Land of the Blind (Chapter 26)

                                                              Land of the Blind

                                                                  Chapter 26

Devereaux Marshall Fox quietly lay in the high reeds that ran alongside the two-lane highway leading to the front gate of Chiang’s base.  They would have been mowed to eliminate hiding spots, had Fox not interrupted the schedule. As it was, it did not matter to Fox as he had engaged his shield’s cloaking device after landing and ditching his copter.

He focused his right eye on the rather strong defenses at the gate.  When the jet copter that he’d set on autopilot spun toward the gate and the defenders opened up on it, he lost his respect.  He couldn’t believe that they’d left the ammunition trucks right behind the armored personnel carriers.

After the shock wave from the resulting explosion passed, he got up and walked right into the smoke and dust. He couldn't see the ground, but he didn't need to. In his vision, he had his scanners mapping out the terrain as he stepped into the huge crater that existed now where once the main gate had stood. He kept a close watch for body parts.

“Apparently they didn’t hear the warnings from Velasquez’s planes to head to the airfield for evacuation,” Fox said to himself as he stepped carefully.

“There have been some very loud explosions, Devereaux,” his microcomputer responded.  “They might have some deafness.”

“Not anymore,” Fox remarked, coldly.

He got to the top of the crater and, within a few moments, came out of the smoke and saw utter chaos.  There was not a building or structure on the base that was not damaged or on fire.  Bodies lay everywhere.  To his glee, though, he saw plenty of abandoned defensive positions and spotted several vehicles heading for the airfield.  That made it easier to identify the stalwart defenders who couldn’t or wouldn’t understand the depth of their situation.

He’d already replaced his assault rifle with his shotgun.  His sensor spotted movement to the left and, without looking, he pointed his shotgun and fired.  Screams came back, but there was no need to check.  He dialed a number into the stock, pointed the barrel to the right this time and squeezed the trigger.  An armored personnel carrier exploded, taking with it the four soldiers firing from behind the vehicle.

"Don't you think you're going too far with this revenge, Devereaux?" the microcomputer asked as Fox reset the controls on his shotgun. "Don't you think that all of this destruction is overkill for what Chiang did to the netherworld?"

"Overkill?" Fox asked, sounding incredulous. "I'm being merciful. If I followed the emotions I felt after Area 51, I wouldn't have destroyed the solar mirror after taking out the floating complex. I'd have cut a swath across Florida right into the damn base. Then, I'd have told Anna Velasquez to kiss my ass and let the entire Federation deal with the consequences. And why are you asking me this now? Did you go somewhere the last ten years?"

"I am not a mind-reader, Devereaux. And you did not say a single word for a decade until the netherworld was restored. Do you know what it's like to be ignored for that long?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I had a lot to think about. Can we table this until later?"

Fox felt the slantium bullets of the Praetorian rifles hitting him but he ignored it.  He’d been hit by worse.  He just kept walking, guided by the map coordinates he’d pilfered from the secret files of Mavromichalis’ regional command headquarters. Only when soldiers appeared directly in front of him did he fire back.

“Corporate elites,” he said, with disgust, as he peered down at the uniforms of some of the bodies.  “No wonder they’re not retreating.  They have as much to lose as their bosses.”

He spied a mangled body and paid it no mind.  Then, he stopped, crouched down and scanned the badly burned uniform identification tag.  He saw that it belonged to a senior corporate elite and he suddenly felt sad when he determined the name.

"Henway," he muttered.  "Damn it."

“My sensors indicate that the headquarters building and Chiang’s bunker are ahead and to the right, just past the ring of barracks,” the microcomputer reported to get Fox's mind refocused.

“Let’s get on with it then,” Fox remarked.

"Yes, let's," the microcomputer agreed. "We don't want to keep the general waiting."

"Scan ahead. Anything major in our way?"

"There is a mobile surface-to-air missile launcher ahead and to the left," the microcomputer replied. "With all four missiles unfired. But, it is abandoned."

"The crew abandoned their position?" Fox mused. "I believe that's dereliction of duty. Well, let's see what we can do about that, shall we?"

                                                                      * * * * *

“Good Lord,” was all Hasagawa could say when she saw the explosion that wiped out the main gate.

She’d been operating the medical triage area in one of the main aircraft hangars.  The place had filled up much too fast, forcing her to use adjoining hangars and to call in more transports to take the most seriously injured to the nearest military facilities.  She’d been virtually overwhelmed by the magnitude of Fox’s attack, but had been greatly helped by Thomas Wojonowski and Adrienne Chinedu, who had been working with Mavromichalis’ regional subsidiary office in Jacksonville when the attack had started.

She heard another explosion and looked up again. A transport that had just begun to lift off suddenly landed again, second before another shock wave washed over the hangars. The transport was moved back a few feet. Moments later, it lifted off safely and Hasagawa breathed a sigh of relief. She just wondered when it would all finally end, while silently thanking God that the hangars had all been built to resist heavy bombing. She moved over to a group of newly-arrived doctors and nurses.



