they entered the now empty house, and they walked back out looking angry. They split up and started running off in different directions.
“Two headed your way,” one member of the team said. “Transport on the way, units one and two move in to intercept.”
Sam heard the acknowledgements from the units but kept himself from acknowledging to hopefully prevent attention being brought to them. They had a transport on the way, which meant they would see a Toyoda pickup. A commotion behind them meant that the men heading their way were now engaged.
“Keep your heads down and keep moving,” Ha said to them. “We have a pickup coming, when it arrives, get in it.”
They continued to move even as gunfire erupted behind them. People quickly moved out of the way, running to get away from the gunfire. Seconds later a pickup truck stopped in front of them. Sam helped the couple into the truck before jumping into the back. It sped away and he took the moment to look back behind them. He spotted several men running towards them, and units one and two had intercepted them. Sam ducked back down, knowing that any shots taken would not penetrate the armor on the truck.
Looking back up they rode out-of-town, before stopping in a secluded spot to change vehicles. This was done to throw off anyone looking for them, as the Toyoda would continue on to a town., but not one of their trucks, painted black, and looking like a cross between a hummer and a speeder from Star Wars, as the vehicle hovered. The couple looked at it in awe before the man asked what kept it up, and if it was safe to ride in.
Sam assured him it was, and that it was a top-secret vehicle in testing. The fact if had no wheels allowed it to move faster than other vehicles, and a lot smoother. They left the area quickly.
“So, who exactly does my son work for?” the man finally asked, looking around at the technology in the vehicle.
“I’m not at liberty to say, but I do need to darken the windows, and ask that you follow my orders. Follow all my orders and we’ll be in Canada in less than a day,” Sam replied.
“You won’t tell us how then you are going to do this?” he asked.
“No sir,” Sam replied respectively.
“Top secret again I suppose?”
“Yes, and it would be best if you never mentioned it to anyone again,’ Sam said to him. He watched him think about that for a second before replying again, even as the windows darkened so they could see nothing outside.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” the man said. “My name is Imen.”
“Captain Sam Uliki,” Sam replied, as the conversation turned to the weather and better times in Afghanistan. Same was amazed at what Iman had lived through.
The light went on and knew they arrived at the base. Now the hardest part of the trip would occur, and he needed the trust of the couple completely.
“Sir, Ma’am, I’m going to have to put these blindfolds on you for a few minutes while we walk through the base to another vehicle,” Sam said, hoping they would agree. They looked uncomfortable with the idea
“How do we know you won’t try to kill us or something?” Imen finally asked.
“You don’t, only my word that no harm will come to you,” Sam said being completely honest.
“I see,” Imen said, looking at Sam for a few seconds. “You’ve been honest so far, we shall see if you keep your words.”
They were blindfolded and led down several steps, then to the elevator and down into the base’s interior towards the high-speed transport. They moved though the ground to a nearby airport used by the EDF. They were led back up and to a waiting plane. Once inside the masks taken off.
Imen looked everywhere at the interior of the transport, which had lush seats, a TV, an eating area and a place to get an assortment of drinks, from water to liquor.
“Is this a waiting room?” Imen asked.
“No, this is what you’ll be traveling in to Canada. There are only a few other passengers, but the entire trip should only take about twelve hours. The stewardesses will help you with anything you need, and don’t worry about the language barrier, everyone here will be able to understand you, even if you can’t understand them,” Sam explained. “I won’t be able to accompany you all the way, but once you reach Canada you’ll be met by Captain Abbuc. He’ll get you settled.”
“Thank you,” Imen said, as Sam left the plane and the couple settled in for their flight.
End part 10
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