Published: 24 May 2018

Kyle pushed Brett’s wheelchair into a small unmarked office. The office was bare except for a desk with two chairs in front of it. Seated at the desk was Admiral Norris behind him a young Navy Ensign stood against the wall.

Norris pointed at the chair. “Kyle take a seat please. Gentlemen we are sending you in.”

Brett leaned forward in his wheelchair. “Aggy, I don’t think we are ready. We have only been working together for a few days.”

“Brett I don’t have a choice. We have some new information and we are sending you home.”

“Home?”

“We have information and we need you to get on the ground and corroborate it.”

Brett nodded. “At least it’s my home city, that makes it a little better.”

Norris looked over his shoulder at the Navy Ensign still standing there. “Brett, Kyle meet Ensign Daileass of the Naval Intelligence Division. He is going to ask you a few questions ok?”

Brett shrugged his shoulders. “Ok, sure.”

Daileass came forward and sat down. “Brett, Kyle it’s a pleasure to meet you both. The Admiral has told me a lot about you. I just have a couple questions for you and then I will be out of your way.”

Brett looked over at Norris and then Kyle and smiled. “Thank you Ensign. You can skip the formalities and start your interrogation now.”

Daileass smiled a little. “What would make you think I am going to interrogate you.”

Brett leaned back in his chair. He looked at Norris and Kyle and smiled. “Well Ensign Daileass, first of all you stand in the back of the room like you’re the Admiral’s valet and then he introduces you as Naval Intelligence; any moron would start to think this was an interrogation. But add to that, Admiral Norris is here to send me on a top secret mission and is about to give me classified intel.” Brett held up his hand to stop Daileass from responding. “This is where you would say you are following standard Naval procedure when discussing any operation and you would be correct, however you are not Navy. You are way too young to be a Naval Officer, yes you could counter with the whole child Prodigy thing but you cannot enter the Naval Academy until you are 18. I place you at best 19. No one has ever made it through any Military Academy in the US in one year. And you’re not wearing a Naval Academy ring, every new officer wears their academy ring. You didn’t just forget it since there is no tan line on your finger. The fact that Norris is trying to hide who you are means he is searching for someone or something but doesn’t want to tip his hand. He is hunting. Now you are not Navy but you’re not just some 19 year old either. A 19 year old fake Ensign does not conduct interrogations. The Admiral trusts you and you are some sort of intelligence operative but not US government, no agency in either of the two current US governments would hire a 19 year old for anything other than sweeping the floor and getting them coffee. But you’re proud and you’re confident. You walk tall, you keep eye contact and you don’t get annoyed. So you are obviously trained and trained well. Since you’re working for my friend Aggy here, you’re the best there is at what you do so you’re from the UNIT. So Daileass please continue your interrogation. I know there will not be torture involved because I trust Admiral Norris with my life.”

Norris just laughed. “When I say you’re a smartass I mean that as the best possible compliment.”

Daileass smiled and looked over at Norris. “This should be short and easy. Brett do you serve President Jack Bryce?”

“No.”

“Brett are you loyal to the United States of America.”

“No.”

“Brett do you serve President Ashwood?”

“No”

“Brett are you loyal to the Army of God”

“No”

“Who are you loyal to?”

“Myself, first and foremost, then those that I care about.” He reached out and took Kyles hand. “The very small group of people I care about are Kyle, my brother, Felix, Bucky, Matthew Peters and the Admiral, they are my family. Can I do this mission and can I be trusted? I will do whatever it takes to protect my family and right now that means rebuilding this country and supporting Admiral Norris. If that changes then my stance will change. ”

“He is telling the truth.”

Norris nodded and Daileass stood. “Ok I am done here thank you for your time.”

Brett cocked his head a little. “You’re not going to question Kyle?”

Daileass smiled. “I got his answers at the same time as yours.” He turned and walked out the door.

