Rise of the Phoenix: Act 3 Read online

  RISE of the

  PHOENIX: Act III

  Dameon Gibbs

  Corey Ballard

  Rise of the Phoenix: Act III

  Copyright©2016

  Dameon Gibbs & Corey Ballard

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without expressed permission in written form by the author.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgement

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Other Works by Dameon Gibbs

  Acknowledgement

  First, I would like to thank my beautiful wife Tiffany for being by my side and supporting me every step of the way. And to my other friends and family that continues to believe in me when others do not. Special thanks of appreciation go to my Eastern Shore parents Mrs. Pat and Mr. Fred, for this would not have been possible if it were not for your dedicated long hours. Last but not least, to my brother in arms Corey, all I can say is. WE DID IT!------ Dameon Gibbs

  I’d like to thank Dad and Mom for believing in us and all the endless hours of editing you’ve helped with and still are. Haley and Gene for committing to help with such a narrow window. To all my friends who’ve helped keep this alive and epic. Last, my co-author for putting up with all my roadblocks and driving me to finish our great novel!-----Corey Ballard

  Chapter 1

  “Code One Breach! I repeat, Code One Breach! It’s Keeast!”

  As he heard Cooper’s desperate words, Captain Miller rested his hand on his sidearm. Trident glanced quickly at the other two guards who were expecting Miller to give the order to have them point their guns at him. To his surprise, the old man did the opposite.

  “Mac, open that back door and get these people to the escape hatch,” Miller commanded.

  Mac nodded his head, “On it!” and ran to open the door. The other guard immediately started ordering the scientists to pack up. Miller, without missing a beat, began organizing his men over the radio.

  “What’s going on?” Tucker asked, confused. His hand inching towards his gun. It was not a motion he was accustomed to and jammed his finger on the butt of the gun. Doing his best to ignore the pain, he began contemplating the next logical move. Trident watching from the corner of his eye room shook his head at the suits follies.

  “The men from the other inspection group are attacking the facility. Code One means, evacuate all personnel if you are happening to be wondering,” glancing at Tucker. “Now, I don’t know you from Adam and Eve. And something tells me that you guys are not part of what’s going on. And you’re here to do the right thing,” Miller trusted.

  “Sir,” yelled Mac, “the door won’t open. We need to use the override.”

  “Right! Get started!” replied the old man. He faced Trident again and disclosed, “You and your buddies are special ops; I know the look. I need your help. I never trusted that Keeast fellow.” Tucker’s eyebrow promptly rose at the name. “So, I had Mac install a backup program that would allow us to bypass the security system. The only problem is Mac needs time to complete the hack.”

  Miller, clearly multi-tasking, snapped his fingers at another member of this team. “Tom get those scientists out of the line of fire. And take up a position near Mac.”

  The guard nodded and started herding the scientists.

  “What do you need us to do?” Trident asked.

  “Whoever hired my team went out of his way to get young, inexperienced soldiers in here. I trained them as best this place allowed me to. Unfortunately, I don’t know if they can do more than slow them down. So, I need you to set up positions with us and hold off anyone who tries to get in here.”

  “Which direction you expect them to come?” Tucker asked.

  “The only way they can; the front door. The back door leads to the escape hatch and the production floor only. My men, with your friends, will hold them off long enough that we can make it to the hatch before they reach us.”

  The radio crackled as a guard reported that the living quarters were under attack. Gunfire and screaming came through in the background. The old man stepped away and started bellowing more orders over the radio. After a few seconds, the radio fell silent with static. In a brief moment, Miller showed signs of compassion as his shoulders slumped slightly for the men that he was losing. They were not Green Berets by any means. However, they did serve under him, and that was enough.

  Tucker turned to Trident. “Can we help them?”

  Trident readied his weapon. “Doubt it. Sounds like the living quarters are lost.” He looked Tucker in the eyes. “Right now, we have to focus on holding the line here so Mac can get us the hell out of here.”

  “You think he knows I’m not Special Forces?”

  Trident chuckled, “Man, you reek of rubber erasers and copier toner. I think he knows.” He put his hand on Tucker’s shoulder, “But that doesn’t mean you can’t handle your own. Edge knows your capabilities, and he knew trouble was coming. If he were worried, he would’ve sent Doom with us.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Just don’t shoot me in the ass,” Trident requested.

  “Do my best, but no promises,” Tucker said with a smile, and he triple checked his sidearm.

  Now he finally understood the reason Edge’s men joked so much: it kept the anxiety from becoming overwhelming. He took a moment to sneak a glance at Ramona while she received some storage device from the scientist, Dr. Wright as he explained its importance. Dr. Wright was assuring her that what’s on the device would help find those responsible, everything else that might have been important was lost when Miller started issuing more orders.

  ۞۞۞۞

  Team Alpha, the first team to clear out the living quarters, made their way to the locked door at the other end of the room, stepping over bodies that minutes prior were struggling to escape. As they reached the door, Hitoshi came over the radio. “Small patrol coming faster than expected. Use shields.”

