Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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LostNFound
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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27 THE BATTLE OF ILES SOUS – LE – VENT

Maxwell Hargraves sat on the bridge of the YUNG SI an old Chinese Destroyer and stared at the old Chinese Frigate HAN TU. The ship was still smoking amid ships and he began to wonder if it would be able to continue with their intended mission. He took another long pull on the Vodka bottle and reminisced about this damnable mission. His regrets were welling to the surface at this point. The YUNG SI had taken a hit on the forward gun mount that rendered it useless. And the HAN TU’s forward mount had been completely demolished. This left both ships with only the rear mounts. He did not like that situation because he would have to bring his ships in and turn with the rear facing the port. The crew on the HAN TU was trying desperately to repair the only engine they had left. One had been destroyed completely during the attack and the other one was damaged. They had limped out of the Papeete port and moved Northwest at a slower, than he could almost not stand, pace. They had barely made it to this uninhabited Atoll Island and anchored in the semi-bay when the second engine of the HAN TU ceased up. He was so mad by then that he almost blew the damn thing out of the water.

When the big guns started firing back on them and he watched the smaller Frigate get hit and the magazines blow. His instinct was to leave immediately. He was not told that this port would have any defense. They had watched and waited for one of the Maritime security ships to leave and figured to blow the other one to bits, which they did. It was when they had blown the fuel tanks and began to shell the city that the CHING DOW exploded and went down fairly fast. His swearing was frightening to some of his crew because they all were afraid of his psychopathic ways. It took a few minutes for them to spot where the shelling was coming from and he finally gave orders to train the gun on the mountain side. They shot a salvo into the mountain but the damn guns up there kept firing and then the HAN TU got hit amidships and then her forward mount disintegrated. He finally gave the order to back off and get the hell out of there while they still could. As the YUNG SI began to turn away a large blast shook the ship and he saw the forward mount barrel drop down and hit the deck while black smoke roiled from the rear of the turret. Both ships came around and headed away from the port as fast as they could and he was glad that the shelling finally stopped. He heard from the captain on the HAN TU that they could only use one engine and would not be able to cruise at full speed. All of this twisted his gut and made him want to scream. The Next pull on the bottle, which was his second bottle today, finally began to calm him and he relaxed into a remembrance of how this whole thing started.

Being the captain of a small missile ship and working for Neptune’s Navy was a real gravy job but it never paid much. Oh sure he had a small house on shore when ever he wasn’t on duty but still he needed more so he began to raid small freight ships that ran up and down the west coast of America and most times he would sink them after he and his crew filled their holds with the goods. They would then sell the stuff to the highest bidder and divvy up the monies. He remembered clearly when the two Chinamen approached him in the bar on Pike street in Seattle and made a proposition to him. They virtually wanted to hire his services as a mercenary to fight the Koreans or so they said. The offer was quite hansom and he was guaranteed a safe place when a certain job was done. He had thought about working for the Chinese and the consequences that would happen if he was caught by the Emperor’s people. It didn’t take him long to make the deal because he knew that he was under suspicion and one of the crew had been ratting him and the others out for what they had been doing. That particular crewman met with an untimely swim one night while the ship was off the coast of Oregon. That being just two days before these gentlemen approached him pretty much made his mind up. He notified the others that were in on the dirty deeds and they all abandoned the ship the very next day. The Chinese had provided money and a way to cross the Pacific and meet them.

Three days later he and 10 of the men from the MCGUIRE were sitting in the Con Tiki bar in Honolulu when the two Chinamen approached him and gave instructions and passes to board the large container ship called the Mersk. When they saw the ship it was huge but it was old and they wondered if it would make the passage to wherever it was heading. Once on board they were all showed their staterooms and the voyage to Shanghai was uneventful except for the meetings of how to captain the Destroyer and the two frigates. Maxwell had noticed that there were 50 or more men from various countries and they all were sitting in the educational room as the workings of the ships were explained. Three weeks later they all had arrived in Shanghai and were given rooms in one of the hotels close to the harbor and docks. They spent another two days just lying around and then one of the China men came to his room and requested him and two others of his original crew. Frank Ustus and Sergio Blovicek came along with him and they were taken to the docks.

As they approached the docks He could see the Destroyer that had been in the pictures in the education room and the two Frigates where also docked. After boarding the ships and being shown around they all were taken to a restaurant and food was ordered. The China man that had showed them the ships and brought them to the restaurant excused himself and they saw him enter through a door at the back of the restaurant. Max was getting edgy about the whole thing and the food had not shown up yet. He looked at Frank and Sergio and started to stand up when a large fat China man walked through the door and approached their table. The man walked up and sat down in the empty chair. He, Frank and Sergio just stared at the man and then he spoke. “Gentlemen, I suspect you are hungry and so here comes the dinners.” The man spoke perfect English with absolutely no accent. They all nodded slightly as the waiters began placing the dinners around. The big man had a large Lobster placed in front of him and waited for all of the food to be placed and the waiters to leave. He said some words in Chinese and a waiter brought three bottles of fine wine to the table.

“Shall we eat?” and with that the man began to break open the lobster. Max delved into his plate as did the other two and a very petite Chinese woman approached and began pouring the wine into the glasses. The food was tasty and the wine was very smooth. The conversation was void as every body ate. 20 minutes later it seemed that all had filled their bellies and the big man pushed his plate away and sat back. The big man had looked at him for what seemed like forever and then spoke. “So Mr. Hargraves are you ready to take my Destroyer and do some damage?” Max pushed his plate away and took a long drank of the wine. “You don’t suppose we could get something a little stronger?” The China man looked at a waiter and snapped his fat fingers. The waiter brought over two bottles of hard liquor. One was Vodka and one was a pure single malt scotch. Max took the Vodka and poured a glass full and set the bottle on the table. “What and where are we going to do damage to, may I ask?” He took another pull on the glass while looking into the big mans eyes. The big man laughed and drank his wine. “Well now I guess introductions are in order first. I am Danny Kang and I already know all of your names and what you do. You seem like an intelligent man Mr. Hargraves and I know that you were told what you are being hired to do. So might we not play the cat and mouse game as you would call it?” “Okay Mr. Kang, we were told that we would be hired as mercenaries to do the so called damage to the Koreans, but you see Mr. Kang, the Koreans have been subdued by your government and really pose no threats to you at this time, so the cat and mouse game is in your ball park.” The big man laughed again and clapped his hands together and said “very good Mr. Hargraves, you are resourceful as well as intelligent.” The big man stood up and said “shall we adjourn to a less noisy and perhaps more private place” and with that he turned and headed toward the back of the restaurant.

Max took another pull on the bottle and the radio man walked up and told him that Sergio said that they were still working on the engine and could possibly have it up and running in maybe another day. Max looked at the man and waved him away. He could do nothing at the moment so he gulped the vodka down and sat back. The memories flooded back to him about the whole conversation and deal that was made in that back room that was so large it reminded him of one of those hotel suits in Las Vegas.

The four men walked through the door and into a very large room with plush furniture and a view out over the bay. Danny Kang walked over and behind a large desk and sat down. Max watched and was impressed at how graceful this very fat man could be. Danny waved his hand and said “please be seated gentlemen, would you like a drink?” Max said yes as well as Frank and Sergio and Danny pushed a button on his desk. Two petite Chinese women came in from a side door with bottles of liquor and glasses on trays. They came over to the coffee table in front of the men and placed everything neatly along with a bucket of ice and then left just as quiet as they had entered. “So Mr. Kang, I take it we can discuss the real mission we are being hired to do?” “Please you must call me Danny.” Max poured himself a glass full of the vodka, took a drink and said “okay Danny, you outfitted three military navel vessels, albeit they are a bit outdated, and you have loaded them with a full armament and we have already determined that we are not going to fight with the Koreans, so suppose you give us the real targets.”

“Well Mr. Hargraves, as you know we are blockaded from the Yellow Sea all the way to the South China Sea. The Maritime Security forces have placed 60 percent of their forces up and down our coasts and along with the Japanese Navy and the Australian Navy they have enough to keep us locked down. Our Navy is mostly hold up in Hong Kong and spread thin along the lower coasts. That damn Emperor of America has been flying bomb sorties into the country and so far they are not accomplishing much but we all know that they will sooner or later come up with something that will murder millions of our peoples and this little skirmish will be over with the country of China becoming controlled by that “Used Car Salesman” as he is quite frequently called.” Danny stood up and walked back to the large viewing widow and was quiet for a moment. When he turned back around and moved back to his chair he looked very sad. You all remember the skirmish/war we had down in Australia. We lost badly on that one and our fleet was decimated. We were lucky that no other country joined that battle or we would not have survived. My own father was killed in that skirmish.” “So what does all of that have to do with us?” “Patience Mr. Hargraves, I know that you are an intelligent and resourceful man but you severally lack patience. I am getting to your mission but certain things must be explained.” Max took a long pull on his drink and appeared to relax.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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“Your mission essentially is to divert enough of the Maritime security fleet away from our coast so we can get our fleet into the open waters and move toward the Americas.” “And just how the hell are we going to do that pray tell? You yourself have said that none of your ships can get out into open waters without being stopped or destroyed.” “Yes that is the case and if we could get some up here in Shanghai we might be able to get them into open waters. Unfortunately they can’t move anywhere without being noticed.” “Wait just a damn minute here, if they can’t move without notice then what makes you think we can move those three ships out of this port without being blown to bits?” “Ah, now we get down to the deeper aspects of your journey Mr. Hargraves. You see we have discovered a slight hole in the window, granted it is a slight hole but if done at a certain time, those three ships will be able to skirt out to open waters.” “Okay so if and I say if we get them out what or who’s to say the damn Maritime won’t spot us and come running.” Well Mr. Hargraves that is the 64 million dollar question as it used to be coined.” Max took another drink and his head was buzzing by now. Up until now Frank and Sergio had remained quiet and let Max do all the talking. Sergio asked “Do the Maritime know about these three ships?” Danny looked over at him and said “Very good question Mr. Blovicek and the answer to that is no or at least we believe so. You see those three ships have been setting in dry docks since the war with Australia. However, when the top military commanders came up with this plan, they put people to work and refitted all three of them. The dry docks were covered so air surveillance could not spot the activity and yes I can hear your next question. Since they have been placed on the docks could they be spotted? You saw the conglomeration of ships docked down there and besides we have come up with a way to disguise them while they set at the docks. However when you take them out that device will not work in open waters.”