Norris just smiled and shrugged as the two boys stared wide eyed. “Don’t ask me, I haven’t a clue. Ok tomorrow morning you’re going in. Right now Daileass is questioning every member of your team. When he is done Lieutenant Payne will brief you on the mission. Once you have heard the briefing, then decide if you can do this or not. Gentlemen I will not see you until you come back, so while you’re out there, be careful. No unnecessary risks. If it gets too dangerous, bug out. Your lives are more important than anything understood?”

Kyle looked at Brett and smiled. “Don’t worry Admiral, I will make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Norris stood. “I am counting on it. Good Luck.” He walked out the door leaving the two alone.

Payne stepped up to the podium and a picture of someone that could be Logan’s twin appeared on the screen. “This is Trevor Longways, Ashwood’s cyber geek. Those of you that know Logan will notice the resemblance, there is no known explanation for that at this point.”

Blake smirked and almost laughed out loud as Payne continued. “Most of our current information comes from him and we don’t know if we can trust him. Which is why you are going in. The information we have has been corroborated with drones and what satellite imagery we can get, but hard on the ground intel is crucial.”

An hour later they were all waiting with their gear.

Juan stood up and started pacing. Brett looked up at him. “Juan are you nervous?”

Juan stopped and looked at him. “No, I am good.”

Brett cocked his head. “You’re sweating and it’s rather chilly in here, you’re pacing and you have been fidgeting for the past half hour. I understand you’re nervous, we all are. We are about to take part in some crazy shit. You’re nervous that you’re taking a bunch of kids into a war zone. But part of you is trying to rationalize what you have seen during our training. We have all proved ourselves so far. And you know in your heart we are what nightmares are made of. We will not hesitate, ever. If anything gets between us and our mission, we will not even blink. I have been through horrors you can only imagine and came out the other side…well… sort of intact. Every one of you have experienced things no one ever should. We do this to make sure no one else has to. We will never be able to go back to a normal life, we will never unsee the things we have seen. We can’t put the Genie back in the bottle, so let’s use that Genie so that no one has to see what we have seen. We will be ruthless, we will be the monsters so everyone else can sleep at night.”

Juan sat down and smiled. “Thanks Brett, I know I can rely on you guys and you will have my back and I yours. I am more nervous about the fact that we are going in with very little information. I am nervous that we are starting some super secret spy organization for Admiral Norris. What’s going to stop him from using us to seize power.”

Brett laughed. “Well, for one thing we are. Remember, we determine what information Norris gets and when. If we ever think he is abusing his power, we will be holding the cards. Besides, Admiral Norris doesn’t want power. He never has. He sees his job as a duty, a responsibility. Don’t get me wrong, he would make one of the best damn Presidents this country has ever seen because he really is one of the good guys. The man is above reproach. Sure, he might bend the rules sometimes, but he doesn’t do it for his own personal gain, he does it for the greater good.”

Kyle placed his hand on Brett’s shoulder. “I have only known Admiral Norris for a few weeks now, but the man personally helped save my life. As my leg was gushing blood Admiral Norris walked up and let corpsmen order him to apply pressure and help stem the flow of blood. Afterward he came to visit me and check on me. The man is for real. Every one of us has an Admiral Norris story or someone close to him.”

Ryan laughed. “Have you guys met Bucky?” They all nodded. “That crazy mother fucker is Admiral Norris’ right hand. This dumb ass and his team jumped out of an airplane during a fucking blizzard, right into the middle of fucking New York City. Busted into our hideout and was like hey guys I am all cool and shit and here is some food. That’s not even the craziest shit. He got Rico the the head of the Latin Kings to sit down with Five-o and actually make a plan to take back NYC from the pricks there. And they did, and now all the kids and families that were close to starving are getting food and heat. There is some ship sitting in the harbor providing power. And you know what, Rico and the fuzz are still working together. They are helping keep the city safe and helping people get the food and medicine and shit they need. Right before they pulled me out I saw Rico and a fucking donut jockey sitting on the steps of a church sharing a fucking coke and laughing like they were best friends. That’s what these mother fuckers are doing, I am all in.”