  Hitoshi’s voice, precise and clipped, was so flat and emotionless that if the soldiers had not seen him walking around, they would have believed he was an artificial intelligence program. In person, he was just as flat and emotionless and had the aura of someone wound way too tight. Even though his gift with computers made him invaluable to the team, most of them just preferred him in another room.

  Team Alpha halted momentarily at the door to stow their weapons and take out the shields on their back. In its carrying configuration the shield was much smaller than a normal riot shield but with the snap of two levers on the back, it deployed into a full-sized bullet-proof barrier.

  Team Bravo arrived at the door, having heard Hitoshi’s warning. They checked their ammo and fell into position behind the first team.

  On his tablet, Hitoshi sent the signal that unlocked the doors. The two teams moved into the hallway like water, fluid and smooth, setting up a barricade that gave them complete tactical advantage. At the other end of the hall, a small team of security guards came running towards the living quarters. Although the guards looked organized, there was a ruggedness and hesitation to their movements that showed they were far from seasoned combat veterans.

  The only areas of cover in the hallway were a few pillars that stuck out about two feet. The guards in front opened fire at the blockade of shields, but their bullets either ricocheted off harmlessly or went high.

  From behind the shields, a gre
en sphere came soaring over. A grenade landed with a definitive ping and rolled down the hallway. The front guards stumbled over the men behind them as they attempted to retreat.

  “Fuck this!” The guard closest to it screamed and ran to the grenade, kicking it like a soccer ball.

  Lifting off the ground, the grenade flew about two feet before it exploded. The brave guard who kicked it was a second too late in his retreat and caught the full force of the explosion. His body went flying towards the wall, where it impacted came to a prompt halt.

  As if on cue, team Bravo stood up from behind their shields and opened fire. Three guards fell dead instantly, followed by two more who were trying to get up from the explosion. The last two found cover behind the pillars.

  Team Bravo started pressing forward with their shields, one guard who found himself halfway exposed at his location broke cover in an attempt to reach the opposite wall were there was sufficient cover. Popping out, he did not hesitate to open fire on the advancing soldiers. Unfortunately, his bullets simply bounced off the shields like a ball to the ground, leaving him open for a soldier to pop up and snap off five rounds into his chest.

  They were the equivalent of modern-day Hoplites soldiers, not missing a beat in their attack as they marched down the hallway waiting for the last the guard to expose himself.

  Seeing what had happened to his comrades, the guard stuck out his gun and fired blindly, afraid to leave his cover any more than that. Cement chips flew off walls and glass from the overhead lights above shattered down on the soldiers; still it did little to deter them. His bullets struck everything except what he intended to hit, save for one random ricochet that found a vulnerability in the armor of one of Team Bravo and dropped him.

  Taking the opportunity, the guard made a break down the hallway. He understood that if only he could make it to the end of the hall, that he could get to what was left of the guard patrol in the production area to help reinforce the fight.

  Team Alpha leader saw the guard take off, dropped his shield and pulled out his side arm. He led the guard, giving him a few steps, then fired off three rounds. Blood spattered on the wall as the guard toppled into it and slid down.

  “Hallway clear,” the team leader radioed.

  “Understood. Team Alpha, Bravo, and Delta head towards the production floor. The target is our highest priority,” replied Draggo over the radio, turning to inform Keeast of the operation’s progress before returning to cleaning off his bloodied blade with a bed sheet.

  “Excellent,” Keeast smiled with satisfaction. “Draggo, take Echo team and provide backup for the squad heading to productions. Sergeant Pierce was able to sneak in some friends. The one in the lab has managed to provide these rejects with some real support. There are also two others of his team on the production floor.”

  “They don’t have the men or firepower to compete with us, sir,” replied Draggo, arrogantly.

  “Your newest battle scars tell me firepower and manpower aren’t the only factors in battle. Now go,” Keeast said coolly.

  It was quite clear that Keeast’s word got under Draggo’s skin as he hesitated before doing what he knew best and did as ordered. He had better sense to know when to voice his opinion and when to comply. And at the moment complying was much safer.

  ۞۞۞۞

  “Four Tangos in the hallway, ETA ten seconds,” Miller yelled as the hallway lights went black.

  Everyone scrambled to their location to defend the attack. Tom moved near Mac, who was stuck in the open with his hands flying over the keyboard. A column protected the computer, but it was not large enough to provide Mac with the same protection.

  Mac was nervous, and he tried to pretend he was hacking into his school systems to lessen the pressure. His ears perked when he heard the call about the enemy approaching. His anxiety jumped up a few notches, and he double tapped a key which brought up an error screen. He cursed at himself and started over again.

  Miller moved behind a pillar. “Mac, how long?”

  “Uhhhh… twenty, thirty seconds… I think.”

  “Take a breath, son. You can do it,” Miller coached. He saw Mac breathe in deeply and sigh it out as he continued pounding away at the keys. “When they enter lay down suppressive fire. Mac has to be able to finish, or we’re stuck,” Miller instructed the room.