Warrant Officer Cobra had the arduous task of securing the airfield.  There had already been three attempts by Praetorians to use the airfield as a defense line to organize counterattacks.  Cobra had broken them up because Velasquez’s agreement with Fox stipulated that he would not attack the airfield if he was not attacked.

Instead, the warrant officer had ignored their protests, taken their weapons and then sent them to the various hangars to help with the injured and wounded. He even let it slide when some of them called him a coward and traitor for not letting them defend the base against Fox. He could live with it because he had more important things to worry about and because he felt something worse was in store for the base's remaining defenders.



Velasquez and Maria Red Horse oversaw it all from the airfield’s control tower.  They monitored the evacuation and also kept watch for whatever force Mavromichalis was bringing up.  They also saw the tremendous explosions on the other side of the base.

“Is this the best that we can do, Anna?” Maria asked.

Anna could see the plaintive look on her lover’s face, but she was at a loss to other options.

“We’ve got our orders, Maria,” Anna replied.  “The general said not to engage unless directly attacked.  And, this way, by vetting out the Elites and Cabal Staff, we can rescue a lot of the people who aren’t in Fox's sights.  Of course, from what we’ve seen so far, I don’t think any of them evacuated.  And, quite frankly, I don’t think there’ll be any of them left to evacuate.”

“What’s the end game then?” Maria queried.  “Rickholts was killed by Fox at Area 51.  Donat is likely dead, too or sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic, wishing he were dead.  We all saw Paulius buy the farm.  That leaves General Chiang, the Special Elites and the Cabal.”

“You sound sorry that they might all be killed, Maria,” Anna said.  “I think we’re better served with an old adage – discretion is the better part of valor.”

“It’s not that, Anna.  It’s that we’ve failed in our duty as Federation officers if we just stand here and let it happen.  Chiang should be brought to trial.  He and his Cabal have hurt a lot of people.  We're risking an awful lot for a man who almost killed us.”

Because they were alone in the tower, Anna reached over and hugged her partner quickly.  It was not proper decorum when they were in uniform, but she felt that Maria needed it.  She then stepped back and took the nearest chair.

“Fox and I go way back, Maria,” she said after a time.  “I saw him kill my entire family and I cursed his name, only to find out that he was just being merciful.  I lost men and women under my command only to find that I’d accidentally condemned innocent children to potentially crippling lives. Time has a way of giving you a new perspective on your life.

“Fox is not the enemy I was trained to fight.  He fought to the end to try to save thousands of lives in the Panama Canal.  He killed Lee Chiang to save the Paras in Brazil and to keep the general from getting his hands on a vast quantity of Boron-352. God only knows how many more Boraton bombs would have been made.  He saved our lives, Maria, at Area 51 and then sacrificed his netherworld to save the entire human race, I’m convinced of that.”

Another big explosion caught her eye, but she barely looked at it as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then exhaled. When the shock of the explosion rolled past and knocked a porcelain mug off a shelf next to her, she didn't flinch. It was insignificant to what she was feeling now.

“Fox has been leveling the playing field – as he called it – far longer than all of us have been alive,” Anna continued.  “But, not once have I ever seen, heard or read of him personally taking control of a country or region.  He has backed democracy and either brought about or re-established republics, but never has he used force to install someone illegitimate into power.  And he could have, Maria, he could have.  Just look at that smoke on the horizon where Jacksonville is supposed to be.  No, Maria, we’ve both seen what Chiang is capable of and now, we’ve seen what Fox is capable of.

“Quite frankly, I think we should be thankful for big favors.  I want to see Chiang prosecuted to the fullest, especially for what he did to me.  On the other hand, I’d be more than glad to just be able to go in afterward and begin the task of cleaning up.  I think that’s an easier choice to make than risking lives in needless combat.”

In the background, a huge fireball shot up 500 feet into the sky, spewing smoke and debris to the edges of the airfield.  Then, just as quickly, three more explosions followed. Maria, though confused at Anna's words, instinctively reached out for Anna when the control tower shook violently from the blasts' shock waves.

"My God, I think Fox just hit the general's HQ," Anna said. "It shouldn't be much longer now."

                                                                      * * * * *

Chiang picked himself up off the floor and leaned against a console to get his bearings.  He coughed as the smoke from numerous electrical fires showered the command center with sparks.  Most of the viewing screens were out, and so were just about all of the computer banks. The only lighting he could see came from the red glow of the short-term, strategically-placed emergency lanterns.

“Waltrip, what the hell happened?” he spat out between coughs.  “What the hell hit us?”

“The last view we had of the surface was the lone surviving long-range mobile SAM launcher, sir,” Waltrip said as she stumbled forward, dodging dead or badly injured personnel.  “Fox fired all four missiles in succession.  It appears that each explosion was compounded by each succeeding warhead.”

“Last view?” Chiang asked, though the sinking feeling in his stomach told him he already knew the answer. "And we just got those surveillance systems back up. Damn. Where did the missiles hit?'