Carlos leaned over and patted Juan on the knee. “Come on Juan, you remember the shit we did in Daytona with them. And then Orlando, these guys are the real deal. Crazy sons a bitches but the real deal. And now we are too.”

Juan smiled. “I guess if we have to pick sides then we should at least pick the side that is crazy enough to think they could change the world.” He reached in his bag and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. He nodded to Carlos who jumped up and grabbed some cups. Juan poured shots into six cups. “I know you guys are underage but this deserves a toast.” He passed a cup to each team member and then raised his. They all followed. “To the Shadow Warriors.”

They all cheered. “Shadow Warriors.” and downed the shot.

Kyle almost spit it back out. “What the F is that?”

Juan laughed. “Some sort of hooch the Urban Rangers cooked up.”

Ryan smiled. “Its disgusting. I hope you have more.”

“Three bottles.”

Brett smiled. “Ok do I have to be the adult here. Only during downtime if we have any.”

Juan winked at him. “Yes Daddy.”

Just then the sound of a helicopter approaching distracted them and Lieutenant Payne walked in.

“Ok everyone it’s time to go.”

They grabbed their gear and headed out to the chopper. Daileass was standing next to it waiting for them. He helped them load the gear and then got in the cockpit. “Ready guys?”

They all looked at each other and smiled and Brett gave him a thumbs up. “Ok then let’s get going. It’s a long trip so you should catch some shut eye.”

Brett woke up to the feeling of the chopper descending. He looked out, saw a ship beneath them and keyed the mic on his helmet. “Hey big D what gives.”

“We have some new intel. We might have to find an alternate insertion spot. We are landing on the USS Fort Worth. Hopefully we can pick a another insertion quickly so this gives you guys a chance to stretch your legs, we are only about 30 minutes out.”

The chopper touched down and everyone climbed out. A couple crew members were standing there and escorted them off the flight deck into what looked like a small cafeteria. The room was completely empty but there were snacks and drinks on a table.

Daileass walked in behind them. “We only have a few minutes and the crew will stay away from here until we leave. The fewer people that know about this mission the better. Grab some grub and relax. The XO is on his way with the new intel.”

Just then the door opened and a Lieutenant Commander walked in. “Please do not tell me your names or ask mine. You were never here, you never saw me and I never saw you. We did a drone fly over of your target and this is what we saw.” He set some high resolution pics on the table and Brett and the guys looked at them

Juan shook his head. “Fuck we are compromised. Does this mean we abort?”

Brett laughed. “Nope. They are waiting on us.”

Daileass just stared at him. “Who is they and how do they know you’re coming?”

“They are MI-6 and how they know we are coming is my concern.”

“Fuck Brett, no one is supposed to know you are coming and what you are doing. And how the fuck did you get in contact with MI-6”

“I have my ways and they don’t know we are coming; they know I am coming and again how I got in contact is my concern. You want me to run this operation, then don’t question the way I do it.”

“What if they are compromised?”

“We will find that out when we get there. These guys are professional spooks. If they are compromised they are not going to tip their hand to a lowly boy prostitute. They are going to wait until they find out for sure.

“As soon as we land you and Blake are going to vet them. If they are compromised we kill them.”

Daileass stood there thinking. “You scare me Brett and that’s hard to do. Have you met my brother Juan? You two would be best friends. Ok, let’s load up and get going.”

They all grabbed a couple more snacks and headed back to the chopper. Once loaded Daileass lifted the bird in the air and headed east. Once over land he descended to near tree top level.

Brett keyed his mic. “I thought this thing couldn’t be seen on radar why are we flying so low.”

“It’s more fun.”

Brett just shook his head. “Show off.”

A few minutes later Daileass voice came over the radio. “Ok, approaching the LZ. Juan and Carlos are first out and take screening positions on either side. The building is going to screen us. As soon as we land I will disengage stealth. Brett and Blake out next, meet the agents. Blake your code, if you feel like they are compromised is, ‘we are clear’. If you feel they are not it’s, ‘all clear’, everyone understand ‘we are clear’ Juan and Carlos drop them, no hesitation, ‘all clear’ we unload. Then I will talk to them and get a better reading.”