“Shit man, my original question still remains. We get them out to open waters and the damn Maritime boys spot us right away. We going to make a run for it or what? I don’t think we signed on to do a job just to get our asses shot off before we do whatever it is you want us to do and by the way you still haven’t said or told us what it is we are suppose to do other than be decoys. How is it we are supposed to do that anyway?” And with that mouthful of words he took another pull on his drink. “Mr. Hargraves, you should perhaps slow down on the drink, eh?” He started to get up and smack this son-of-bitch but Sergio said “MAX loud enough to make him stop. “Let’s hear this man out.” “Okay, go ahead Mr. Danny, tell us how and what we are going to do once we are in open waters.” “Okay, as we speak, those three ships are being disguised as Maritime vessels. The radar and sonar signals are also being disguised so when you make it into open waters, if you are spotted visually by anyone; you will look like Maritime vessels. If you are picked up on the radar or sonar gear you will look like Maritime vessels. Does that help?” “Yes that makes me feel a bit safer.” “Good now here is what and where you are going. You will cruise toward the Hawaiian Islands and head south to Majuro where you will refuel. From there you will cruise to Papeete, Tahiti. Now listen closely, before you reach that port you must make the ships look like Chinese vessels, this is very important in order for you to accomplish the missions.” “Hold on man why is it we need to look like Chinese ships in that port?” “Because you are going to blow it up Mr. Hargraves and that is the purpose of your mission, when you blow that place up you will also move around in the French Polynesia Islands and cause as much destruction as you can. You will be identified as Chinese and that will draw the Maritime away from our coasts thinking that we got around them and are creating death and destruction in other parts of their beloved lands.”

Frank spoke up at that moment and said “So that’s what this is all about. We are just scapegoats, decoys, nothing more than a diversion so you fellows can get out and keep your wars going, is that it?” “Yes Mr. Ustus that is the long and short of it. Are you still willing to do the job?” Sergio had to speak this time, “what exactly is it we are getting out of this? You want to explain that once again to us?” “Well Mr. Blovicek, you get to keep those ships for your own if you can. You also each get a 10 million dollar pay out. Now the ships alone are worth 50 million apiece if not more and since you are pirates you really can’t complain now can you. If I were you I would change them back to look like Maritime vessels after you accomplish the job.” “Damn Max you really never said anything about going and killing innocent folk.” “We’ll talk later about what I said or didn’t for now we may not have a choice” and with that he looked straight at the big fat man and waited for his reply. Danny stood and moved to the viewing window again and while he stood there the side door opened and 4 men came in carrying automatic weapons and proceeded to place themselves in strategic positions around the room. “Your choice was secured once you got on board that first flight from the States gentlemen. If you so choose now not to follow through this will be the last place you will see.” He turned and rubbed his hands together and with a jolly laugh, said “so now then, enough unpleasantness, shall we drink to the success of your mission and get a good nights rest? The ships will be ready tomorrow night and that is the perfect time to slip out into deep water. You each have been given a crew of 20 men and that is what we could get together in this short time so tomorrow you may want to get acquainted.” And with that they were escorted out of the room and to their hotel rooms. Max did notice that there were men sitting or standing around with automatic weapons and as they moved down the corridor toward their rooms he noticed the guards at the ends of the corridors.

The BESS was almost to Maupihaa Island when Tom heard the radio come alive. “Captain Hartwell, this is Captain Roberts of the MSV ELI BANKS. We are within eye sight of you at the moment and wish to rendezvous before you go gallivanting off into something that may get you sunk”. Tom looked at his Navigator and got a nod that he had them on his scope. He then moved to Denny and took the mic. “Are we on a secure channel? He asked. Denny shook his head to say yes and Tom gave a big sigh of relief. He was really hoping for this to come about. He keyed the mic and said “well Bob, I was beginning to think you were not going to make it. What took you so long, over?” “We got stuck down in Auckland, that damn storm sure did tear it up as it moved along the west coast of both Islands. Luckily it weakened as it moved further south and by the time it reached the area it had become a category 1 so I guess every body dodged that bullet, over.” “Okay Bob, we’ll wait for you here and then we can discuss that mess and the mess up here, over.” Tom handed the mic back to Denny and told the pilot to shut her down. The pilot rang the engine room and relayed the all stop and the engines became quiet. The BESS slowly came to a stop in the water.

Shortly after the Bess glided to a stop, Tom watched the ELI BANKS cruise closer. She was one of the last American made Navel ships before the devastation of Washington DC and the complete change of that country from a Democracy as it was called to a Dictatorship with the Emperor. Not long after that the US Navy was devastated by the Emperor and the Maritime Security forces, corporation contracted with the Emperor to do the work on the seas. The ELI BANKS was an Arleigh Burke – Class Guided Missile Destroyer. When the US Navy was disbanded, the ships were sold off to the Corporation and refitted as want and need dictated. The ELI BANKS had been refitted with two more 5” x 62 MK-45 mod 4 guns and 2 more of the 25mm RHA LAN x CIWS guns. She could cruise at almost 40 kn and was quite deadly to tangle with on the open seas. Tom admired the sleek look of this ship and suspected that the Chinese or Mercenaries as he thought of them, waited for her to leave the port before attacking at Papeete. They would have never had a chance with her and the smaller DDN that was lost at the dock. The DDG could out run and out shoot most ships on the sea today. He watched the ship come to a stop a few hundred yards from the BESS and saw the captain’s skiff lowered into the water.

20 minutes later, Captain Roberts, one lieutenant and two enlisted sailors came aboard. They were all armed and Tom could see the guns on the Destroyer pointed at the BESS. He greeted the Captain on the main deck and said “you plan on shooting at me Bob?” Captain Roberts turned and looked at his ship then said “No Tom unless you give me reason, that is standard operating procedure.” Tom nodded and knew that it was for the Maritime boys, so he said “Well come then and we can discuss your plans to capture those criminals.”

“How did you come by this technology Tom? Damn we don’t even have this on our ships and they supposedly have the latest tech and weapon systems, given that our corporation does control the seas almost world wide.” Captain Roberts was looking at the holographic projection of the two Chinese vessels and their location. “Well Bob, this is rather old tech. It was created around 2020 but was only given to a few select groups at the time. The inventors were caught by the Emperors Goons and executed but not before they built a few and distributed them. The actual diagrams and Math was destroyed by the inventors just before they were captured and shot. The few that were built went into obscurity after that. I just happened to come across this one unit about 6 years ago and thought it would be useful for my ship.” “You know Tom; I am going to have to confiscate this for the corporation.” Tom stared at him for a moment and said “Bob if I could give this to you I would but you see, It has a dead man switch, least ways that is what I was told. Once this baby was installed and operating, if someone tries to remove it the whole thing goes capote not to mention it has a built-in explosive device so anyone tampering to remove goes ka-blooy with it.” So you see Bob, The hardware and the software are wiped and no-matter what anyone tries after that it will be useless.” “Okay Tom, I get the point so no one gets this but you. I will have to report it to the Corporation and they might want to confiscate this ship.”

Tom acknowledged the statement and moved forward. “So then, what is your proposal to capture these criminals? We sort of have gathered enough Intel to believe that they are not the real Chinese but rather some mercenaries that may have been hired by the Chinese to carry out a diversion or something of that nature.” “Yes, yes that has been our assessment also. First of all if these were real Chinese, The ELI BANKS would probably be sitting at the bottom of the bay with the TRAM DODGER. The Chinese would not have waited for us to leave port, they would have wanted both ships to be destroyed and as for the destruction of the city, I doubt seriously that Chinese would have bothered with that as long as they destroyed the two Maritime Vessels. That blockade up there is not going to be fooled into letting them escape into open waters. When we received the garbled message from the TRAM DODGER we weren’t sure what was going on but when we got your message it was pretty clear and knowing you Tom we came as fast as we could. The three ships that came here were older Chinese naval vessels but they can be deadly. I would suspect that they were loaded for bear when they left whatever port they had been hiding in. We suspect Shanghai because the signals were first picked up close to that area. They were followed but at a distance so as not to arouse suspicion. All three ships pinged signals that mimicked Maritime vessels so the surveillance was not as diligent as it should have been. Once they left Majuro we lost them and gave up the chase because we figured they were a small secret force on a black ops mission and you know how those things go?”

It had been decided by all that the ELI BANKS would be the one to confront the Chinese or Merc’s as they were now being referred to. The BESS would stand by just past the Maupihaa Island and wait for the clear signal from Captain Roberts. Then they could come in and pick up any survivors, if there were any. Tom knew the Captain well enough to understand that he would probably destroy both vessels and hopefully without any damage to his own ship. The man could be ruthless and Tom did not trust him but did respect him. He had decided that the Maritime security boys were out for blood because of what happened to the TRAM DODGER so he made plans to get lost as soon as the ELI BANKS was out of sight. The other high tech that had been installed on the BESS that he sure was not going to share with Captain Roberts was the Stealth shields and the cloaking device. His plan now was to head north to the nearest refueling station and then high tail it to the southern coast of California. All the passengers and the few extra that came aboard in Tahiti had stayed on board so he would not have to return. He was able to take on some fuel that would help him get to the next refueling port and there were enough supplies to hold them over all the way to the States. He knew that he would have to show the damn holographic gear to Roberts and the man’s response was exactly what Tom expected. In fact after the clean up of the criminals, Roberts would come back and try to take control of the BESS and drag them all to the nearest high corp. big boys. That would not be a pretty picture. He had the big guns covered before Roberts showed up so they would not be discovered. Having those guns on a freighter or standard commercial vessel in this day was a very high crime against the Emperor/dictator.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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Tom and Sven watched the ELI disappear over the horizon and gave them another 30 miles before Tom gave the order to activate the stealth shields and the cloaking device. “Take us back around Maupihaa and shift to the Northeast. Take us between Viatape and Tahaa; from there we will head toward the Iles Marquises. We will refuel over there before we head toward the Baja of Mexico. One of the men from the Last Bastion was standing watch on the bridge and said. “Where the hell are you going to get fuel in those islands?” Sven looked at him for a brief instant and said “we have resources so you will take the ship to this Island” and with that he gave the Latitude and Longitude bearings. “Nuku – Hiva and the town of Taioha’e is our destination for now.” Tom spoke once more and said “here is another thing that Good ole Bob Roberts doesn’t know about and thank God he doesn’t come aboard and have a good look around.” With that he rang the engine room and told Jock to open the second bank of engines and bring the ship up to full speed, “I want to cruise at that 40 knot’s you say we can do, so lets giddy up and go.” If anyone could have seen, it appeared the BESS reared up and shot forward in the water as the engines poured the HP out and she left a wake fairly deep. That was the only draw back of the cloaking device when the ship was on the move someone could see the wake.

