Chapter 422: I’m No Hero
"Sir. Reporting in. The bugs have grown stronger and we are getting requests for backup form all teams. They are currently in a rushed retreat but they they are dropping like flies sir."
"Can’t even hold out on some bugs? My people are already handling them as we speak, cleaning them up left and right. If your people are dying then why the hell are they getting in the way? Or is one or two stragglers enough to kill off your armed forces?" Tommy said from the side as the report came in, interrupting the general’s reply. He was leaning back in a padded chair while sipping on some dark red wine with his feet elevated. His station was specifically requested to be installed on the mobile command unit otherwise he would refuse to even follow along. As such, his entire pod within the unit was considered a joke as he mostly watched porn on his monitors while his coms unit never went off since he had told his ’men’ that if they bothered him, he would kill them himself.
"My men are fully capable of something at this level thank you. If they are in retreat, there must be something else going on besides just bigger bugs. Get me ariel recon now. I want eyes pointing at the ground so I can see for myself," The general ordered as Agent Wallace looked on, a bad feeling in his gut.
"Sir... we have lost coms with all birds in the air," Replied back a rather nervous first lieutenant who was typing faster than she was speaking.
"What? WHEN?" The general asked, loosing the calm tone in his voice.
"Just a moment ago sir. All birds were reporting in, then mention of weird, man sized shapes in the air and then nothing. All of them dropped the link at the same time."
"This..." While the general was well seasoned and experienced, loosing all of their air support at the same time while the ground was in panic mode was new to him.
"I need eyes. Drones, Fly-bys. Whatever! I need to see what’s going on."
While everyone scrambled to get some vision on something, a call rang in at Tommy’s com. He frowned, but since the everyone on board heard it, he had no choice but to answer.
"What the hell are you all doing out their and letting the poor general’s men die. You’re suppose to be giving a good demonstration that we can show the world, not giving each other reach around’s in the bushes," Tommy said before the video feed even came up. Everyone was equipped with a two way com and video feed, except the chosen never actually wore theirs, only the leader was ever forced to put it on. In this case, when the com connected but before the video feed buffered, Tommy started cursing out Mark even before he came on screen.
"SIR? Is that you? Is this thing fucking working? Fuck Fuck Fuck. I shouldn’t have signed up for this shit. I should be banging some hot ass and getting my dick wet as a prison guard or fucking bounty hunter, not fucking out here and waiting to fucking die..."
"WHO THE HELL IS THIS? WHERE IS MARK?" Tommy yelled. While he didn’t much care about the others in the mobile command center, he knew that hearing these kinds of things from these hardened veterans would make them seriously question his leadership. Maybe he could kill them all with a wave of his hand, but they had something that he was still trying his best to earn, respect and power. If he wanted to walk on top of them one day, they would need to be alive to see it. So, sadly, killing them all was out of the question.
"Mark is dead," came the voice.
"And who the hell are you?" Tommy demanded. Even if Mark was dead and things had gone out of control, he would make this idiot pay for making him look bad.
"I’m... opps. Sorry. The video feed is out and I’m being chased. Don’t think the equipment is going to make it. We need backup out here. Half of us are dead and the smart survivors are running for their fucking lives. Got to go..."
The com signal went dead with a loud crash which could have meant the person on the other end had been attacked and dropped it, or more likely, they decided to smash it so that their identity wouldn’t be reveal. As soon as Tommy had asked for his name, he knew he was in deep shit and forgot that Tommy was a crazy mother fucker and probably more dangerous than the bugs.
After the disconnect, Tommy was staring at the still blank screen when he turned over to the others in the command unit.
"Blow the fucking place up," Tommy said through gritted teeth.
"Excuse me?" The general said back.
"If even my people are dying, then whatever is out there is enough to cause fucking chaos. You want that shit to find it’s way to an inhabited town?" Tommy said, the veins in his head and neck pulsing as he tried his best not to lose it.
"I’m not giving up on my men you little..." The general wanted to keep going, but remembered just who he was talking to and stopped.