Juan keyed his mic. “Roger we are clear we shoot all clear we stand down.”

“Here we go, like threading a needle.”

Kyle looked out the door window and saw the giant square building right below them. The courtyard in the middle of the building looked extremely small. “Are we really landing there?”

Brett just nodded while Ryan looked out. “Holy fuck you guys are nuts. Have some of that hooch ready when we get on the ground, I am gonna need it.”

Daileass slowly and expertly lowered the helicopter into the giant square. Everyone on board held their breath as the rotors barely cleared the sides of the building. As soon as they felt the skids touch, Daileass shouted over the radio, “GO!”

Juan and Carlos threw open the side doors, jumped out and took a knee and began scanning.

Two figures emerged from the shadows with weapons drawn. “You are on British sovereign soil. Please state your business or we will open fire”.

Brett stuck his head out. “Cornelius wants to know when he should stop shagging your Mum?”

There was a chuckle from one of the guys and they lowered their weapons. “When I stop shagging his Pa.”

Brett jumped down with Blake and they approached the two men.

The first reached out his hand “Bowler and Batsman and you are?”

Brett shook his hand. “Shortstop and Left Fielder.”

The same man smiled. “Ok everything checks out. Damn fancy helicopter you boys have, what the hell brings you to this God forsaken city?”

Brett smiled. “What the hell are you still doing here?”

“The British never actually abandon an embassy. We were ordered to stay behind and continue to collect evidence for her majesty.”

“All clear.”

Juan and Carlos keep their positions and Ryan, Kyle and Daileass jumped out and approached.

Daileass walked right up to the two men. “Who do you report to?”

The first man cocked his head. “To her majesty’s royal Government. Odd bird this one.”

Daileass didn’t respond but looked at the second man. “Who do you report to?”

The man just looked at him “He already told you her majesty’s royal government.”

Daileass nodded. “All clear. Kyle, Ryan and Blake help Juan and Carlos get the gear unloaded. I need to get this bird back in the air and out of here.”

Everyone quickly unloaded the gear and the two British agents showed them the secret set of rooms they had been hiding in. The entrance to the rooms was through the walk-in cooler in the kitchen and down a set of stairs. There was a small office, a kitchen, a dining area and two large rooms with cots.

Once all the gear was loaded in one of the sleeping rooms Daileass looked around at everyone. “This is it, gentlemen you are on your own. Get your comms setup and check in once every 5 hours. Good luck and Godspeed.”

He walked out of the rooms, back to his helicopter and took off.

The six man team stood there looking at two British agents. Brett finally broke the silence.

“I am Brett this is Kyle, Ryan, Juan, Blake and Carlos.”

“I am Carl and this is James. So you want to tell us what the hell is going on.”

“I will explain as much as I can. Let’s sit down.”

“Good idea. James let’s get the tea on, it’s gonna be a long night. Or would you prefer coffee?”

They all sat down and Brett gave the two agents as much detail as he could, without giving away too much. After a few minutes the lead agent, Carl stood up and refilled his tea.

“We have kept a pretty low profile but we do have a contact in the Argentinian army. A captain that might be of help. He is a communications officer and has supplied us with some good intelligence. He could help get Juan and Carlos into the main bases.”

Brett nodded, “Glad MI-6 is on our side.”

James smiled. “We are not MI-6 just a couple British businessmen stranded during this mess and looking to get home.”

Brett nodded. “Understood. I have some contacts I need to try to find in a few hours. Blake you’re with me. Kyle you go with Ryan, he is gonna try to link up with Rico’s contact in the Latin Kings. Juan and Carlos see if you can work Carl and James’ contact. Let’s get settled in and then to work, we only have a couple days to see what’s going on here. Any questions?”

Everyone just looked at him. Carl smiled. “I must say I didn’t expect such a young lad to be in charge but you have a good head about you.”

“Thanks Carl. Ok everyone get a couple hours sleep.”