“The surface level, sir,” Waltrip replied.  “We’re completely sealed off from it now.  Everybody up there is dead, including all the Corporate Elites.  It would take a battalion of engineers an entire day to dig down to us or tunnel through what’s left of the escape systems.”

“Could it actually be?” Chiang whispered.  “Have Colonel Robinson and Major Nadi assemble in the Void.  My good fortune may still be working.”

“Sir?”

“I said that this is good for us,” Chiang replied, suddenly smiling.  “It means that Fox cannot get to us.  He has sealed us in, to await General Mavromichalis.  Don’t you see, Waltrip?  It means I’ve won.”

The general walked out of the command center, leaving Waltrip to stare after her commanding officer with incredulous eyes and unbelieving ears.

                                                                    * * * * *

“You realize that you’ve completely sealed the general in, don’t you?” the microcomputer queried.

“All part of the plan,” Fox replied as he looked at the smoking ruins of the front entrance of the headquarters building.  “Oh and tell me again why I never gave you a name other than microcomputer?”

“Because of your tendency to shorten them down to nicknames like Prof, MC and Mike.”

“Oh, now I remember.”

“You’re getting slow in your old age, Devereaux,” the microcomputer noted.  “Shall we stop wasting time and leave since you’ve conveniently cut off our only entrance to the general?”

“Not quite yet,” Fox countered.  “I’ve got someplace to go first.”

“I’m guessing you don’t mean Hell,” the microcomputer quipped.  “At least not yet.  I wish you would let me in on the secret.  My sensors have detected no other way into the complex nor have my reviews of the structure’s architecture revealed any secret entrances.”

“And this is why they put you in my head,” Fox retorted.  “To marry technology with the human hunch.”

“And what, pray tell, does your human hunch tell you?”

“You’ll see.”

                                                                      * * * * *

Lt. Colonel Robinson was almost at wit’s end, but not because of being trapped in the general’s underground fortress.  Rather, she was perturbed that neither she nor any of her people had gotten the chance to fight Fox.  She’d already beaten him once – her mind conveniently ignoring that she had him outnumbered 30 to 1 -- and she was reasonably sure that she could do it again.

Standing beside her in the area known as the Void, Major Nadi was not so sure.  He’d seen the Boraton blast at Area 51 and knew that Fox should have been vaporized.  Yet, he also knew that the man had lived.  In fact, not only had he lived, but he had systematically destroyed a military force that Nadi had once thought well nigh unstoppable.

He tried to hide his discomfort from his platoon, as well as Robinson’s.  The colonel was dishing out new assignments that included escorting Cabal members to individual rooms, as well as securing the command center.  Nadi and a few select others would work with technicians to purge files from the main computers so that Mavromichalis would find little to no incriminating evidence.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t whip Fox’s butt again,” Robinson announced to the combined group.  “But, we’ve been sealed in.  Just remember that we proved we could beat him once and, if push had come to shove, we know he’s vulnerable.  We could have beaten him again.”

Nadi heard many murmurs run through the group as the Special Elites agreed with their commander.

“Major Nadi will hand out the room assignments for the Cabal members,” Robinson continued.  “The Cabal members are likely to put up resistance which is why we're handling it.  If they give you problems, show them why we're Special Elites.  Don't kill them, just remind them.  Okay, any last-minute changes that we know of?”

“None, except that Mister Lightburn is dead,” Nadi replied.  “Broke his neck in a nasty fall when Fox destroyed the topside entrance.”

“Well, his problems are over then,” Robinson remarked, coldly.  “We are to clear the bottom bunker out for use by the general and his direct staff.  First squad of my platoon will handle interior and exterior security for the bunker.  We delay Mavromichalis and Velasquez and their people for as long as possible.  But, do not fire unless fired upon.  Any questions?”

“Yes, Colonel,” a muscular blonde answered.  “The command center has determined that there is no way in or out.  Couldn't Fox just commandeer digging equipment and burrow down to us?”

“Okay, I realize that some of you are new,” Robinson replied.  “But, it’s one thing to override computer programs.  It’s quite another to dig down deep enough to get to us before Mavromichalis gets here.  All right.  Let’s get to it.”

Robinson took Nadi aside for a conference.  She wasn't sure of his confidence in her plans.  She'd seen the way he'd looked after she had lied to the blonde Elite.

“They seem a little too anxious,” Nadi noted.

“Which is why we’re in the Void,” Robinson said.  “Electromagnetic pulse negates Fox's emissions. He can't project his shield or his laser."

"Yes, but it means we can't configure our laser cannon either," Nadi said. "Or fire our weapons."

"We don't need to," Robinson retorted, her eyebrows furrowing. "We can transform into our individual weapons and fighting modes. We can show Mavromichalis that we're still primed for action. I need our people to remember that. And I need to know that I can count on you to remember that.”

Just then, the lights dimmed again and the hallway was bathed in green.

“Well, that’s just great,” Nadi said, in disgust.  “The fusion reactor that powers this little bunker went into emergency shutdown.  Must have suffered too much damage.”