  Tucker knelt behind a counter. He was surprised how calm he was, at least, compared to the Everglades. He did not get to dwell on it for long as the doors to the room burst open. Footsteps filled the silence and red laser beams swept above the table tops. Trident peeked out and saw four soldiers moving into the lab located closest to the entrance. It looks like they are trying to set up their position. We need to hit them now.

  He locked eyes with Miller and exchanged information using hand signals. Miller started a countdown: 3…2…1! At the end of his count, their guns announced the start of war.

  The return fire turned the lab into hell in a bottle, shredding everything in sight. Tucker let off three rounds before he had to drop and cover his head to duck the flying debris when part of a coffee mug landed next to him. He raised an eyebrow as he read the writing on the side: “I don’t do mornings.” He looked right and saw Trident slam in a fresh magazine to the MP5 that Mac had given him.

  “Having fun yet?” Trident asked, sardonically.

  “Beats the morning staff meetings,” Tucker replied.

  Trident smiled and snapped off a few more rounds; Tucker quickly followed suit. Every time he fired and ducked back behind cover, he found himself scanning the area. There was so much happening that he was struggling to take it all in. From Miller yelling to Mac to hurry up. And then watching the young man’s fingers flew over the keyboard with the skills of a pianist. He watches Mac flinched each time a bullet pinged off the wall near him. That kid has balls of steel.

  “Almost done sir,” He yelled his report.

  Trident did another quick scan of the lab. He saw two of the soldiers on his side; one was hunkered down by the computers, a straight shot in front of him, and another behind the workstations towards the doorway. A third soldier was in the clean room, across from Mac and the scientists, using the machines as cover. Shit! Where is the fourth guy?

  His eyes fell on the doorway and hidden in the shadows was the number four. Well, more specifically the barrel of his gun. It’s a setup. But why is he hiding out there? Trident started looking for high-value targets in the room and saw only one.

  “Mac! Drop!” Trident yelled.

  Half a second later he saw Mac slam down on the enter button and then yell triumphantly that he got it. Mac’s head then whipped back as blood sprayed out of the newly formed hole in the back of his head.

  Miller swore under his breath, seeing the fourth man hiding a few feet back from the doorway. “Skulking son of a bitch,” he whispered to himself and began to fire in the soldier’s direction, but missed as the soldier dove into the lab. “Fuck!”

  Mac’s lifeless form lay on the counter as if a kid had thrown a rag doll down. Blood rolled down the cabinets on the floor. Ramona inches away, stifled a sob at the death she witnessed. She finally came to understand the saying, knowing that people died and seeing it happen are two different things. They do not prepare you for this at MIT. She looked at the scientists whose faces all matched her own: fear. Okay, girl, she thought, he made that sacrifice for us. Don’t waste it by panicking!

  ۞۞۞۞

  When Trevor Rice joined the Army, the last thing that he expected was to be cited for assaulting his incompetent senior officer and end up guarding some non-existent location. Beyond that, he never expected for this non-existent location to be under attack. When the breach alert came over the radio, the twenty-six-year-old ran to Quinn.

  “Sir, the facility is under attack, and we need to get to safety,” he stated with urgency.

  “Do not worry, Mr. Rice,” Quinn responded. “I am in the best of hands. These men here are government agents.”

 
“Sir?”

  “Go, son. Save who you can. They will protect me,” Quinn said calmly.

  Rice persisted. “Sir, they’re killing everyone. The living quarters have been overrun. We need to leave now.”

  “He’s not going to leave, kid. He knew they were coming,” Pitch said. Rice looked at Quinn, completely confused.

  “Very good - what is it - Pitch, I think you go by? That must make you Doom and you their fearless leader, Edge,” Quinn gloated. “I scanned your faces when you arrived. I knew who you were before you even got to my office. Honestly, I’ve heard more original names in a comic book.” He watched the faces of the three men change as they dropped all pretenses and became simply special operation soldiers on a mission, all seeming to share a common thought: Should we kill him?

  “Who’s attacking the facility?” Edge asked.

  “It doesn’t matter: they’re going to kill everyone,” Quill replied matter-of-factly;

  “Everyone?” Pitch asked, looking in Quinn’s direction.

  “Almost…everyone,” Quinn said smugly.

  “Got any ideas?” Pitch asked his comrades.

  “Working on it,” Edge responded as he grabbed Quinn’s shirt. A yelp escaped as Edge’s grip removed some chest hair. “I’ll ask again. Who is coming after us? And how many?”

  “I’m, uh, not privy to all their workings. I just…” Edge cut Quinn off by slamming him into a chair.

  Rice snapped his weapon at Quinn, betrayal hot in his eyes. “What the hell are they talking about sir? Did you let these guys in?”

  “Relax, kid,” Pitch said placing his hand on Rice’s gun to lower it.

  “We had suspicions that someone working here was helping that group that attacked Miami. And it looks like we found him. But now we need to figure out a way to stop them,” Edge explained while Rice struggled to cool himself down.

  Doom tried to keep the guard focused. “Okay kid, what can you tell us about this place that will help the situation?”