Brett, Kyle, Blake and Ryan headed off to the dorm room they were sharing with Juan and Carlos, who had stayed with James and Carl to discuss their contact more.

The four boys found it hard to rest as they were about to put themselves in the line of fire. All they could talk about was the mission. Finally it was Kyle that stood up from the two cots he and Brett had pushed together. “I have a deck of cards here somewhere anyone up for some spades to take our minds off shit,”

The other three quickly agreed and soon the four boys were laughing and joking like the teenagers they were supposed to be.

By the time Juan and Carlos came in the room to wake them, all four boys were snoring. Juan carefully shook Kyle awake. “It’s time, you want to wake the rest?”

Kyle rubbed his eyes and nodded.

Juan smiled at him. “Coffee is ready in the kitchen. We are leaving with James, but Carl is staying behind. Don’t forget to get the comms set up and send a message letting Pops know we made it safe.”

“Got it. Now get going… Juan you guys be careful out there.”

Juan mussed his hair. “You too buddy. Back here in four hours or we start looking for you.”

Kyle just pushed him away and as soon as the guys left the room, Brett rolled over and looked at him. “I think he likes you.”

Kyle raised himself to one elbow and looked at Brett. “Did you read his file asshole?”

“I skimmed it.”

“His little brother was killed in Daytona by some thugs when they were trying to round up ‘undesirables’. His brother is my age. I think I remind him of him.”

Brett smiled and kissed Kyle. “Let’s wake the other two.”

Blake stood up “Too late. Come on Ryan I know you were eavesdropping too.”

Ryan sat up. “Were you reading my mind?”

“No dumbass your breathing changed. Come on let’s do it. Kyle and I need to get comms setup and we all need to get out there.”

All four teens got out of bed and made their way to the kitchen. Kyle and Blake quickly got the comm unit set up and Carl led them to the rooftop to install the antenna. Once they were finished they met the other two guys in the dining area and ate a quick snack of some weird packaged dry cookie things Carl called biscuits.

Kyle helped Brett get his blades on then he and Blake left the Embassy from the rear door facing a park. They kept to the tree line as much as possible, then used the alleyways and abandoned buildings. At one point they hid behind a dumpster as an Army patrol passed by. They thought for sure they were gonna get caught when one of the soldiers stopped to take a piss on the far side of the dumpster they were using.

After the soldiers moved on they both breathed an audible sigh of relief and Brett noticed Blake sheath a very large knife. Brett chuckled.

Blake looked at him funny and whispered, “What are you laughing at?”

“Your knife made me think of a funny line in a movie. You ever seen Crocodile Dundee?”

Blake thought for a minute. “Don’t think I have.”

“OMG. We are so watching it after we get back. Right now we have to move. We are almost there.”

Blake nodded and noticed Brett wince a little when he stood up. They traveled through a couple of alleys, keeping to the shadows and came to a stop. Blake knelt down beside Brett as he pointed to an abandoned building across the street from them.

“My boy Gil runs a crash house there. Gil is who we want to see, but it’s been a while and crash houses have to move sometimes so I don’t know what we will find.”

Blake eased the 9mm out of his waistband, double checked it and slid it back in. Brett smirked. “The only way you will need that is if drug dealers have run Gil and the kids out. But that is definitely not the case. Drug dealers are notorious for being smug. They would have fire pits going and look outs posted. I don’t see anything that makes this look like a drug house. The thing that has me worried is. I don’t see any activity at all.”

Blake tapped him on the shoulder and pointed down the alley beside the building they were watching.

Brett just shrugged. “What?”

“Two kids, young kids just walked up to the building and someone opened a door. The kids were carrying full backpacks.”

“You saw all that?”

“Yeah you didn’t?”

“No, you’re the superhuman not me, remember?”

Blake just shook his head and suppressed a chuckle. “So now what?”

Brett leaned out and looked up and down the street. “We go ring the doorbell.” He stood up and darted across the street without warning. Blake’s reflexes and speed had him caught up before Brett reached the center of the road. They slid into the alley like two base runners trying to score at home plate.