“So, you’re saying that we’re about to be poisoned by radioactive fumes?”

“No, ma’am.  The emergency vents will send all poisonous fumes and radiation through a myriad of filters before reaching the surface. And the solar backup will keep essential systems powered for a week.”

“Well, then, don’t blow this assignment with your own fear,” Robinson snapped.  “It’s conduct unbecoming.  You're second-in-command of the Special Elites.  Act like it for a change.”

Nadi bristled at the insult and started to say something, but Robinson was already heading back to her platoon.  He snorted derisively and then went to his platoon.  A moment later, he took his people to get the Cabal members, wondering if being under arrest with Mavromichalis would be better than taking any more of Robinson’s egomaniacal crap.

                                                                    * * * * *

The news from Chiang soothed a lot of jittery nerves within the Cabal.  Van Sant took Lightburn’s death hard, but Chiang knew she’d get over it, considering the scope of her legal problems.  He was mildly surprised when his idea to have them escorted to their individual quarters was readily accepted.

“You’ll have full access to the bunker’s private computer links to begin purging your files,” Chiang had explained.  “As far as I can ascertain, Fox has not accessed or breached them.”

Strangely enough, the Cabal had been extremely protective of his niece, Elise.  He wondered if they had changed their position because of what Fox had revealed about the mental implant he’d tricked her into wearing.  Secretly, he knew he’d have to have the thing surgically removed before Mavromichalis or Velasquez arrived; the implant had been storing information since it had been activated.  He made a note to send a surgical team to his bunker, as soon as the doctors finished with their numerous other emergencies.

“I think it would be good if Elise stayed with one of us,” Dr. Singh had suggested after taking Kober aside.  “In light of the recent, ahem, news, she might need to be anything but alone.  I may be able to remove the implant with the technical instruments I brought to show you for the meeting.”

“You might be right, Doctor,” Chiang had agreed.  “But, for the meantime, I suggest she stay in Mademoiselle Vashon’s room until I can arrange for an area to be set up for your procedure.”

Chiang hadn’t trusted the doctor’s libido since he’d first sent Elise to him to work on the Boraton warhead.  He’d had spies reporting Singh’s constant attempts to maneuver Elise into his bed.  He may have mentally manipulated his niece, but he’d gone to great lengths to make sure she wasn’t physically violated either.

After the Cabal members were escorted out, he had the bunker sealed off.  Special Elites from Nadi’s platoon secured the inner doors while Nadi himself secured the hallways and access ways to the bunker.  Once this was done, Chiang found his special massage chair and collapsed into it, glad to be able to find a little peace at last.

“Begin purging the files,” he ordered.

Then, the power died and the bunker was soon lit by the green glow of the emergency lighting system.  A minute later, the regular lighting returned and the computer systems came back online.

“What happened?” Chiang demanded as he bolted out of his chair.

“The fusion reactor has gone into full shutdown, sir,” a colonel named Amanda Beamer reported.  “Systems started to come back online, but failed. Backup systems have activated, though.  No radiation danger. And we have enough power for a week, for essential systems, sir.”

Chiang felt ill again.  He had power, but he knew that the emergency systems were meant for special use – to provide lights and power for communications.  It did not provide the kind of power needed to begin massive purges of server banks in his bunker and definitely not for the main storage banks, housed a mile underground in a hardened facility 10 miles north of the base.

If so many junior personnel had not been around, Kober Chiang would have broken down and cried.

                                                                      * * * * *

Robinson had all of her bases covered.  She’d set her people at each end of the Void.  All of them were powered up and had converted to one of three fighting forms -- minimum for quick fighting; medium for defense, and ultimate, which gave the most offensive power but petered out quickly.  Though none could fire their laser cannons, all could defend themselves in hand-to-hand combat.  Additionally, they still had their regular XM-19 slantium rifles and light machine guns.

Only Robinson knew what the defense was for.  She’d ordered that her people not fire on Federation personnel.  She was more concerned with the security personnel of the Cabal members.  She’d been around long enough to know that, when push came to shove, mercenaries like the Cabal members cared only about their individual survival.  They had no loyalty to a greater organization.  She wouldn’t put it past them to try to make a break for it or get into a firefight with Federation soldiers that could get everyone killed.

“Sergeant Corvin, what’s the status of the fusion reactor?” she called out.

“Still venting, Colonel,” a beefy squat Elite replied.  “Radiation levels in the lower vents are still within lethal range, but we’re in no danger.  It’s a shame, though.  It just hit me that we could use those vents to escape.”

“Not on your life, Sergeant,” Robinson shot back.  “The radiation at the core level would kill even us.  To get through there, you’d need some kind of…"

"Shield? That is what you were going to say, wasn't it?”

Elites at both ends of the Void spun around and saw Devereaux Marshall Fox in the middle of the hallway.  Above him, they saw a hole in the ceiling where the air shaft ran through.  To say they were surprised would have been a vast understatement.