Captain Roberts had taken the ELI BANKS to the southwest when they left the BESS and intended to come in from the Northwest side of the Island and hit the marauders by surprise although he knew that if they had any one with half a sense on those ships they would be watching the radar like hawks. Bearing that in mind he had called battle stations and the ship became tight with everyone manning the guns and alert for any surprise. 60 miles away from the BESS’s station keeping, the radar man told the Captain that the BESS had just disappeared off the scope. Bob
Moved to the radar and said “damn it Tom what are you up to now? Could this be a glitch or something? Keep watching for him but keep a tight run on these marauders, we will deal with Tom when we’re done with them. I want survivors so we can get information on who they are, who hired them, if that is the case, what their mission is and where the hell they came from. Everybody understand that?” The resounding yes sir was loud and ringing on the bridge. “Okay then let’s do our jobs.”

Sitting in the half bay or inlet, were two naval vessels. One was boiling black oily smoke from a hole in its midships main deck while more black oily smoke roiled from the forward deck where once stood a gun mount. On the bridge of the HAN TU sat Wes Turban. He was the only one there as he was manning the radio. The radar scope had blinked on and off as the green bar swung its 360 degree circle. No one was there to see the blinking source moving on the screen. Sergio the captain and the 15 men left were below decks fighting the fire in the engine room. The fire below deck where the gun mount once sat was burning out of control at the moment. When the gun mount had been hit while they were in the port of Tahiti, the magazine just below it blew the mount into small bits and over the side. The round that hit the engine room and blew one of the engines up had punched through the top deck without exploding and through the bulkheads to the engine compartment before exploding.

On the other ship, the captain was passed out in the captain’s chair with an empty vodka bottle lying across his lap. The man sitting in the radio shack was conversing with Wes Turban on the other ship. He would glance out at the drunken slob that called himself a captain every once in awhile. His attention was more on the conversation coming from Wes about the fires on the HAN TU and how Captain Sergio had told him that they would most likely have to abandon the ship and go to the YUNG SI. Sergio had said that the damn Chinese had not been very forthcoming with them about these ships and how they had been in the war or skirmish and had some severe damage that was only patched over. He was not sure about the YUNG SI but the HAN TU had badly warped plates along the hull and the main deck was very weak in places. “That is why that round was able to penetrate completely into the engine room.” Lance, the radioman on the YUNG SI, never thought about getting up and looking at the radar scope and so he did not see the identifying blip moving closer either. Two men had been killed when the last round from the Island gun smacked into the forward mount and the rest of them were trying to repair that gun as well as put out the fire that had started below decks in the forward section.

It was Peter Olsen that spotted the Maritime Destroyer first as it rounded the Northern end of the Island. It was moving fast and he could see its guns preparing to fire. He grabbed 5 of the men and took them to the aft gun. The bridge was empty so there was no one to operate the fire control system. He decided to get the gun ready and used the old fashion method of aiming and firing. He stood outside while the others spun the gun toward the starboard side and loaded it. Peter looked through the range finder binoculars and gauged the target. When he thought he had it he called on the head set to the men inside and gave them the range and bearing. Their first shot moved the ship sideways while they reloaded. Unfortunately the Maritime ship shot their forward gun at the same time and the first round smacked into the aft deck just beyond the gun mount. The explosion knocked him to the deck but to his fortune, the ear phones he was wearing kept him from being deafened. He jumped back up and gave his next coordinance to the gun grew. Their first shot had nicked the aft side of the Destroyer and he could see black smoke coming from her. He adjusted the range and bearing just a smidge and watched the gun barrel swing and move down. The next shot lobbed into the midships but was off to the port side. Damn it he swore as he started to give the next bearing. The ship rocked wildly as a round hit the forward deck. He fell against the gun mount and then another round hit the bridge and as the ship rocked again he saw the round that hit the yardarm. He had to duck down this time as pieces of hot steel whizzed around him. He felt something very hot enter his side and then saw Max come running toward them on the main deck. He had backed up away from the gun turret when the hot feeling hit him. He started to give the bearings for the next shot when the gun turret exploded. His last thought as he flew through the air was those damn rotten Chinese just before he hit a bulkhead and the Tomahawks shattered his universe.

On the HAN TU, Sergio heard the explosions of shells. The other men that were with him fighting the fire heard the shelling also and they all dropped the fire hose and scurried toward the ladders to get up to the main deck. Sergio was first and climbed the 4 decks rather quickly. When he reached the main deck he could see the YUNG SI smoking badly and as he moved to the side to jump over he saw the yard arm explode and then the aft gun turret. He dove over the side and began to swim as hard as he could and some of the other men were jumping in also. He was no more than 30 feet from the HAN TU’S side when the huge explosion lifted him up out of the water. As he flew away from the ship he glanced at the YUNG SI as she exploded into one huge fireball. When he landed back in the water he could feel the pull of the ship as it was going under. He turned and swam as hard as he could. It seemed for a moment that he was going to be pulled under with the ship but then the pressure of the tugging slowed and then finally he was just floating. There were two other men floating also and one was face down in the water. Miram Taggert swam over to the other man and turned him over. The man was dead from a massive wound in the side of his head so Miram pushed him away and swam further away from the still swirling waters where the ship had gone under. “Is there any others that made it out and off? Sergio asked.” “I don’t know captain, poor Rick there did not make it. How far to that strip of land you make it to be?” “Don’t know but we best get moving away from here.” Both men began to swim toward the Island.

Frank was screaming at him, “Some one is shooting at us, damn it we been hit” and then the explosion shook him to the core. His eyes popped open and he fell from the captain’s chair. The empty bottle fell to the deck and shattered. Lance turned from his radio and flinched as Max fell to the floor and the bottle shattered. Max rolled to his side and raised himself up. “Damn it, what the hell is happening? He screamed.” Another explosion happened on the forward deck. Pieces of shrapnel flew threw the forward windows and small shards of glass tore into his right side. He turned and ran from the bridge just as a shell landed into the front of it. The sound of the explosion made his ears bleed as he dropped down the ladder to the next deck. He could just barely see the aft gun and saw it firing. It was turned sideways toward the starboard. As his gaze looked out that way he saw a ship firing back at them. The ring of fire and smoke from its forward guns looked like slow motion and then the explosion that rocked the ship tore the yard arm where all the radar and communications gear was attached to pieces. He barely managed to duck under the deck overhang as a large piece of the yard arm fell into the side of the ship. He ran across the open deck and stopped just in time to see Sergio’s Frigate explode. The center midships rose out of the water while the forward and aft parts slid away from the ensuing explosions causing huge fire balls and black smoke with fire to rise into the sky. He saw some of the men jump into the ocean just before the explosion. The ship sank into the ocean fairly quickly. He ran toward the aft along the main deck that he had jumped down to and stopped just in time as he heard the incoming round screech into the aft gun and explode. He was already bleeding from his left ear and this explosion made him go deaf. He was trying to make it to the lifeboat on the Port side and never heard the final round that collided into the missile silo’s amidships. The eight tubes had been loaded with old stile Tomahawk type missiles and had been armed by the aft gun crew when the Maritime ship had shown up and began firing. They never got to fire them so when the final round hit they all went off together and the YUNG SI sank into Davy Jones Locker in a blaze of glory.

Captain Roberts was standing on the Bridge and looking through his binoculars as the ELI BANKS rounded the Northern end of the Island. He could see the black smoke when they had first come in from the west. He could also see both ships that were parked in the semi-bay; it was the closest one that was smoking heavily. The other one had some smoke coming from the forward deck but for the most part the ship looked intact and that was the deadly one to go after first he thought. He spoke to the Executive officer and said “target that one that is further to the south first, she looks like she could shoot at us, this other one is burning quite badly and may not have any capability to give us a fight but keep her in the sights of one of the guns and as we get closer we will be able to use the 25’s.” “Kurt Stromberg the XO said “yes sir and began to give orders to the gun crews. As the ship got closer, the farthest ship began shooting. Their first shell hit the side of the fan tail and the ELI BANKS forward most gun shot back. Bob watched as the storm of shells from the Chinese ship and the BANKS traded off. He thought it was damn peculiar that the badly smoking ship never even tried to use the rear gun. The battle with the other one lasted long enough for two rounds from them to strike glancing blows to his ship. The BANKS was demolishing the Chinese destroyer bit by bit when the smoking ship exploded in the center. The last shell from the BANKS hit the far destroyer and she exploded also. The whole scene was a mass fireball of both ships and they went under fairly quickly. Bob sat down in his chair and gave orders to search for survivors. “Give me a damage report as soon as you can.” “All ahead slow, let’s see if we can find any one alive.”

The two men on the signal Bridge spotted the two men in the water first and relayed the information to the main bridge. “Captain, we got two men in the water about 300 yards to our starboard and in front. They look like they are making it toward the island. They both are in danger of the sharks that are forming and appear to be moving toward them.” “Gets us close and get that boat in the water to retrieve these two. Get some people out there on the bow with rifles and try to keep those sharks away, I want those two alive.” The small craft hit the water and 4 men were aboard as they moved swiftly toward the survivors. The men on the Bow of the ELI began shooting at the sharks and the first one they hit caused the others to attack and a feeding frenzy began. Sergio heard the motors of the small craft just before he heard the cracking of the rifles. He spun over in the water and saw the big ship gliding toward him and Miram. Then he noticed the small craft speeding toward them and saw the sharks thrashing around behind them. “Miram we are going to be picked up any minute now and God only knows what these people are going to do to us so let me do the talking and hopefully they won’t outright kill us.” Miram nodded while he continued to look at the sharks thrashing about and the men with guns on the bow of the ship. The ship had slowed and came to a stop about 100 yards from them and then the little boat came up and two life rings were tossed to them that had ropes tied to them. Sergio could see the men on the boat and they had rifles pointed at them as he and Miram grabbed the life rings and were pulled to the side of the boat.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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28 DANNY KANG

The Brig was clean but it was cold, there were two cots and two chairs. Sergio looked at the 1 inch thick steel bars on the front of the room with a looming suspicion of never seeing freedom again or what he thought of freedom anyway. He knew that if these people did any kind of in depth background search on him or Miram, they both could be executed for what they did to the Neptune ship and not to mention the fact that they contracted with the Chinese and even killed men and destroyed a Maritime ship. They had been given dry clothes and even given some hot fluids but other than that there was one guard with a fully automatic weapon standing at the ready outside the cell and no one else. It had been this way for 5 hours since they were first picked up. That in it’s self did not bode well for the both of them. Sergio was spending his time trying to come up with a viable story that hopefully would be plausible and get them both out of this very bad predicament. He was going to tell this Captain, when ever he or who ever was going to interrogate them, came around, that he and Miram had been kidnapped and made to do whatever it was to stay alive aboard the ships. Keeping it simple with less lies to remember was the way to go and he whispered to Miram what his plan was and how he should do all the talking.