Blake stood up and dusted himself off. “You’re pretty fast in those things. How do they feel?”

“Sore but it’s good to walk and run. Stay behind me.” He walked up to what looked like a plywood covered door to a casual observer. Brett looked around and until he found a small hole in the wall near the door. He reached his hand in and rapped his knuckles three times on a piece of wood inside. He waited a second and rapped two more times, waited another second and knocked once more.

Blake tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear. “There is someone standing right inside the door.”

Brett just nodded his head as the plywood swung out slowly revealing a crack. “Who’s there?”

“Shortstop.”

There was a long pause. “Shortstop is dead.”

“No I am not but I will be if you leave us out here for very much longer, come on bitch, let us in, it’s fucking cold out here.”

There was a laugh and the door opened all the way. “Hurry up and get inside you piece of white trash.”

Brett laughed and stepped through the door. “Best piece of trash you ever ate.”

Blake followed him into the pitch black room and pulled the door closed behind them. He felt a hand push him a little. “Honey you got to move a little so momma Gil can seal up.”

Blake stepped forward and heard some rustling behind him. He turned to his side, reached back and put his hand on the butt of the pistol.

“Ok kiddo’s we are sealed.” A light turned on and the room came into focus. “Get that heater back on.” Blake turned to see a tall skinny black kid standing behind him. “And who is this delicious piece of beefcake.”

Brett laughed and threw his arms around the tall boy. “That’s Blake, go easy on him he is straight.”

Gil hugged Brett back. “And you back from the dead. This is a story I have to hear. Come on let me introduce you to the kids.” Gil led them to a small group huddled around a small portable electric heater.

Blake looked around. “You have electricity?”

“Not really gorgeous. We steal electric from a few buildings down. It’s a hotel but they use it for some of the Junior officers. One of my former boys works there as a bellboy. The whole staff there are basically slaves to the officers. They know we are stealing the electric but they won’t rat us out. Everyone hates these damn soldiers, mean evil lot for the most part. But don’t you fret your sexy little head none, you are safe now that you are with Momma Gil.”

Brett set his backpack down and started to pull out giant bags of trail mix and granola bars. Blake pulled out bottles of gatorade.

Gil looked shocked. “Who did you all kill to get this.”

Brett smiled. “It gets better.” He reached in and pulled out a couple boxes of Hershey bars.

Everyone in the room gasped and Gil took a step back from them. “Child you made a deal with satan himself didn’t you?”

“No, just a crazy old Navy guy that thinks chocolate solves everything.”

Gil shook his head. “He might be right. Let me introduce you to the family.” He went around the room and introduced them to the six kids sitting around the heater. No one was over the age of 10. “You kids eat one chocolate bar each now and save the rest for later. I am gonna go in the other room and have a chat with Blake and Brett here.”

Gil motioned for them to follow him into another room. As they walked, Brett noticed all the windows and doors were sealed with heavy fabrics. Gil noticed him looking. “Keeps the heat and light in. Have to make sure the army thinks no one is here. This neighborhood is pretty secure as far as they know so they don’t pay too close attention around here.”

They entered a small room with two cots. Gil turned on a small lamp sitting on a table. He reached down and turned another heater on. “Sit down you two.”

They both sat down on the cot across from him. “Ok spill, what the fuck is going on.” Gils voice was deeper as he dropped the Momma Gil act.

Brett took a deep breath, but Blake stopped him from saying anything by grabbing his arm.

“Gill, we are here with some pretty powerful people and have a question for you before we begin. Are you familiar with the Army of God.”

Gil shook his head. “Nope sounds like some nut case religious types.” He paused. “Oh hell… don’t tell me you all are hooked on Jesus now.”

Blake chuckled. “No, we have just heard rumors about this group and were wondering if you heard anything.”

“Not that I recall.”

“Have you had any dealings with the Military here?”

“Just the usual fuck for food stuff.”