“What, no trash talk like Area 51?" Fox queried.

"How in the hell did you get down here?" a startled Robinson asked.

"My shield."

“Well, that shield won't help you now,” Robinson snarled.  “You’re in our specially-designed Void now and no energy can be projected within it because of the electromagnetic pulse waves running through it. It's going be hand-to-hand combat and we both know how that's going to turn out. Want a few seconds for final prayers? Is that trash talk enough for you?"

“Void? Electromagnetic pulse?” Fox asked, looking confused.  “Oh, you mean the EMP that was powered solely by the fusion reactor?  And is not connected to the solar backup because of the power drain?"

Robinson stifled a gasp when she realized the implications of the EMP being down.  She had never bothered to find out exactly what powered the EMP because she had never envisioned having to use the Void. On the other hand, though, she was quick to act on the news.  She had her people drop their shoulder weapons and begin transforming their arms into laser cannons.

"You know, the last time we met, I let you draw the battle out so I could give Anna Velasquez and her people time to escape," Fox noted.

"And this time?" Robinson asked, as she completed the transformation of her right arm into the cannon.

Fox fired his laser beam in a wide swath that encompassed the entire Void.  Normally, his beam would have been greatly weakened by firing in such a wide arc, but he’d let his shield absorb a massive amount of power from the radiation in the emergency vents.  It had been nauseating but he’d figured he wouldn’t be holding onto it for long.

The enhanced energy shattered the storage units within the laser cannons.  The entire passageway exploded.  When the fire died down, Fox stood tall, with just a thin stream of blood rolling back into his nose and a look of excruciating pain on his face that eased by the second.

“Hey, Nadi, you just got promoted," he joked.

He looked ahead and behind and saw the same thing.  Not a single Elite was in one piece.  Bionic arms and legs lay everywhere.  Blood pooled and Fox had to carefully make his way around it.  He headed for the staircase, the hallway lit only by the sparks of malfunctioning Elite internal electronics.

“I thought you wanted to take revenge for the beating they gave you,” the microcomputer said.

“I thought I just did,” Fox replied.  “If I had more time, I might have made it last longer.  Hey, sounds like my first date.”

“Devereaux, your humor has not improved in a millennium.”

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Fox remarked, sourly.  “You’re a real buzz kill.  Let’s move on, shall we?  I’ve got an appointment to keep.”

"No 'I-told-you-so'?" the microcomputer asked.

"For trusting my human hunch to get us in here?" Fox said.  "Never crossed my mind."

"Now, who's being funny?"

                                                                    * * * * *

Achbar Nadi couldn’t believe it.  Robinson and her entire platoon had been destroyed.  Even worse, Fox had done it, after crawling down through emergency vents filled with enough radiation to kill a dozen Elites.  That meant that nothing he had available was going to stop the man.

Something akin to a howitzer being fired echoed through the nearest stairwell.  He heard a door open, heard another boom and saw three of his Elites fall back.  He spun around, already transforming his arm into the laser cannon when Fox stepped into the passage way.  He fired.

To Nadi’s horror, Fox merely jumped back into the stairwell and let the beam hit three other Elites coming up to help.  He powered up to fire again, knowing it would be too little, too late.  He watched Fox step back into the hallway, his right eye glowing blue while the man’s incredible shotgun was pointed in the opposite direction, at his remaining Elites.  The good news was that he would be dead before he saw what Colonel Robinson had long suspected – that Achbar Nadi had not been strong enough to be a leader of the Special Elites.

                                                                  * * * * *

“General, I can’t contact Colonel Robinson,” Colonel Beamer reported.

Chiang walked past the other computer operators in the bunker and over to the main communications console where his last senior officer stood. Beamer should have been in the command bunker, but Chiang needed her to run things in his personal bunker. With Lightburn dead, he was running out of people he could count on.

“Contact Major Nadi then,” he ordered.

He started to shiver a little, but mentally forced himself to stop, lest he show fear before his troops.  He wondered about Robinson being out of contact.  He’d known her to be completely loyal and had tasked her with making sure no corporate elites tried to have their bosses make a separate escape that might endanger them all.  No, there had to be another reason why she wasn’t answering.

“Can’t raise Major Nadi either,” Beamer said.  “It might be that explosion a few minutes ago, sir.  It seems as if it was a secondary system for the fusion reactor.  No danger of radiation, though.”

“Any word from outside?” Chiang asked.

“Nothing yet, sir.  I have no idea if General Mavromichalis has arrived yet.”

Chiang bit his lip and shivered a little, hoping no one noticed.

                                                                        * * * * *

Most of the fires in the corridor slowly burned themselves out, though the acrid smoke still remained. However, there was no one left alive to complain about it. The bodies of Special and Corporate Elites littered the floor. The Specials had sparks still flying out of their cybernetic and bionic parts. The Corporates were just filled with bullet holes.

Of the 10 room doors on the floor, only one was open. Inside, Elise Chiang moaned. She stopped after a few seconds and soon was snoring lightly. Above her, a shadow moved away from her.