For his part, Tommy didn’t call him on it and just responded back,
"Then how many people do you think will die because of today’s weakness? How many lives are you going to trade for the few dozen or even less of your men that can make it back here. And even if I can protect this fucking truck and not let all of you get killed, many of you still might end up in a body bag. Is that what you want, general?"
Tommy didn’t have many moments of rational thought, instead his instincts was what normally drove him and since he was as strong as he was, he didn’t really give a shit about other. What was different now though was that he had observed Jesse leading people in a way he never could. They respected and feared him. He got what he wanted without backtalk or any sort of opposition.
That was what Tommy wanted. That was why he was here today. Besides his strength, the only other thing he had going for him was his friendship with Jesse and maybe Anne, but even those where strained these days.
As such, Tommy finally understood that he needed to start making a name for himself before he was left in the past by everyone else.
And this was going to be his start.
The general didn’t respond back right away, shocked at Tommy’s analysis. He was right, even if the general didn’t want to admit it.
Even more shocked than him was Agent Wallace who had worked with Tommy before.
’This... who the hell are you?’ Agent Wallace almost said out loud but held his tongue.
Finally the general relented and made his order.
"Order everyone to fall back to the second line of defense. They have three minutes before the air strike is in position," the general finally said after giving the signal. He might had no idea what was happening in the air, but that didn’t mean they would stop F-35s from delivering there payload.
...
"WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW MAM!" The private said, starting up the vehicle and backing up.
"But the captain isn’t back yet," Ashley said as she buckled herself in.
"Doesn’t matter. If he is still alive, he will be heading the same way. We have evac orders and not a lot of time. Hold on," the private said. He turned the vehicle around and was about to put it into gear when the vehicle suddenly lurched and bounce. A furry of activity could be seen on the hood as the front window splattered with blood.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Yelled the private before two large blade like appendages burst through the window and stabbed into the privates stomach and left shoulder. Before he could ever get a scream out, he was ripped out of the front window.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Yelled Ashley June as she saw the private torn in half from the hole in the windshield. Miguel’s hand quickly covered her mouth but it was too late. The bugs head with it’s large, crystal like eyes and mandibles poked through the windshield before pulling back out and swinging the blades into the vehicle.
CRASH
The first swipe hit the front ripping off a portion of the roof and breaking all the glass.
The second swipe took off the rest of the roof while Ashley and Miguel stayed as low as they could, trying their best not to make a move or a sound.
While screaming and gun fire could be heard from all around them, it seemed distant and growing softer. While there was still noise, everything was muted.
Just as Ashley wondered if somehow they had been overlooked, the vehicle again bounced as though something heavy was on top of it. Squeezing her eyes closed as tight as possible, Ashley waited for the searing pain and torture that she was sure was going to begin when she heard the vehicle’s transmission click as it was shifted and began rolling.
’What?’ Ashley peaked her head up and saw young man in the front seat, his slightly long black hair covered in a thick and smelly liquid that assaulted her nostrils. In fact, there was more of that liquid all over him.
"Are you... human?" Ashley asked, shocked.
"As human as you or your buddy over there..." Laz responded, his face a mask of stone.
"You.. You’re one of the chosen then since your not in military gear. You’ve saved us... Thank you."
"Lady. Let’s get one thing straight right now. I’m no hero and I didn’t save you. I just needed a ride and this was the closest one that wasn’t on fire. You all just happened to be alive when I got in. So if you want to stay that way and not end up like this little beauty here, I would shut your mouth," Laz responded, picking up the head of the bug that had been destroying the car and somehow ended up in the passenger seat after Laz took care of it.
Laz then threw the head behind him and out of the back of the now convertible armored vehicle.
Ashley, surprised at his attitude, sat back in shock.
’They are perverted assholes, but threatening to kill regular citizens?’ Ashley asked herself, trying to make sense of things.
Just then, Miguel grabbed her elbow and pulled her over to him.
"Miss... Miss... Look!!!" Miguel had his phone open and a picture of the countries most wanted fugitive chosen was pulled up and it looked almost exactly like a younger version of the man driving the vehicle right now.
’Shit...’