It was quite some time later that he heard and felt the ship start to move. Soon after that, two officers and two more sailors, armed to the teeth showed up and the one that had stood guard unlocked the cell door. The two sailors entered the cell and walked over to him and Miram. He did not move and hoped Miram would do the same. One of the sailors took his rifle and hit Miram on the face knocking him to the floor. Miram rolled over and looked up at the sailor; he had blood running from his mouth and spit a mouthful on the deck. The sailors moved to him and told him to get up. Once Miram stood, they man handled him and pushed him out of the cell and then proceeded to take him to another room. One of the officers followed while the other one walked into the cell and grabbed the chair and moved it so he could sit down. The guard moved to the open door and stood at the ready with his weapon. Sergio was not about to try anything at this point but without warning the officer hit him with some sort of baton across his face. He fell from the chair to his knees and spat blood from his mouth also. “Why did you do that? he asked.” “Shut up, and sit back down, you are going to tell me everything you know about this little operation and who put you up to it.”

“What operation are you talking about; I don’t know of any operation.” The officer sitting in front of Sergio swung the baton again and this time Sergio’s head violently swung to one side as he fell from the chair again. “Wrong answer, now shall we try again? Get up and set down or I’ll let Petty officer Craigs have a few licks with you.” Sergio looked at the guard closely for the first time and saw that the man was huge; he looked like a body builder of some kind and knew that if he was let loose it would not be good for him. He crawled to his knees and slowly pulled himself up into the chair again. “Let’s try a different question this time shall we? What is your name?” Sergio thought for a minute while he spit some more blood to the floor and said “Calvin, Calvin Goodwin.” This time the baton was swiftly poked into his gut. He gasped for air and the chair began to fall backwards with him in it. The motion stopped abruptly and the chair was righted. He was still gasping for air when a fist slammed into his right eye. The impact almost knocked him over again but the chair stayed this time. He was breathing hard and felt a rope or something being wrapped around him. His mind registered the fact that he was being tied to the chair. His head was hanging forward and all he could see was his legs as the guard bent in front of him and wrapped some cord or something around his ankles. “Now then Mr. Blovicek would you prefer another hit with my trusty little stick or would you like to tell me your first name this time?” The pain in his face and mid section was excruciating but he managed to say “Ser…g…iooo.” “Now that is better. Shall we answer my first two questions and please, with detail so I do not have to coax you again?”

Sergio’s body was reeling with pain and his mind was still trying to get out of any responsibility for the wanton death and destruction that had transpired, all for wealth. So with excruciating pain he began to talk. “Okay, I and that other man were kidnapped in Hawaii and taken to china. Once we got there, we were locked up and told that we would be shanghaied to work on some ships for a very important mission. We didn’t know anything about that mission and were threatened with death if we refused to cooperate.” The next hit from the baton broke his jaw and he fell sideways to the deck while tied to the chair. He spit blood up and could not move. “Mr. Blovicek, I thought I was being clear that you should not lie to me.” Sergio was bleeding from his mouth and several lacerations on his face. His guts hurt very badly. He could barely see out of his swollen eyes but saw the boots come in and heard the man who had been beating him talking with who ever just walked in. He could not understand the words because he could not quite hear. The extra boots left and he was raised up into the sitting position again.

“Well it seems your friend has been a bit more cooperative than you Mr. Blovicek. You see, the little ploy the Chinese tried did not work and all three of the fake ships they gave you and the rest of your ill fated crews are all at the bottom of the ocean. Which is too bad for you and the crew of the MCGUIRE, that is the name of the Neptune ship you scuttled isn’t it Mr. Blovicek?” Sergio heard all of this and resigned himself to whatever fate was forth coming. He knew when they were pirating along the coast of America that nothing good was going to come of it all and his thoughts of leaving then were far gone and way to late. The Chinese deal was suppose to be the way out but that also was a very bad deal and he knew it but stayed with the mad man Max Hargraves. He raised his head enough to look at the officer just to acknowledge the truth of the matter. “Well since we have finally come to the truth of the matter, there is just one more question.” Sergio looked at the man and knew if he did not answer right he would wind up on the floor again and maybe not get up again. “Who hired you and what is his name?” was all that the officer asked. Sergio’s swollen mouth and broken jaw made it quite hard for him to speak but speak he did. “Susda..n…y Kkang. The officer spoke and repeated the name knowing full well that Sergio could hardly speak, “So you are saying a man named Danny Kang is the one responsible for this business?” Sergio tried to shake his head in the positive way but it hurt so bad he could only move it slightly. “Good, good.” The officer motioned to the guard to untie him and get him to the cot. “I’ll send a medic down to fix you up a bit, so sorry for the way this interrogation turned out for you.” Sergio had been helped to the cot and as he lay down he watched the officer and the guard leave. A few minutes later the two sailors that had drug Miram out dragged him back and placed him on the other cot. The man was bleeding from his face and his sides. His legs looked like that of a rag doll so Sergio figured they had been broke. Miram was unconscious so he just stared and lay in total pain as he thought what was going to be next for him.

Danny Kang had been up the Yangtze River in the city of Nanjing visiting his mother while she died. He had traveled there shortly after the mercenaries had left and were safely in open waters. He had been hired by the high command of the military that in turn had been ordered by the Emperor of China to create the mission and get it done. The US ARMY FORCES were continuing to devastate the Hong Kong area and the lands beyond with there formidable attacks while the Maritime security force along with the Japanese and other worldly powers blockaded the eastern coastal waters so the Chinese naval force could not get out while the skirmishes continued. He was hired by the military because he had studied at the Harvard University as an exchange student and had amassed a fortune doing business with his chain of restaurants through out the larger cities of China. It was decided that he could hire the mercenaries to do the job and all he had to do was find the right peoples and offer enough monetary value to lure them to China. The Chinese Government could not be caught as being part of the exercise because the consequence would be harsh from the Emperor of the US. The skirmish was bad enough but a retaliation from that mad man would be tantamount to the very nuclear destruction to all the big cities of the Peoples Republic. Danny knew that the agreements between the Chinese Republic and the US Regime were to not use Nuclear weapons.

The Three older naval vessels had been decommissioned 10 years earlier and rejuvenated for this special mission only. Danny knew that they would not be reconstructed very well but only enough to get them to the projected targets. He had to spend his own monies to rejuvenate them and pay the bribe to the men that he would hire for the job. The Emperor and the high military generals had made sure that their finger prints would not be on any of this and Danny knew the consequences of failure. The prize he was offered was to be placed into the high position of the Emperor’s court as his direct secretary. The actual mission was for these men to cause as much destruction in the Southern Pacific with enough of a Chinese signature that the Maritime forces would be forced to take enough of their ships to leave a hole big enough in the blockade so the actual Chinese Navy could then break out into open waters to do battle. The gamble was for the Maritime to catch these rouge men and discover that they were nothing more than mercenaries and so China could not be blamed but yet their Navy would be in open waters once again. The stakes were high but the prize for him was also very high and he had accepted the contract.

He had sent the Hargraves man and his two companions, who captained the three ships, directly to the Tahiti Island first knowing full well that the Island had a strong defense. He did not tell them and hoped that they would survive that initial attack. He figured that if they got through the Tahitians they would be clear to destroy at will around the French Polynesia Islands until they were caught or destroyed. He planned to drop Intel to the Maritime fleet after Hargraves and his men caused enough destruction to pull them away from the China Coast. He had heard that if the fleet were able to get out into open waters they would take revenge on Australia for the bad loss they took in the first war with that country. His father had been killed in that war and he had a special interest in seeing the destruction of it.

As Danny rode in his big black limousine back to Shanghai, all the thoughts of the mercenaries flooded his mind. The cost of hiring all the men for the mission, then having to rebuild the old ships that had been decommissioned years earlier without being reimbursed by the Emperor made his stomach growl and gurgle. He knew that when this was said and done his reward would be far greater than any monetary loss or gain. He also knew that if the mission failed he would be held responsible and his life could be forfeit. His mother, who had been estranged to him for all the years he had been in the America’s going to school and then coming home only to build his small empire had shunned him when he tried to give her money to live on. She never accepted his dirty blood money as she called it and so lived in poverty in an old shack by the river. He wanted to have her moved to a hospice but she would have none of it and so died lying on an old dirty mattress on the floor of the one room shack. After her body had been removed he set the shack on fire and left. The shack burned and caught many other old shacks on fire before the flames were doused. He would have had the whole slum burned to the ground but the fire fighters were too efficient.

His car was parked in the underground garage below his main Restaurant and as he climbed out to head for the elevator that would take him to his penthouse above the restaurant he noticed two unmarked black cars parked in the many unused spaces. This peaked, his interest so he called the head waiter in the restaurant and asked if any strange men had come in from the elevator. The answer was no which made him even more Leary. He called his guard station on the floor above the restaurant and received no answer. Now he was becoming very cautious as he climbed into the elevator. His chauffeur had locked up the car and was heading for the stairwell. He watched him reach the stairwell door as the elevator door closed. He almost called the man to ride up with him in the elevator but thought to himself that he was being paranoid and shrugged the feeling off. The elevator had to rise through 5 floors before it reached his penthouse and he fiddled with his tie to loosen it. He undid his jacket and was preparing to make himself comfortable as soon as he entered the big luxurious penthouse. His thoughts were on a good stiff drink and having some of his prostitutes join him for drinks and a good dinner before enjoying the rest of the night. When the elevator door opened, he almost threw up from the sight in front of him.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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On the floor in the large living room lay all four of his guards. Each one had been shot in the back of the head and the blood had run all over his plush white carpet. His first thought was to close the elevator door and escape down to the car. He started to push the button but a hand reached around the side of the door and all he saw was a gun pointed at him as a black haired woman stepped around and said “come in Mr. Kang.” The woman was wearing a black leather two piece suit of some kind that fit her skin tight. She had knee high black leather boots on that had mid high heels. She backed up and Danny slowly walked out of the elevator into his rather large messy penthouse. He looked at his guards again and then at the woman and asked “who the hell are you and what have you done to my men.” The woman walked over to the bar and examined the choices of liquor and then said “would you like a drink Mr. Kang and please have a seat.” With that she turned and motioned him to the big couch that sat just past where the 4 men lay dead on the floor. Danny moved around the dead men and made sure he didn’t step into any of the blood stained carpet. He reached the couch and sat at the end that was farthest away from the dead men. “I will have the Irish whiskey.” “Ah, seems you have acquired the taste of the Irish then.” “Yes I find that it has a smooth and calming affect in times such as these.” “Good choice then” as she picked up the bottle to examine it and proceeded to pour a glass full, “would you like ice with that then?” Danny said yes and she plunked a couple of cubes into the glass. She picked up another bottle of Vodka and poured herself a straight shot. “I find that the Russians have perfected this particular liquor and I have acquired a fondness for it myself.”