Fox looked at the small, silvery device he had just removed from Elise’s head. He tossed it up in the air and blasted it with his laser. Shaking his head in disgust, he turned to his right and bathed his eye glow on Angella Vashon, who cowered in a corner, looking as if she wanted to both die and lose control of her bowels.

“And now, Mademoiselle Vashon,” Fox said. “Whatever are we to do with you?”

                                                                      * * * * *

Chiang had never been in such a situation. He had no one to call on. He was on his own. Everyone he might have counted on was now dead.

“Any word yet, Colonel?” he asked, vainly.

“No, sir,” a dejected Beamer replied. “Sensors have picked up no movement and the guards outside the security door have reported nothing.”

An explosion shook the bunker.

“My God, that’s right outside the door,” someone shouted.

The Special Elites by the bunker door stepped back, arms already formed into laser cannon.  It did them little good.  The next explosion made the safety door into a show of lethal metal splinters that cut them to pieces.  It also caused intense panic within the bunker, with people running towards the rear, for a safety that did not exist.  Ironically, the panicked mob forced Chiang to the front, shielded by his last two Elites.

He tried to peer through the smoke, even as he tried to shield his nose from the fumes.  One of the elites stepped forward to activate another vent to de-smoke the room when his head virtually disintegrated.  The other Elite raised his gun but flew backwards with a huge hole in his chest and back, landing atop a sergeant who caught the shotgun slug that had passed through the hapless Elite.

Chiang barely turned his eyes away but still caught a spray of blood across his head and shoulders.  Behind him, a few men and women screamed and he was sure one or two passed out in sheer terror.  He could only look on, totally helpless, a feeling he’d not had even in his earliest days as an infantry officer in Central America.

His fears materialized when a tall, slender silhouette stepped out of the smoke, the only clue to its identity being the glowing blue right eye.

“General Chiang, I presume,” Fox said.

                                                                      * * * * *

“She’s here,” Maria called out.

Anna looked up and gasped.  Approaching the airfield was an armada, like something out of D-Day.  The sky was filled with thousands of planes.  On the grounds, untold numbers of tanks, armored personnel carriers, assault vehicles, trucks, mobile anti-aircraft vehicles and other vehicles were swinging about to completely encircle the base.

The largest plane detached from the others and, escorted by two fighters, landed near the control tower.  Anna and Maria went down to meet it.  Cobra joined them.

“You’ve done a wonderful job with the evacuation of the base, Anna,” Mavromichalis said as she stepped off her plane, with her aide, Captain Goa, close behind.  “Any problems?”

“There were a few, but Warrant Officer Cobra handled them ably,” Anna replied. “We’ve gotten more than a few insiders who worked directly with Chiang and the Cabal. Your husband and his people are handling the interrogations.”

“That’s a good start to what’s going to be a very long road,” Mavromichalis noted, with a heavy sigh.  “It sure wasn’t easy to miss this place.  We just followed the explosions.”

“I hear that the steam cloud has dissipated,” Anna said. “At least that’s some good news.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Goa replied. “The rain is helping to put out a lot of the fires in the city. But, it’s dying out fast. It won’t reach here.”

“What’s next, General?” Maria asked.

“We circle Chiang’s bunker or what’s left of it,” Mavromichalis replied.  “And then – what else – we wait.”

“But, we don’t know if Fox is even in there, ma’am,” Cobra said.  “He sealed off the whole complex before he could go inside.  The only thing leaving the bunker is non-lethal emissions from the venting filter system of the fusion reactor.  The lower chambers of those vents still have enough radiation to kill even Special Elites.”

“Yes, Warrant,” Mavromichalis agreed.  “But maybe not a man who survived a Boraton-plasma warhead.  Now, if you would kindly take an old general to see her old man, I’d greatly appreciate it. Keep your head up and your wits about you, Anna.  The toughest part is yet to come.  We have to trust Fox to do the right thing.”

Anna looked at Maria and wasn’t sure if she still had as much confidence in her general’s plan as she’d had an hour earlier.

                                                                          * * * * *

Devereaux Marshall Fox said nothing.  He walked out of the smoke, stepped over the bodies of the dead Elites and walked right up to Kober Chiang.  He saw that the man was trying to be brave in front of his people, even as he struggled with intense fear.

This was finally his moment.  He stood opposite Kober Chiang, his nemesis for almost half a century.  The man responsible for Panama, Brazil, Area 51 and a lot more crimes against humanity, all to get the Federation back on top of world affairs. He didn’t know if he could think of another person who had perverted democracy more in the last half century than this man.

He thought of the millions of people who had suffered because of this petty thug and now he had the opportunity to deal with him once and for all.

Coolly and devoid of emotion, he reached back, raised a hand and thrust it straight at the general. It connected with Chiang's jaw. Faces turned away as everyone waited for the sound of bone crunching and a body falling to the floor.

Nothing happened.

Eyes opened and saw...