Blake smiled and nodded to Brett. “So Gil, I didn’t die as you can tell. Got my legs blown off but I lived. I had stolen a disk from General Connors, a disk of names of people to be arrested or who were arrested. Some of them were to be detained in a concentration camp in Orlando, some of them were to be executed on the spot. I almost got out but Connors caught me and I tossed a grenade at him. My little brother got away with the disk. They thought I hid it so they kept me alive and tried to torture it out of me until Admiral Norris arrived and kicked the shit out of them.”

“I don’t know of any Admiral Norris I don’t think.”

“He wouldn’t have been a customer for any of us. He is not that kind of guy. Anyway he is the Commander of the US Forces on the East Coast for President Bryce. They are winning the war and they sent me and my team here to scout and find out what’s going on.”

“Wait, are you saying there is really a war and these douchebags here in the city are really losing.”

“Yes.”

“They keep telling us they have the whole country under control and they can do whatever they want. What the Hell does Bryce have to do with it?”

“Bryce won the election..”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“No seriously and congress impeached Ashwood and Rancore. Then some crazy shit in congress happened, Bryce was made VP and then the President some congress guy resigned making Bryce President. Bryce controls everything pretty much west of the Mississippi, central Florida and most of New England. Admiral Norris, the guy I work for, is the commander of the war on the east coast.”

Gil leaned back. “So when are they gonna come kick these goons out of here.”

“That’s why I am here. The intel we have is the US forces here pulled out leaving just the Argentinian Forces.”

“Yeah they pulled out a couple days ago. We had hoped things would settle down but the American Troops had kept the foreign troops in check. Now they do whatever they want whenever they want. Most of the street kids have been rounded up and either shipped off or kept in the old Dumbarton Museum, they turned it into some sort of pleasure house. They have sex slaves of all genders and ages in there. It’s pretty heavily guarded and no one that has been taken there has come out. We don’t know if they are dead or alive. I did my best rounding up kids and stashing them here, but we had to go out and get supplies. I started with 33 kids now I have 10.”

Brett stood up and started pacing. “How many do you think are in there?”

“Last I heard maybe a hundred, not just street kids either, kids whose parents were arrested or killed. I also know they seized all the schools around Fort Myers over in Arlington. All the military people’s kids go to those schools. One of the kids, out there in the other room, is Jared. His dad is commander of the Tomb guards. They are still there and on duty BTW. They took all the kids to the Dumbarton and other facilities like it. They are using them as hostages to get the rest of the Military in DC to do what they want. Jared decided to skip school that day and went exploring the city, him and his dad had just moved here.

Brett stared at Gil for a moment. “Does Jared’s dad know he is here?”

Gil just looked at him. “As far as he knows, his kid is one of the hostages. We figured it would be safer for Jared and his dad that way.”

Brett looked over at Blake. “Something to keep in our hats for now. Gil do you happen to know how many soldiers are left in the city and where they all are.”

Gil smiled. “I didn’t count them all. Where they are is easy. The National Mall and a few blocks surrounding it. Dupont Circle, and Georgetown are pretty heavily patrolled and considered secured. Arlington is pretty tightly wrapped up from what I hear, there hasn’t been much activity at Andrews but Reagan National is a beehive lately. Parkview is completely locked down, no one in or out and no one knows what’s going on in there.”

Blake looked at his watch. “We have to head back.”

“Ok Gill stay put and don’t let the kids out of the building any more. I will get you some more food and supplies as I can. How long can you last with what you have?”

“A day or two with what you brought. I can ration it out tighter.” He paused. “Brett, get these kids out of here.”

Brett hugged him. “I can’t Gil, but I can make sure these fuckers pay for what they have done. It’s gonna get really hairy around here very soon. Stay indoors as much as possible and we will let you know if you have to run.”

Gil sighed. “Brett, I won’t leave any of the kids behind.”

“I won’t either Gil.”

Reading and enjoying this story? Let Ken know and what your thoughts are about this little juant into spooksville. Ken dot Barber at CastleRoland dot net