Danny started to get up to retrieve his drink but the woman told him to remain seated and a tall dark haired man came from a room towards the back and walked over to the bar, picked up the drink and carried to the table in front of Danny. He waited for the man to back off and sat forward to retrieve the drink. As he took his first sip of the whiskey he saw the woman take a big gulp of the vodka she was drinking, and set the glass back on the bar. “Now Mr. Kang let us discuss this mess on your floor first and then perhaps we can discuss your continuance in the Restaurant business.” She took another big gulp and said “seems when Mr. Banner and I asked where you might be, these four men didn’t like that we were inquiring about you. We politely asked them if we could wait in your penthouse until you arrived, you see one of them told us that you were on your way back from a business meeting and that you would be along shortly. Well they were quite accommodating and ushered us into your elevator. They tried to get rough with me and Mr. Banner does not like it when someone does that to me so he calmly dispatched them. When we reached your Penthouse, Mr. Banner got them out of the elevator and placed them on the floor where you see them now. Oh I almost forgot, when they started to wake up, they became very rude again so Mr. Banner decided that he would make sure they didn’t try to get rough with me again. I tell you that Mr. Banner simply can’t stand that kind of behavior so a soft hollow point to the back of the head usually puts a stop to the rudeness. Now then, let us discuss your circumstance and perhaps decide your fate.”

“What do you mean my fate; a few minutes ago you mentioned my continuance in the restaurant business.” “Ah so I did.” She stopped and told Mr. Banner to escort the ladies in the inner bedroom to the back elevator and send them down to their business chambers. Danny watched the big man disappear toward the back area where his inner bedroom was located and turned back to the black widow as he began to think of her now. “Are you going to tell me why all of this is happening now?” “Why yes Mr. Kang. As for your continuance in the Restaurant business, your name will remain on the buildings you have amassed. However you will be known as one of the greats and your death will be mourned. You see Mr. Kang; the Emperor did tell you that if the mission you took on failed you would only be remembered that way. Danny’s mind was whirling around and around. He asked “how do you know the mission has failed?” The black widow smiled at him as she took another big swig of the vodka and poured her self another glass full.

“Well Mr. Kang, your so called mission was to divert enough of the Maritime forces away from the Hong Kong area so the Emperors fleet could get enough ships into open waters, was it not?” Danny just stared at her as she continued. “Okay then, it seems that the scheme was perhaps going to work because 4 of those battle cruisers did pull out of the formation and headed east. It was possible that they were going after your 3 ships that slipped out of here. The high admiralty was keeping a close watch and when 5 more of Maritime ships left it appeared to be the time to move. Admiral Yangzte ordered the big carrier and two battle cruisers to move and 3 destroyers tagged along. I guess they thought that would be enough to fight with once in the open waters.” Danny was impressed that the high command had decided to take that many ships and especially the carrier, in the first sortie. The woman emptied her glass and threw it at the big mirror behind the bar. Danny shied away and his heart skipped a beat as the mirror shattered. The women grabbed the bottle this time and chug a lugged it with three big gulps. She looked at him with fire in her eyes or so it seemed to him. Her voice raised in pitch as she said the next words to him. “You know Mr. Kang; those damn ships of the bastard Maritime fleet never really got that far away. It was all a diversion of their own just to lure as many ships of ours out to a well laid plan. Somehow the Maritime forces new that the 3 ships you sent were not Chinese but mercenaries. Would you like to explain how that happened, Mr. Kang?”

Danny was at a loss for words at the insinuated accusation that was literally spit out of the woman’s mouth. He started to explain and perhaps defend himself but the woman moved closer to him and screamed at him. “SHUT UP YOU LITTLE WEASLE OR SHOULD I SAY YOU BIG HUNK OF SHIT.” She took another pull on the bottle and threw it across the room. She moved back to the bar and went behind it. Danny could hear her walking on the broken glass. She reached down and came up with another full bottle of vodka. She examined it closely and opened it. As she moved back around the bar she said “I had two brothers on that carrier you filthy worm and now they are dead. The Emperor is not happy that you betrayed him.” Danny’s eye’s grew in size at this accusation but held his mouth until this woman could settle down. He watched her closely as she chugged the bottle and then she fell on one the bar stools and leaned back against the bar. Her eyes looked glazed now and he figured he could speak.

“First of all lady, I do not know what you are talking about me betraying the Emperor. So far you have told me that some of our ships did make it out of the harbor but then seem to think they may have been sunk. Is this true then?” “You know Mr. Kang, let’s suppose you might be telling me the truth but I doubt it. Those Maritime ships knew exactly when our fleet left and where they were headed. They made it look like they left port and as soon as they got out of sight, and don’t give me any shit about the radar crap, The ships disappeared from all the scopes, so our fleet decided that they were gone. HA! Little did they know that those ships were cloaked with the latest US ARMY technology. They waited for our ships to break harbor and gave them a little lee way before they loosed all the cruise missiles on them. The Carrier was the first to go under. She was blasted to pieces. The battle cruisers were next and only one of the destroyers made it back but it is damaged and repairs could take months. So we lost the big carrier, two battle cruisers and two destroyers. You know as well as I do that loosing that many ships is very crippling to our fleet, especially the carrier. We are now locked in so tight that we may never get out and that cloaking tech has given the Maritime the advantage of world domination of the seas. You have been to the US schools and have been known to be very friendly with the Americans. We did pick up radio communications from your car when you were up in Nanjing. Those signals went directly out to one of the Maritime cruisers so we figure you communicated our intentions. She was holding her gun loosely in one hand while she took swigs from the bottle with the other.

“I did not radio any communications from my car; I wasn’t even in it most of the time I was up there.” “Well Mr. Kang we have evidence that you did relay information.” Danny watched her closely now and could see that she was becoming quite drunk from the strong drink. He began to make his move to overcome her and escape. He had not seen the big man come up behind him and point the silenced weapon to the back of his head. Just as Danny started to move, the woman stood off the stool and said “we are done here and turned to walk toward the elevator. Danny never heard the sound of the gun as he was violently pushed forward. The bullet had entered the back of his skull and exited through his forehead which exploded outward. His large body fell into the coffee table and shattered it as he fell further into the 4 dead bodies of his guards. Two days later some of the staff of the restaurant had prepared some food and brought it up the elevator. They had not heard from their boss and were very concerned. At the risk of being possibly fired they ventured up to the Penthouse. When the door opened, the stench was so bad that they all wretched and quickly shut the door and went back down to the main level. The police were called and the penthouse was sealed while the restaurant was allowed to operate as business usual. The official story of the gruesome murders was that Danny Kang had been caught in the act of espionage and the guards had killed him while he killed them. It was determined that the Restaurant would remain with the name of KANG’S and it was known that a new owner had purchased the entire chain. No one knew who the new owner was only that they would be living in the Penthouse as soon as it was done being remodeled.

One day around 2 months after the death of Danny Kang a well dressed woman with long black hair entered the restaurant. Her entourage included a big man that had blond short hair, two petite Chinese women that looked like dolls and two more burly looking men following the woman and the big tall blond. She stopped at the Maitre D’ podium first and spoke a few quiet words before moving to the back of the restaurant and entering the office. The entire staff of the restaurant became a buzz with who this woman and her entourage was and when the Maitre D’ entered the kitchen and placed an order he also told the chefs who it was for. The Black widow and her right hand man had been given the restaurants and all of what Danny Kang had amassed with his business. The Emperor had rewarded his daughter greatly for ridding China of a very egregious traitor. His two sons that had been killed on the Ming Chow Aircraft carrier had sent him into a rage and he had almost sent nuclear missiles into America. His daughter was able to calm him but not completely and now the edge of world annihilation stood in a paddock at the ready
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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29 THE SHORES OF THE AMERICA’S

The ELI BANKS cruised into the area where they had left the Freighter BESS. There was no sign of the ship or any signals of where she may have gone. Captain Roberts had his own suspicions but they were nothing more than speculations. He asked calmly, “Is there any sign of that ship anywhere? I want a complete search underway. Send the Helo up and do a good run up to a two hundred mile radius. Hartwell could not have gotten further than that in the time we were gone. They could be hiding in a cove or inlet and that is why we can’t get any signals off her. Mean while we are heading back to Papeete, hell maybe that is where Hartwell went.”

The ELI BANKS dropped anchor in the bay of Papeete. The Helo landed on the aft flight deck and Captain Roberts waited for a debriefing. Papeete still had smoke rising from burning buildings and the docks had been cleared of the damaged boats and small ships. It appeared that the city was recouping slowly but surely. The flight crew showed up in the debriefing room and Lt. Commander Landers told Captain Roberts that they had found nothing in most of the Islands they had scouted. There was absolutely no sign of the Freighter. It was as if the ship had disappeared and the assumption was written into a report that she had been attacked perhaps by pirates and sunk somewhere in the Polynesian Islands. There had been reports of small bands of Pirates roaming the outskirts of the Islands lately so the report was filed that way. Captain Roberts and a small detail of men gathered the two prisoners in the brig and took them ashore. They found the constable and turned them over. What became of the two was given no more thought by the Maritime security force as they were completely engulfed in the China Skirmish and only could spend time in the South Pacific with a skeleton fleet of ships. Captain Roberts kept the entire discovery of the holographic system that Tom had on the BESS to himself. He figured that it went to the bottom of the ocean with that ship and it was no longer a problem to deal with. The ELI BANKS remained on assignment to the French Polynesians and all remained quiet as the city of Papeete rebuilt it’s self.