…Fox's hand gently patting a stunned Chiang on the cheek and then the shoulder, like a scene from an old Mafia movie of the late 20th century.

“You can unclench, General," Fox said, simply. “So good to finally meet you face to...ahem, can someone please give the general something to wipe his face with?”

Nobody moved until Fox looked at the bunker staff with a menacing stare. Then, someone took off his uniform jacket and almost threw it at the general. Beamer slowly picked it up, not wanting to make any sudden moves, and handed it to Chiang, who took it without taking his eyes off Fox.

“Laugh now, Fox,” Chiang muttered as he wiped his face with someone’s discarded uniform jacket. “Have some fun at my expense while you can.”

“While I can?” Fox mused. “Am I going somewhere? Okay, all clean? Now you look like you just came out of a budget session with Parliament.”

Chiang seethed, barely able to contain his desire to lash out at the man responsible for his utter and total humiliation. He tossed the now bloodied jacket on the floor. Acutely aware that all eyes in the room were on him and Fox, he made several small movements to straighten up his uniform as best he could.

“Anyway, as I was saying, it’s good to finally meet the man who has terrorized the world for so long,” Fox continued. “And, in case you were wondering, your niece, Elise, is sleeping comfortably since I removed that implant. The rest of the members of your cabal are locked in their rooms. Anxiously waiting to be arrested, tried and executed, but I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Just go ahead and get it over with, Fox,” Chiang spat.

Fox smirked and then turned and walked toward the door.

“Is that it?” a stunned Chiang stammered.  “After all that we’ve been through together, after all the pain and misery we’ve caused each other, you just shake my hand, make a few jokes and walk away?”

"At one time, I would have said it was not nearly enough," Fox shot back. "But, this meeting has lasted longer than my encounters with Rickholts and Paulius. And, I've realized that it doesn't matter any more. I've seen guys like you come and go for more than a thousand years."

Chiang furled his eyebrows at the mention of "a thousand years."

“And I promised Anna Velasquez and Nia Mavromichalis that I would let justice take its course,” Fox said, looking back over his shoulder.  “It's their world again, not mine. Unlike some people I know, I keep my word. Have fun in prison, General. And remember one thing -- soap on a rope.”

Fox walked out.

A sergeant quickly moved up next to the general and started to point his arm at the doorway. Just as quickly, though, Fox walked back in, shotgun raised, and shot the man point blank. When the screams died down again, Fox lowered his gun and looked at the people in the bunker.

“What the hell was that about?” Fox said, sarcastically. “I just let you live and you get a Special Elite posing as a regular soldier to try to shoot me in the back? Or did you not have control of him? Thinking you really had control and then finding out you really didn’t -- I guess that about sums up your life, doesn't it?”

Chiang wanted so much to say something, anything in his own defense. He wanted to prove Fox wrong and shove his arch rival's smug look down his throat. But, he couldn't. He couldn't speak. He could barely swallow and Lord only knew that it was decades of discipline that was keeping his knees from buckling.

"Colonel Beamer, Kober Chiang is no longer fit to command,” Fox stated. “You are. Please keep him away from any weapons so he doesn’t...hurt himself. And watch his Cabal members, too. General Mavromichalis will be down here as soon as she can, to take over.

“Goodbye once more, Kober. We won’t be seeing each other again.”

Fox turned and walked out for good this time.



Colonel Beamer hesitated for a moment and then she stepped over to her general. She tried to help him, but saw nothing but fear and humiliation in the man's eyes. She watched him sweat profusely, heavily staining the collar of his uniform. For the first time since she'd joined the general's staff, she felt nothing but disrespect toward him. She watched him avert his eyes away from her even as he began to sag. She pulled up a chair for him to collapse into, lest he hit the floor and further humiliate himself.

Beamer, seeing her commanding officer as nothing more than a pathetic shell of himself, began to spew orders. Within seconds, people were moving about. Beamer personally moved all weapons away from Chiang and appointed a corporal to watch over him.

                                                                  * * * * *

Fox walked back the way he had come. He said nothing and his microcomputer did not press him on it this time. Only when he climbed back into the venting system did he finally stop. He sank to his knees slowly, let out a deep sigh and sagged against the side of the shaft.

"I admire you, Devereaux," his microcomputer said after a few moments.

"You admire me? I just destroyed half of Florida. I did it again. I let my emotions get the better of me, I let the ADD win. And, each time, more and more people paid for my anger. What is there to admire about that?"

"Because you showed you were the better man," the microcomputer replied. "You could have completed humiliated Chiang instead of humbling him. You could have dragged his worthless hide back up to the surface -- what could Mavromichalis or Velasquez do to stop you -- and taken him back to the netherworld. But, you took the high road. For ten years, I wondered about your sanity, but not anymore."

Fox took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. And you're right. I had nothing but revenge on my mind when I left the netherworld. But, I started thinking about all of the people Chiang has victimized. Wouldn't my actions have victimized them all over again?"

"It takes a strong soul to admit that, Devereaux. Shall we make our way back to the surface?"

