“The air assault force will be hundreds of meters inland; the Castle will be far down the shoreline to our left. Our objective is to take the beach, drawing the black-eyes to us. We need to hold them as long as possible before pulling back south to the Castle. We have to create a pocket to allow for extraction of the survivors.” Murphy turned away to push the soldiers ahead as more in the line tried to take the spot by the board.
Jacob was sent to the right and grouped as A-team. The soldier, Sergeant Cass, was placed in charge of Jacob’s team. He moved them out of the line and formed them into a small group.
Murphy handed out a roll of what looked like duct tape to Jacob’s team leader and said, “Get this on everyone’s back.”
“What’s it for?” Jacob asked as the soldier spun Jacob around and twisted strips of tape into his gear.
“Reflective tape. So, the guys in the sky don’t kill us.”
“Enough chitchat; finish up with the tape and get on line by the ladder,” Murphy said, waving the men back into two lines. “We have two small boats picking us up. A-team, I’ll be traveling with you.”
A sailor pulled back a gate leading through the rail and onto a rusted stair platform. Jacob looked out over the water; the stairs ran down to the surface where another small platform was attached just above the waves of the lake. Two small cabin cruisers were tied on, swaying and rising with the swells of the freighter. Men dressed in dark navy-blue camouflage and orange life vests were waiting at the bottom.
“I hope you all don’t get seasick,” the sailor said as he ushered the men onto the stairs.
Jacob gripped the rail, not wanting to let go as fear settled in. He looked back at the man behind him and saw the same look.
“You okay?” Cass asked him.
Jacob took a deep breath and thought of his family trapped on shore. He looked up at the sky and stepped through the gate onto the stairs. “I’m fine.”
He grabbed the stair rail and took the steps one at a time, steadying himself against the swaying of the freighter. Murphy was leaning against the ship, talking to them as they descended. Slapping backs and checking gear, he waited for the entire group to reach the bottom before he fell in with them on the platform.
Murphy stepped to the edge of the small landing deck, facing his squad. “There were close to three million people in the city before all of this. We don’t know how many made it out, how many are dead, or how many are fucking lizard people now. We messed up early; we didn’t know what we were fighting, and we went soft on them.
“Not this time! No riot shields, no flex cuffs, no arrests, no rules of engagement. If they run at us, shoot them; if they are on the beach, shoot them. If they have solid-black eyes, shoot them. We need to attract every damn lizard person in the city to our position. It’s the only way we get our people back. The only way we get our families evacuated from the Castle. We must get the landing zones clear, so the birds can get in and back out.
“Your team leaders have been picked for a reason; follow them. Now let’s get out there and kick some reptile ass!” Murphy shouted, signaling the sailors to begin the boarding of the small boats.
Jacob followed Cass to the right. “Mount up,” Cass said.
A sailor pulled the small boat in tight while another grabbed Jacob’s arm and helped him onboard. “Don’t fall in,” the sailor warned. “With all that armor, your ass will sink to the bottom like a brick.”
Jacob nodded and nearly tumbled aboard the small Bayliner speedboat. Painted white with red pinstripes, it was no assault craft; the bow was covered with a red liner and had a glass windshield and two captain’s chairs in the front. Murphy quickly moved aboard and dropped into the seat on the left, while the rest of the team was ushered and crammed into a U-shaped bench in the back. The passengers’ knees and shoulders pressed together in the tight space.
Sitting heavy in the water, the boat was filled and pushed off. The sailor moved away from the side, plopped into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. It gurgled to life as the smell of gas and oil mixed with the lake water. Jacob could feel the vibrations under his seat as the sailor moved the motor to reverse. The small boat rose up on a lake swell then drifted back while being pulled away by the engine. The wheel was cut, and they moved alongside the tall freighter. Families looked down at them from the top rail; some waved but most just stared with shocked and scared faces. The sailor slowly opened the throttle, allowing the bow to lift, and they broke away from the freighter on a course to open water.
Black smoke billowed on the horizon over the otherwise clear sky. Small specks ahead quickly transformed into an armada of various boats as they approached. Police boats, Coast Guard patrol boats, cabin cruisers, and speedboats of all make and model were floating together in a packed cluster.
Murphy spun around in his chair and looked at his watch. “Weapons on safe, locked, cocked, and ready to rock; it won’t be long now.”
Jacob followed Cass’s lead as he locked back the bolt on his M4 and fished a magazine from his vest, slapping it home and letting the bolt slam forward.
Murphy grinned watching Jacob. “Might make a soldier out of you yet.”
He looked back up at