The BESS had cruised over to the Island of Nuku-Hiva and anchored in the Taioha’e bay. Tom called his old friend Pierre Gustoff and requested a refill of fuel to travel to the America’s. One hour later a tug boat with a small crane made its way out to the Anchored BESS. The crew all gathered along the starboard side and waited for the tug to pull along side. Once the tug anchored it’s self, the crane turned to the side and dropped a thick cable with a large hook on the end, into the water. Two men in divers’ suits jumped into the water and disappeared. The cable reeled out as they all watched and then came to a halt. They all watched for a few minutes and then the cable was hoisted back up. When it reached the surface they could see the end of a 12’’ hose attached to it. The cable kept reeling in until the hose was out of the water and the crane swung the hose to the side of the Bess and brought it up to the main deck. The men wrestled it onto the deck and un-hatched a port. The men then brought the hose to the opening and screwed the end of it onto the port. Tim Harden gave thumbs up to the tug boat and a man said something into a radio. The hose stiffened and they all could barely hear the rushing sound of fluid filling into the tanks below. While the tanks were being filled, a small motored craft had made its way out from the shore and pulled along side the BESS. Two men climbed a ladder to the main deck and headed for the Bridge. Two hours later the tanks were full and the crew unhooked the hose and latched it onto the cable that was fed from the crane. Everything was done in reverse and they watched the hose disappear into the ocean. The cable was pulled back up and the two divers came up with it and climbed back aboard the tug. The crane was secured and the tug swung an arc and headed back toward the shore. Tom came down to the main deck with the two men and a couple of the crewmen that had went below earlier now came back and were carrying two cases of a variety of liquors. The men shook hands with Tom and they all were laughing about something. They climbed back down to the motor craft and the cases of liquor were lowered by rope to them. The craft pulled away from BESS and headed back to shore.

Tom looked at the crew and said “shall we go to the America’s gentlemen?” His laugh was infectious and everyone began to laugh as they broke up to head back to the duty stations and or rest areas. Tom had kept the BESS cloaked and in stealth mode until they reached the bay and now he would wait until they were back in open waters away from the Islands until he gave the order to cloak and use the stealth mode again. He figured it would be good to stay that way until they were at least half way to the America’s just in case good of Bob Roberts thought about chasing after him. He knew Roberts did not know which way he may have went but the man was no dummy, he would search a 200 miles radius and he would send his Helo out to search by eye. Tom had worried about the wake and how that could be seen even if the ship was cloaked so he had hurried to the Island and worried about being uncloaked while taking on fuel. He knew that the damn Maritime would be relentless to get their hands on the Holographic radar device if Bob said anything about it to his superiors. It was roughly a three week journey to the Americas and once the BESS reached the open waters beyond Nuku-Hiva the ship was cloaked and in stealth mode again. The order had been given to all the crew and the passengers that they needed to stay inside while the cloak system was in operation. They were told that notice would be given when they could go outside and the ship cruised at 35 knots on a Northeasterly direction for a good 10 days before Tom decided that they could uncloak and catch some fresh air and sunshine. For 10 days all one could see if they happened to be looking down at the part of the ocean that the BESS was cruising through, was a peculiar swath or wake in the water. Fortunately Tom had taken a course that was not traveled very often up from the South Pacific into the North Pacific and meant to skirt the coast of the central Americas up toward San Diego. The Maritime fleet had a home port there but he knew some areas where he could get the folks ashore on the Baja and not have to get to close to that port. So after the 10 day push in the cloaked scenario, he brought the ship to a slow crawl of 12 knots and uncloaked her. He kept the stealth mode on and all the cabin fevered folks spent time in the fresh air and bright sunshine.

17 days after the departure from Nuku-Hiva the BESS came to stop around 700 miles southwest of the Mexico country. Tom had pushed but slowed as they crossed the expanse of the Pacific and now he wanted to plot the course up to the Baja without being seen by any other ships and planes. He knew this could be hard but it was all in the timing and he just so happen to have the schedules of ships in the main shipping lanes from the South American Continent and the Central American continents. The BESS floated freely in the open waters for two days while Curtis watched the radar and Denny kept a close ear on the com traffic. They watched the ship traffic move up and down the coast of Mexico and around the Baja up to the States and also the movements toward the west Pacific. Nothing came closer than a few hundred miles to them and then the third day there was no traffic that Curtis could see on the maximum of his scopes. Tom gave the order to head for Ensenada and cloak the ship. They cranked the engines and cruised at 40 knot’s. Tom went below and gathered all the passengers in the big open space that they all called the Rec room. He told them all that Ensenada was the closest port he could get them to and that he would not venture any closer to the States at this time. He had good relations with the Port authorities at Ensenada and could trust them. The city was close to the southern border of California and Arizona and he suggested that if they were going to cross that they should do it at the Arizona Border as the California Border was heavily guarded these days. Well the Arizona Border was also guarded but there were barren areas that they could utilize. He told them that they would be at a special dock in Ensenada within a day so they should be ready by the time they docked to leave with everything they needed. He would call ahead and talk with his trusted friends and they could provide transportation to city’s further east for a price. Most of the folks knew where they were headed from that port and it was known that the US ARMY was at war with the Mexican ARMIES so it would be a daring run on both sides; however they were all armed and knew how to protect themselves.

60 miles off the coast, Tom had the ship decloak, he kept the stealth gear in operation and would not shut it down until he entered All Saints bay. By that time he would be just another ship with the others that were parked in the bay and at the docks. He had already called ahead and talked with Juan Hernandez and the dock was prepared for him. He was going to refuel and take on fresh supplies while the passengers left and headed toward their destinies. Four of them, Two men and two women, he presumed were husband and wife, had mentioned a secret place they were going back to. All four of them were scientists that had worked for the ARMY four years earlier and had been rescued by a team of officers and taken to a Haven where they could do their research and development for the good of humanity instead of making death and destruction for war. They had been gone for over a year now and had ventured to Australia and Paradise to help a team of scientists down there with some technologies that the officers had created. Tom was planning to skirt the coast of California, Oregon and Washington by 1000 miles and come back in to the upper Canadian coast. He was going to Yakutat British Columbia and load up his holds with lumber to take back to Paradise. Uri Yankovic’s wife and child lived there and Tom had hopes that he might bring them along back to Paradise. He had not talked with him much about that yet but it would be sad if Uri decided to stay with his wife and child at Yakutat. He was an excellent sailor and knew his way around most of the working’s of the ship.

Cruising into the bay, the crew prepared to receive the tugs that had been sent out. Tom knew that the BESS would be docked at the most southern pier outside of the inner docks. The tugs grappled on and within an hour the Bess pulled along side the pier. The crew had secured the ship and began to open the side hatch to the dock to bring the supplies out that Tom had traded to Juan Hernandez.. All of the folks that were passengers had prepared to leave and were standing by waiting for the green light to disembark. With the 10 that had come aboard in Papeete and the 10 that had started from Paradise there were 20 folk. 18 adults and two children standing patiently to hopefully make their way into the United States and back to their lives they all had left, some more than a few years prior. Len Kreegar and his wife Ginger talked with Wes and Brenda Thompson about the Haven. Ginger was asking about the portal technology that was being worked on when they had left. “I did hear that the tech became useful shortly after we left and Theresa had sent some communication that the portals were becoming natural to the folks that used them on a regular basis and the actual tech machine had become obsolete or was becoming that way.” Wes spoke up then and said, “I have heard that some other people have been showing up and the teaching has grown tremendously in all the areas that we were experimenting on after we had left that military base up in Wyoming. I have also heard that Eryne has been reconnected with a long lost sister; I believe her name is Evelyne.”

They all had talked sparsely about the happenings at the haven so being this close to home they were relaying more tidbits to each other as they stood around waiting to get off the ship. Brenda was looking around at the other folks that were looking more anxious to leave also. She knew that what they were talking about that was happening in the haven could not be discussed to loudly or in mixed company at this time because of the dangers to themselves and the risk of possible discovery of the location of the haven. She moved closer and spoke of what Carolyne had relayed to her. “It is true about Eryne and her sister Evelyne; it seems that they are making things happen that is already affecting the country and the entire world. The Emperor has been stepping up his efforts to destroy the peoples but he is having a very hard time. Carolyne has told me about a number of ex police and ARMY folks that came over to the light and now are on missions to take out the evil scientific research and development facilities around the country. With the two sisters help and the patriot underground things are beginning to turn for the better of the peoples. I can hardly wait to get back so we can join the fight. That Dreamnet we experienced in Paradise has spread like wildfire around the world and remember what we witnessed with the children down there?” “Yes, the children, they plant trees and foods and that is spreading very rapidly. I have heard also that the children in this country and possible all over the world are doing this so hunger will be a thing of the past. There are so many wonderful things happening but as this all gets better known, I am hearing the tyrannical leaders are ramping up the death squads and it is sure that these governments are running scared. This could the most dangerous times for us all.” As Ginger finished, Len spoke and told them to hush, “looks like our ride just showed up, everybody ready?”

Tom and Sven had seen the bus working its way off the freeway and driving to the dock. They were walking across the main deck to the gang plank to say their farewells to the passengers and wish them a safe journey. As they approached the group, the bus pulled up on the dock close to the gang plank. It had been painted an olive green and had no marking of any kind. Tom was thankful that Juan had provided the ride and he proceeded to tell the group that the bus would take them over the highway 3 to Mexicali and transfer to another vehicle that would take them along highway 2 down the Arizona border until they could cross safely. There were only a few places and they were in the middle of nowhere. The huge wall that had been started in 2017 was never completed all the way and there were places that no one guarded due to the heat and bandits that roamed the border. Tom knew that they were all armed and prayed that they would not have to use the weapons. They all picked up their packs and luggage and moved off the ship and to the bus. Tom watched them all get on board and the bus turn and move toward the freeway and highway 3. He was glad they all made it safely to this port and waited for Juan to come on board as he had been sitting in his Humvee on the pier waiting.
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Len had moved to the back of the bus where the rear emergency door was located and watched all the others board. He knew this was a very dangerous time for them all and it did not matter which side of the boarder they were on. The Mexico side had the old cartel drug lords still in control of the ARMY and the bandito’s were quite prolific especially, this close to the boarder. On the other side were the Emperors minions that were even worse than the cartel or the bandito’s. He hoped that they would be able to keep out of sight on their journey back to Georgia. Everybody on the bus was wound tight and the edginess could be felt in the air. The bus cut across the Baja through the mountains and would connect with highway 5 going north into Mexicali. Len had told everyone to load a round into the chamber of their weapons and be on the lookout for trouble. The two children with their parents could be a very worrisome situation and he knew that they all would guard the children with their lives if and when it came to fighting.

The bus came out of the curvy road of the canyon and slowed to a stop. The driver got up and walked back to the emergency door, opened it and hoped to the ground. He muttered something in Spanish and pointed toward the east and then turned and began to walk back toward the west in a quick trot. The passengers up front began to pull their weapons and prepare for an encounter. Len looked up through the front window and saw the road block halfway across the flat sand dune desert. So this was it then. They got off here and made a run for the hills or they took the bus through the road block and hoped that no one would die in that process. As he moved toward the front he was asking what everyone wanted to do. Most of them did not want to be stranded in the hills and die a slow death but were not real sure about running the road block. All the while they sat and talked there was no activity at the road block. Wes came forward and as he stared at the road block he said. “I can only see 4 vehicles; you think they are 1 or 2 man trucks. I don’t see a whole lot of people and they don’t seem to be moving toward us. I am sure they have spotted us by now and that driver really did not want to tangle with them, what do you suppose that means?” “I don’t know Wes but you can be sure that they will try and take everything we got and killing us to do it does not mean much to them as long as they get everything. I can only surmise one thing at this point and that is there isn’t many of them or they would be coming at us by now. This looks like a game of chicken.”