Fox smiled a little and then pushed himself to his feet.

"Yes, let us. Let's see if we can find some strong souls up there."



On the surface, everyone, including Anna and her people, had just taken up positions near the bunker complex. Mavromichalis and Goa had climbed atop one command platform to take charge, while Anna and Maria occupied another directly across from her.

"How are the radiation readouts, Anna?" Mavromichalis asked via the comm link in her implant.

"They're well within tolerable limits, ma'am," Anna replied. "The backup system is still powering the filters, but the radiation levels closer to the reactor are still high. Fox must have cracked the inner core, which is an incredible feat unto itself."

Mavromichalis said nothing. She didn't need anymore news about how devastating Fox's attack had been. She still had no idea where he was and she wasn't sure she wanted to know because that would have meant making a potentially fatal decision. Digging Chiang out of his bunker would have been much more pleasant.

Then, the moment she feared most arrived when Fox climbed out of one of the fusion reactor vents.

Instantly, every soldier grabbed pointed a weapon at him.  Every chain gun, missile and turret turned toward the man who’d virtually destroyed northeastern Florida.  Overhead, jets aimed guns, bombs, rockets and missiles at him with laser guidance to avoid hitting their own people.

Mavromichalis and Anna swallowed hard at the same time as they watched Fox stop to look at all of the weapons, a disgusted visage upon his face.

“Is this how it ends, General Mavromichalis?” he called out.

“I promised to let due process be done upon the general and his Cabal,” Mavromichalis replied through her implant.  “But, we still have a problem.  What do we do with you?”

If Fox detected the nervousness in her voice, he didn't show it and she silently thanked him for that measure of respect.

“I’ve destroyed your problem and let you have due process without any real danger to the Federation’s military forces,” Fox retorted.  “And this is my reward for you screwing up and doing nothing for the last decade?”

“Then we’re at a stalemate,” Mavromichalis noted.  “We could argue our viewpoints all day and still not get anywhere.  I've made my position known.  The next move is yours.”

"And what about your people?" Fox asked.  "What do they have to say about it?  I'm tired of making orphans."

"They know their duty, Fox," Mavromichalis shot back.  "They've seen the worst of Chiang and, now, they've seen the worst of you.  Can you honestly say they would not be doing their duty if they didn't at least challenge you? What good would the rule of law be then?"

“Talk some sense into your general, Anna,” Fox snorted.  “I kept my end of the bargain.”

“You still haven’t answered the general’s question,” Anna called out.  "She's right.  We've seen the worst from you today and so has the whole world.  How can the Federation possibly survive if we let someone as dangerous as you run around free without so much as a challenge?  Where is the due process for you?  When do you finally answer for what you've done?"

“I knew you had the makings of a true leader, Anna?” Fox noted.  “You married a good woman, Maria.  As for me, I've been around for more than a thousand years.  My judgment day is coming and it will be done by a much greater power than you've got here.  But, don’t worry.  I’ll be around.  Somewhere.”

What happened next shattered the boundaries of human thought and belief.  A wall of shimmering light suddenly appeared next to Fox.  Streams of light bled off its edges as it took the form of a door.  Fingers eased off of triggers, eyes widened in surprise and jaws dropped in awe.

Everyone gawked as Fox stepped into the doorway and faded away.  The light dimmed and the shimmering energy broke apart, the tendrils literally shattering into sparks that slowly winked out like fireflies. Soon, there was nothing left to ever show that Devereaux Marshall Fox had ever existed.



All was deathly quiet for several moments.

Anna looked down and saw Maria squeezing her hand lovingly, for support.  She glanced left and saw the same thing happening with Mavromichalis and Nguyen, Cobra and Adrienne Chinedu, and even Wojonowski and Hasagawa.  They had all witnessed something that made their trials and tribulations of life seem petty in comparison.

“Okay people, we’ve got work to do,” Anna blurted out to break the uneasy silence.  “We’ve got people to rescue.  Bring up the digging equipment.  Secure the rest of the base and put out these fires.”

Subordinates, snapped out of their trance, moved to follow Anna’s orders.  Weapons of war moved off and rescue machines replaced them, as thousands of soldiers and airmen started the process of rebuilding their Federation.  There would be time to figure out what had just happened, but it was not now. Now, they had a nation to rebuild.



Mavromichalis and Nguyen watched all of it with admiration for the officer she’d reclaimed so many years ago.

“I think she’s finally going to be all right,” Nguyen said.  "But, after what I just saw, I don't think we're going to be."

“Oh, I knew about Anna all along,” Mavromichalis replied.  “Well, almost all along. That said, I think the Praetorians and the Federation will be in good hands after this.”

“And what about Fox?”

“It seems as if he was telling the truth at Area 51,” Mavromichalis said.  “What it means for all of us, I can’t even begin to guess.  As far as Fox is concerned, he got along without us for a thousand years.  I’m sure he’ll get along fine for a few more.  But, we’ve got to live in the here and now, my love.  Let’s see what we can do for the living.”