“I can do it. I’d want to select my own men, sir.”
“You’ve got it.”
“And, I’ll need the right equipment,” Wallace said while thinking, “Forty men, two mortars, some light machine guns, grenade launchers, body armor, two full rations of ammunition and other supplies for each man, and restraining devices for the prisoners.”
“Done,” Director Bishop said immediately. “If there is anything else you can think of let me know. Select your men and get them ready. We need to get this underway as soon as possible. I want to give them the least amount of time to prepare for our response as possible. As soon as you have your operation drawn up, let me know and we’ll coordinate it with Jim Forrest. He will be your point of control once you and your team leave the complex.”
“Yes sir,” Wallace said accepting his orders.
“Do you think they will be successful,” Dr. Maddow asked his friend.
“Yes. We took for granted that we knew all we needed to know last time. Now, it doesn’t matter. We will take it by force and there will be nothing they can do about it.”
“And then what? What do we do with them?
“We will pacify them. We’ll treat them, provide for them, and use them for as long as we feel necessary. It won’t take long to divide them then take advantage of that division.”
“He said there were several water sources in the valley. I would like to include one of my people on the trip to bring back things that I’ll need to examine.”
“That won’t be a problem,” the director said. “Speaking of examining, what have you found out about the boy?”
“He died this morning,” Maddow said evenly. “He was highly emotional after the two of them were separated, and he never calmed down even when given mild sedation. I believe his panic attacks led to a cardiac event. They are doing an autopsy on him now.”
“Who all know about him?”
“Two of my assistants. When we are done, I will need someone to take care of the body though.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“I did get a look at some of his organs before I came here. To tell the truth, I don’t know how he survived this long.”
Frank Bishop said nothing.
“You do know we won’t be able to allow them to interact, physically, with any of our people.”
“Don’t worry about that. When they no longer serve a purpose, they will be taken care of.”
“What about your son? Do you think he is with them?”
Although he had been thinking about it, the question did catch him off guard. “I think the chances are slim. He went out of the West side of the mountain. He would have to change course purposely, and just happen to stumble upon a patch of land quite small in relation to the surrounding area. We might not have even found it if our scout team hadn’t stumbled across those two.”
“Maybe,” Maddow said as he got up to leave. “Let me know when your team is ready to go, and I’ll have my man come by.”
Bishop lodged with Weston, and a few other men from Gateway, in a room provided for them in Mezzo. Work was being done to protect what they called their home. This threat was different than any other they had faced before. This would be a calculated, well equipped, incursion. Bishop gave them as much information as possible explaining what they could expect. They sat in the village center, where they took their meals, and discussed their options.
“You’ll need to remove everything from your homes and these buildings. At least, anything you want to keep,” he told them.
They looked at him for an explanation.
“Okay. If it was me leading this operation, and one of the men I trained will no doubt be in charge, this is what I would do,” he said capturing everyone’s attention. “If I was turned back at Bardin,” he said indicating the East passage, “Then I would ignore it as it is too much of a choke point, and nobody lives there anyway. I don’t think they would want to travel to Gateway and have one of their flanks exposed to Mezzo. Plus, it’s too far out of the way. That leaves Mezzo. I’d level the village with either rockets or mortars, fire smoke into the valley, then assault with my men. You wouldn’t even have a chance to mount any kind of resistance. Once I captured Mezzo, I’d cut the valley in half, and secure each half, one at a time.”
“So you are saying there is nothing we can do but fight and die,” one of the men asked.
“Well you could, if that’s what you want to do. But I have an alternative,” Bishop said with a faint smile. “Is there anyone here who is good with computers? I mean, hackers, someone who can get into a system and take it over?”
“Moore. Johnny Moore. He was a crewman on the Texas. He’s always talking about what he used to do with them. I guess you would call him a computer geek,” Weston replied.
“I’d like to speak with him,” Bishop said.
“No problem.”
“If he can do what I need him to, then I think I have your plan.”
He had everybody’s attention now.
“Clear out the buildings, make sure there are no animals or people nearby, watch your village get destroyed, allow them to come in without resistance, and then defeat them without firing a shot or anybody getting hurt,” Bishop said with a large grin on his face while the others looked at him as if he was out of his mind. When he was sure he still had their attention, he explained his plan in full detail, “Here’s what you’re going to do…”
Bishop and Weston were talking amongst themselves while the others were busy making preparations.
“Are you sure there is not some type of compromise we could reach with your father?”
“No, none at all. What he has in mind is his perfect new world. A heavy price has been paid to get them where they are now, and he won’t jeopardize that for the sake of a few survivors.”
When he finished his statement, Johnny Moore walked up to them.
“Johnny, Bishop has some questions for you,” Weston said.
“Shoot,” Moore said.
“I hear you know a lot about computers. Do you think you could hack into a system?”
“What kind of system,” Moore said as he took a seat across from him.
“A closed net; you would have access to a monitor linked into that net.”
“I haven’t played with computers in years.”
“Since nothing new has come along,” Bishop said with a little sarcasm, “the technology is the same as when you last used one.”
“Okay,” Moore said not catching on to the barb, “What exactly do you want me to do?”
“The whole net functions together. They have a closed circuit radio and video broadcast system. I need you to access them, take control of them for a short period of time, and keep anyone from shutting you down.”
Moore thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think that would be much of a problem. I wouldn’t have time to set up a firewall, but I should be able to buy you a few minutes at the least,” he said confidently.
Bishop smiled, “A few minutes is all I need….Next question, can you make it out on the rim?”
Moore looked a little uncomfortable with that question. “I can make it okay.”
Bishop noted the hesitation in his voice, “What is it? I don’t need any surprises when we’re out there.”
Moore looked sheepish, “I get sick is all. I throw up. Once I do, I’m okay, but I hate throwing up.”
“Is it something chronic?”
“No. It usually just happens once about ten minutes or so after being out there. The doc never explained why it happens, but he is sure I’m like some of the others here who make it alright.”
“Will you go,” Bishop asked.
“To operate again? Yeah, I’ll go,” Moore said with excitement. “Can I bring one back?”
“You can bring anything you can carry. I don’t know how much good it would do you here though,” he said