“One of the other passengers spoke up and said “so what do we do then, just sit here and wait for them to make the first move or go meet them head on? Damn it we have to do something, its getting real hot just sitting here and I for one would like to find a nice cool place to rest. Len didn’t know this man all that well because he was kind of a loner and had kept to himself since they left Paradise. He started to answer the man’s question but someone said “look, one of the vehicles is leaving.” Len turned around and sure enough one of the trucks pulled out and headed toward the east. “Now that can not be good, they may have more of their gang further up the road.” Len told everybody to set down and block the outside of the bus with whatever you have or can find. We are going through and hope that there isn’t another blockade further on down the road. They may not have that many weapons but whatever they have will penetrate so stay down as best you can when we get close.” Wes looked at him and said “so the first one they are going to shoot at is the driver which is you and this windshield doesn’t look all that bulletproof.” Len looked at him and said “does anyone here have some binoculars?” Verna Travis, the mother of the two children reached into her bag and pulled a pair of the latest binoculars out and passed them up to Len. “Thank you maam” and he spun around and looked at the road block. He could see 4 men standing behind the trucks and could only see 3 long guns. He was sure that the 4th man had one also. They looked like automatics and he did not know if they had a grenade launcher of some sort of RPG. Wherever the truck went that just left, he could not tell but it was a sure bet that this was going to get bloody before they got through. If these people were smart they would shoot the tires and that would bring the bus to an abrupt stop. No matter how Len looked at this situation it wasn’t going to turn out good. All he could hope for was their number would be able to overcome and hopefully most of them could escape at least the first obstacle.

Everybody had shoved their luggage against the exterior sides and some had found some metal pans under the seats and propped them against the windows. Len explained what he was going to attempt and when they got close enough to use their weapons to try and take out the bandits and then they could take their vehicles and head for Mexicali. He wasn’t expecting to survive this as the driver of the bus but if he could get it far enough or close enough maybe he could ram at least one truck and then the rest could take care of the bandits. Wes had already thought of his plan and moved back to the rear door. He was going to jump out and come around somehow behind these bastards and put them down. He was not holding a favorable outcome for Len but he knew that Len would do everything he could to save as many as he could by ramming the trucks. Everyone prepared as best they could and Len turned to start the bus. Just as he turned the key he heard Ginger gasp and say “WAIT.” Len looked in the rear mirror and flipped the key off. Standing in the isle were two young girls. He recognized Eryne but the other one he could not place. Then he thought this must be Evelyne.

Hava and Luun had moved through no time in the universe and saw the trouble that the four scientists and the others were in. They turned into the time and stood in the middle of all the people on the bus. Ginger stood and moved to Eryne and hugged her and then Brenda did the same. Eryne introduced Evelyne and then all the people looked puzzled. Where did these two young girls come from and who were they? These were the questions that all except the four scientists’s had. Luun spoke and asked if everyone was alright and would they like to go to their homes in the States. Hava had already been looking into their minds and seeing clear pictures of the places they were going to. All of them tried to speak at once until Len stood and asked them to speak one at a time. Verna Travis was the first to speak and asked just how the two girls were going to get them home. “Here we sit in this desert with those bandits or whatever they are blocking our passage and it looks to me like they’re going to rob us and perhaps leave us stranded or even worse they are going to kill us. I am not about to let them at my children.” Hava spoke into her mind and calmed her. As everybody watched Verna stood up and pulled her luggage away from the wall of the bus and pushed her two children toward the isle. As they started to move it was as it they just disappeared. One by one or two by two the people stood and disappeared until the two girls, the four scientists and one man were left on the bus. Ginger and Brenda both had moved back to the rear of the bus and Luun motioned to Len and Wes to come back.

As the two men moved down the isle, Anson Holland who was sitting toward the front finally stood up and said, “where the hell did all those other people go?” he moved out to the isle and started to walk toward the girls who had moved to let Len and Wes by. He took one step and froze in the isle. Len, Wes, Brenda and Ginger picked up their luggage and packs and stepped into the garden at the Haven, Luun accompanied them while Hava stayed on the bus. The four sojourners had a lot of catching up to do and Luun/Eryne along with others at the haven would be showing and explaining all the new accomplishments as well as hearing about their journeys and knowledge learned and experienced down in Paradise. Meanwhile on the bus in the middle of nowhere Baja, Hava/Evelyne unfroze Anson Holland. He stumbled forward and fell into a seat. He quickly stood and faced the young girl that was standing about 5 feet from him.

“Well Mr. Holland, looks like you are all along on your journey back to the Emperor. Oh I am sure you will have a bit of trouble getting past those bandito’s up ahead. You see Mr. Holland, a little bird told them that this bus would be coming this way and that there was at least one American aboard. They really don’t like Americans due to the wars between the US and Mexico. It is unfortunate that you killed those people down in Paradise so you could get aboard the ship. So then it is unfortunate that you will meet these bandits.” Anson asked how she knew that he worked for the Emperor and in the same breath asked where all the other people went. “Well here again Mr. Holland, your mind is quite transparent and as for the other folks, they all went home.” “Bullshit, you knocked me out somehow and got them off and into another bus or something. I demand to know where they really are and you have to get me on that bus. Hava knew what was coming next and said “Say hi to the leader of that group up there Mr. Holland” and with that disappeared just as Anson jumped at her. He flew through the air and hit the edge of a seat with his right eye. He rolled onto his back in the isle and the blood filled his eye. He swore and sat up quickly which caused him to grab his head and curse vehemently.

As he grabbed the seat rest to try and stand his head almost exploded. He managed to twist himself into a forward position on his hands and knees and crawled to the front of the bus. Pulling himself into the driver’s seat was excruciatingly painful but he managed to set in the driver’s seat and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eye and forehead to clear the blood away. When he accomplished this, through more pain he looked out the windshield and saw the blockade still in the distance. He tried to shake his head to clear up the fog but that hurt so badly he screamed. He finally pulled out his weapon and jacked a round into the chamber and rested it in his lap as he started the bus. The engine turned over and a belch of smoke popped from the muffler in the rear as he shifted the bus into gear and slowly began to move forward.
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Jose’ Valdez and his small band of freedom fighters, as he liked to call them, had been notified about the bus full of people and at least one American that would be traveling over the route 3. He had been at his home base in Mexicali when a short Asian man approached him and gave all the information of the times and route. Today was the day and he had gathered the men and drove to this spot and waited. He had been told that he could kill the people and the bounty would be good and he could add the bus to his arsenal of vehicles. He was hoping to gather more weapons as their stash was minimal. The automatics that he did have were short on ammunition so he had to use them sparingly until they could steal more or kill those that had the same type. He had four vehicles that were all four wheel drive, which was very much admonished in this terrain, to set up the blockade. To get around him any one would have to have sand buggies because the sand was deep at this spot.

It was approaching the early afternoon and the heat was beginning to reach its peak of 120 degrees when they saw the bus come from the canyon and stop. Jose’ stood behind his truck that was parked cross ways in the middle of the road. Two other trucks had been parked bumper to bumper on each side of his truck. He was looking through his binoculars at the bus and saw the driver stand and move toward the rear. He could barely see the rear door open and had to laugh. “It appears that the driver has abandoned the bus” he spoke in Spanish to his compadre’s. “We will wait to see what these people will do.” He waited and soon it was getting to hot so he got in the truck and turned it on while running the AC. Emil his right hand man had parked his truck on the road behind the others and came up to Jose’. “Are we going to wait all day Jose’ I am hungry and we should go to that bus and shoot the peoples so we can go back home.” Jose’ looked at him with some disgust, even though Emil was his right hand man; the man was quite overweight and was always hungry. “I tell you what Emil, you are a pig. Why don’t you go to that little café at the intersection and get yourself some food and bring us all some back. There are more peoples on that bus than we have and we could get killed. So go and bring back some food for us all. Leave your automatic with us while you go and Emil” he paused a moment. Emil looked at him with a bewildered look and said “yes Jose’ what?” “You had best hurry and your fly is open.” Emil looked down then handed his rifle to one of the other men and as he hurried to his truck he zipped himself up. He climbed in and turned the truck around and headed back toward the intersection with nothing more than food on his mind.

Jose’ looked through his binoculars again and saw another man sitting in the driver’s seat. He spoke out the window to the other 3 men and said “it looks like they may have another who will drive the bus to us. Prepare yourselves and shoot the tires when they get close enough, remember we need the bus and the people could be used for other things so we might let them live. Any Americans we will kill with slowness and if one of you kills them to fast, I will kill you slowly in his place. The heat was getting to be more unbearable and Jose’s patience was wearing thin. When the bus started up and a puff of smoke rolled from the rear end. It started to move toward them slowly so Jose’ looked through his binoculars again and this time something did not seem right to him. He could not see any people other than the driver and he could barely see him. As he watched, the bus picked up speed and hurried toward him and his men. He called out and told them to aim at the tires and when the vehicle got close enough to shoot them. It was uncanny how the bus seemed to pick up more speed and come closer like it was skipping areas. He heard the ratta tat tat of the automatics as the bus plowed into his truck on the passenger’s side. The slow motion collision was a horror to watch as the whole side of his truck slammed into him. The explosion of the fuel tank and the extra cans of fuel he had in the back blew his life into hell and the bus ignited also as it rolled over him. The three men that were shooting as the bus plowed into the barricade were not fortunate enough to escape the horrendous explosion and all three were blown through the air some 50 or more feet before they landed in the sand. Their bodies burned as they were in flight and the sand did not extinguish them when they landed. The three trucks on the road were on fire and burning with the bus on fire and resting on top of the center vehicle. The black oily smoke could be seen for miles.

Anson had cranked the motor over and slipped the bus into gear. He was moving slowly at first and went through three gears quickly enough as the bus picked up speed. He was slumped in the seat and looking just over the dash as he drove toward the barricade. He was going to ram the middle truck and hopefully roll through and still be able to keep going. The blood was running down the side of his face more and it was getting harder for him to see out of his right eye. The bus seemed to leap forward without him stepping on the gas peddle. The eeriness of the motion gave him the willies. The bullets coming from the men at the barricade blasted the front windshield out and the glass splattering into him as he watched in slow motion the front of the bus slam into the center vehicle. He caught a glimpse of the man sitting in the truck just before the whole side of that truck smashed into him and the explosion took him beyond the corporeal existence of his flesh.

Emil had retrieved the food and was heading back when he heard the gun fire and then the explosions. He was eating a greasy taco that was crumbling from his fat greasy hand and falling into his lap when the explosions happened. As he came closer to the road block he was mesmerized by the black smoke that was rising skyward. He finally saw the fire and smoke and all the burning vehicles. He began to slow down as he approached the mess and just as he was going to stop, the bigger vehicle that was on top of pile exploded from the rear and pieces of metal flew into the front of his truck. He ducked into the passenger side of the truck as a rather large piece of metal crashed through the front windshield. All the food he was bringing back was crushed by his rather large body. His truck had not come to a complete stop and was twisted to the side and into a deep sand dune that brought it to a sudden halt. Emil was thrown into the gear shifter with his mid section and his upper body kept moving into the dash. All the greasy food was caked on the side of his head and the remains was thrown up against him.

He lay in the mess trying to catch his breath and listened to the fires burning. His truck motor was still running and he could hear the rear wheels spinning against the harder surface of the road. He was barely able to reach the ignition key and turn it off. He lay entangled with the gear shift and was looking down at the floor board on the passenger’s side of the truck. He could see the foods in piles and splattered against the underside of the dash. After awhile he tried to move to right him self but something was holding him. He tried to turn his head to see what might be holding him. He twisted just enough to see that the gear shift rod had penetrated his leg just below the hip area. He felt no pain and the entire thing was like a hallucination to him. As he lay there in the greasy mess he desperately wanted to sit up and get out of the truck. He could smell gasoline and then had the thought of the extra cans of gas in the back. The trucks front end had buried itself into the dune and was sitting at a 45 degree angle. The large piece of metal that had busted through the front windshield had passed through the truck body and torn out the rear window along with part of the cab and the top half of the seat where Emil had been sitting before he dove down. It was this hole that the gasoline was dripping through. One of the cans had been grazed by the shrapnel and wound up precariously laying on the back of the cab, semi over the hole. Emil thought to him self that he would be soaked with the gasoline before to long so he would have to get rid of the clothes he was wearing.

The piece of metal that had crashed through was very hot and had landed in the back and when the truck came to its sudden halt in the sand, the gas cans and other items in the back were thrown forward and piled up against the cab. The hot metal had also slid forward and rested on some old rags. The rags finally combusted and the small fire became larger as they all caught. The fire finally reached the leaking gas and ignited. Emil felt the heat and excruciating pain of the burning just before the other cans of gas exploded. Five hours later, two cars pulled up from the east and the gang members sat drinking tequila while they watched the fires still burning the vehicles. They finally turned and drove back to Mexicali thinking that perhaps the Americans had come down and had a small skirmish with the Mexican Army.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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30 THE GARDEN

Ginger and Brenda stepped into the garden first and were immediately amazed. Len and Wes stepped in right behind them and then Eryne came through and moved to the center area. “Come and sit, you all must be hungry and thirsty” Eryne said as she waved her arm at a building off to the side. The four of them moved to a place where they could unload the luggage and back packs and as they accomplished this, the carts of foods and drinks were rolling out from the building. Brenda turned and almost walked into one of them. Wes reached out and grabbed her and said “Whoa, what have we here?” Eryne asked them to sit down and she would tell them all about the wonderful changes that had occurred while they had been away. They all moved to the very comfortable lounges and sat down. The carts moved close and all four of them could see foods and drinks. Len mentioned, “wow I was thinking about having some of this” as he reached over and picked up a plate and begin to fill it with some tasty looking potatoes and eggs. The coffee was hot and the other drinks were all fresh juices and such. Ginger started to ask about the other girl that was with Eryne when out of nowhere she appeared and came over to sit next to Eryne.

Eryne introduced Evelyne, “this is Evelyne, she is a long time sister and we were reunited after you all left for Australia and Paradise. Her mother and Father are here also and you will get to meet them soon. Bill and Carolyne should be along soon also. The rest of the team you came here with originally are scattered around and some have done what you four did, they have traveled to other parts of the world to help train and give the new things we have created so others can be part of the healing. Evelyne showed up with her mother and two very close friends about 2 months after you left and it has been a wonderful and exciting time for us all.

Wes asked “have you heard anything about the children, Montgomery and Kalista, We heard bits and pieces from the folks down in Paradise how they were moving around and planting and helping folks. The Dreamnet was shown to us and the Children of Paradise are planting and doing things that is becoming very thrilling. The telepathy is quite common and a man named Aberdeen has been responsible for building and expanding Paradise all over down there.” Ginger said “yes he is amazing but the folks around him are doing it all together and those healing centers are spouting up all over now a day.” Brenda spoke and mentioned the animals that arrived on the ship that they came back on. Tom Hartwell is quite the man and our journey was very eventful.”

“Yes Tom is a good man and we have the healing centers popping up in this country now.” Everybody turned and saw Carolyne, Bill and 4 other folks come into the Garden from the southern entrance. Ginger and Brenda both jumped up and hurried over to Carolyne to hug her. “Jamie ah, er Carolyne it is so wonderful to see you, we most definitely have missed you and John, ah, I mean Bill.” Ginger had stumbled over her pronouncement of the names because it had been way to long since they last saw them. The 4 folks that had walked in with them had moved to the carts and were picking some foods to fill their plates. Carolyne had hugged the two women back and snickered at the names. “Okay ladies you do remember that we changed our names when we all arrived at the haven so those are the ones we have used since.” Len and Wes had both stood and greeted Bill and Carolyne. Carolyne said as she turned to Christine, Jim, Mark and Maria, “I want you to meet Evelyne’s parents and their dear friends Mark and Maria.” After they all greeted each other and sat around talking about the latest adventures and creations of new technologies that actually benefited human kind as well as the animals and for that matter all life forms on the earth, The two girls filled them in on the new folks that had come to the haven and were now on missions to remove the harmful inventions of the Military and Police minions of the Emperor. While they were talking two more young folks wandered in and the introductions were given. Kevin and Kristyl had been out in the orchards taking a leisurely day enjoying the trees and other creatures that had come to the haven. They would be going on other missions soon and were just taking time to recuperate. Brenda asked about Terry or Theresa and Christine had a big smile on her face as Carolyne told them that she had gotten herself married to a wonderful young man that came to them from the military. The both of them were off on a mission with two others over in the country of Texas.

Len took a sip of his coffee and said “we surely must go and see Samantha and Jonathan, oh and what about Joanna? Can you show us where they might be today?” Evelyne floated over closer and Eryne was right behind her. All four of the folks who had just returned watched in amazement and Len asked “how are you doing that, is it some new technology that has been created in our absence?” “No Len this is an inherent ability within all of us, it must be opened within your mind as it was locked up and forgotten long ago. Evelyne lowered herself to the floor as well as Eryne and began to explain that she and Eryne had been given the remembrance shortly after coming back to this plane of existence. Both of them had been given totally open minds and could do things that would have to be explained in a much longer time period. “For now we can open your minds to be able to levitate and read minds and speak by telepathy as all of us here have learned to do.” Samantha and Jonathan are away on a mission with Samuel and Mary whom you have not met yet but will soon enough. There mission is very dangerous and we are watching closely. They are up in the State of Washington and we are looking forward to there return when that mission is accomplished. Joanna is with an old friend today and you will get to see here tonight. I do believe we shall have a welcome home party so you will get to meet so many new folks that have come to be part of the healing. I believe you have met some of the good folks down in Paradise and they may even show up. For now Eryne and I must be off to see to some folks elsewhere and I believe these fine folks will show you to your new living quarters of the home you all have missed.” With that, the two girls turned sideways and disappeared. Len, Wes, Ginger and Brenda all looked with wonder and Len said “I sure can’t wait to be able to do these things and that disappearing act has to be the topper.” Carolyne stood with Christine and Maria and asked them to follow as they moved toward a building off to one of the side entrances to the garden. The others bid them farewell until later and the group of weary travelers all marched off to their living quarters for some much needed rest. They did not see their luggage and packs following in the air until they reached their respective apartments
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LostNFound
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

Post by LostNFound »

31 INTERLUDE

Chancy Livermore and Bud Winston had spent a good time talking with the folks that cleaned up the mess in the giant hole. The conversations had included all the nasty things the Emperor had created since his takeover of the country, the Military that had moved in here and stole people’s property and life. The police that became so brutal and dictatorial in the city. They had discussed how the people finally had enough and stood up to stop the madness. The Sheriff, Harley Blank gathered people together and deputized almost the entire city to chase down the police and arrest them. They had finally arrested all of the military personnel on this base after there was a short bloody fight and took them all to the holding, intern camp that had been built by the Emperors minions 8 years prior. Bud had talked about the children on the bus that showed up and planted orchards and the vegetables that never seemed to run out. After all the talk and laughing about great things, the four folks that had shown up so mysteriously said their goodbyes and told the two farmers to get the hole filled in as quick as possible. Chancy and Bud had watched them float up and move to the west and after landing on the ground they disappeared. Both men knew that they had a cloaked chopper but it was still eerie to witness the whole thing.

Chancy and Bud were quite happy after the folks left and kept the camp fire burning with a fresh pot of coffee perking. 15 minutes later, Sheriff Harley Blank and 4 other cars showed up with deputies. Harley climbed from his car and asked, “Is there enough room on that fire for another pot of coffee?” Chancy hollered back and said “yeah bring it on over, we got some real good food over here also so get them boys over here and we can talk about this here hole. They all sat around the warm camp fire while some walked over to the hole and shined lights down into it to investigate. The conversation was quite jovial and it was determined that they would start the very next day delivering the garbage from the other sore location of the dump, to this hole.

The fate of the military personnel and the other minions of the Emperor would be given in the morning by Judge Hennessy. The Judge was a fair man and he strongly believed in the old common laws. The people of Waitsburg had sat as a jury and weighed in on the criminal acts of each and every one of the minions. It had been determined that some of them had nothing to do with the deaths and were folks that had been caught up in the claws of the Emperor. They were given the choice of joining the good side or declare their allegiance to the stinky little used car salesman that called himself the Emperor. Two weeks later, the hole had been filled half way up with the old existing dump debris and there were quite a few dead bodies that had been put in first. The holding pen or FEMA Camp had been torn down and the scrap had went into the hole with the dead Emperor’s minions and a large fire had burned for 4 days before the dump trucks begin to dump dirt that had been scraped from the poisoned ground around the area into the hole and extinguished the fires before all the garbage began to be dumped in. The people of Waitsburg and Prescott and the surrounding farms celebrated and peace was restored.
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