The Wildcard Dilemma

By Miles B.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2015

“I want to go home, dad,” I say.

I slump back on the hotel bed trying desperately to think of something exciting to do. There should be more to do in Saudi Arabia, everyone told me it was beautiful but the only thing I’ve done for the last 72 hours was go to my dad’s meetings. On the other side of the room dad gets ready, putting on his jacket and tying his shoes, pulling the laces in quick, even movements. Everything he does is intentional and done with grace, even something as simple as tying your shoes.

“Jackson Alberto Romano, you’ve asked this a hundred times over the course of this trip. I told you I have one more board meeting and then w

“I’ll tell you what,” he says. “After the meeting we’ll go and get ice cream before the flight back. Just don’t tell Mom, okay?”

“Okay,” I say, my spirits lifting. Maybe this wouldn’t be the boring trip I thought it would be.

Dad takes my hand and opens the door to our room. I run ahead of him down the long hotel corridor as he responds to a text he has received. We walk out of the building and grab a taxi down to the office. When we reach the office I notice that it has printed the company name across the side of the building, “Romano Oil” in big bold lettering. Dad nods at the doorman and takes me to the third left elevator. The doors close and the box shoots upward.

I take a moment to gaze at my dad. He looks determined as if he already knows that one of his clients will give him good news. The numbers of floors increase: 30, 31, 32. We get out at 40. The floors are made of green tiles so shiny you could see your own reflection in it. When I look in it I see a black haired boy with blue eyes and a broad chin.

We walk down a long passageway with white double doors at the end of it. My dad pushes open the doors and reveals a group of men sitting around a large table. My dad directs me to a seat in the corner. I take out my iPad and start to play Fallout Center. I only needed forty more coins and then I could build a weapons room. I don’t hear most of the conversation, just little snippets here and there.

“Plan B would be risky but I think with the threat of…”

“You know with all these solar companies coming into power…”

“It’s too risky, We could be killed…”

I look at the clock: 3, five minutes before the meeting ended. I’m about to get back on iPad but then one of the men raises his voice to a yell.

“You stupid ass, you’re going to destroy the company, I will not stand for this, put plan B into effect or you will suffer the consequences, I have power you would not believe!”

“No Rubio,” my dad says back. “I will not take that risk. If you don’t like it you can leave.” He points to the door.

“You’re all a bunch of fucking idiots!” Rubio says and storms out the door.

“I think that will conclude our meeting gentlemen, thanks.”

The men pack up and exit the room. I turn off the iPad and get up. My dad is wiping his brow with a handkerchief.

“That could have gone better,” Dad says. I nod.

“Alright,” he says. “You ready for ice cream?”

I smile and nod vigorously.

I turn around to see two men wearing black with ski masks covering their faces. They are black sweatshirts with the arms exposed. Each of them have a tatooed spade on their right bicep. I pull my dad’s jacket sleeve and he turns around. He sees them and his face goes pale.

“Alright boys, is it money you want, food?”

“Should have listened to Rubio.”

“Who are you?”

“Might as well make it polite, this is Rack and I’m Spike and we’re about to beat the living shit out of you.” One grabs my dad and throws him to the ground.

I yell and run over to his crumpled form. “Don’t do this.”

The one with the gun grabs me and slams me against a wall. I start to cry. I pick myself up and roll over to my dad. The masked man picks up a bag and shoves it over my head. The world around me goes black. My screams are muffled and I hear a thud and a grunt. Something falls to the floor.

“Please, leave my son out of this,” I hear my dad choke out.

“Dad, what’s happening?” An arm grabs me around the neck and a cold piece of metal is pushed to my head. I start to panic, my mind is racing.

“Shut up or I’ll do you right here on the spot,” a rough voice says in my ear. I’m lifted off the ground and onto someone’s shoulder.

“Dad!” I yell

“Jacks — ” Another thud and his voice dies out.

The floor squeaks as the figure runs down the hall. I’m jostled back and forth and then stops. I feel my ears pop and know that we must be in the elevator. A soft jazzy tune starts playing through speakers on the walls and I hear my captor chuckle. When the elevator stops moving and I hear a ding. My captor starts to run again. I feel the warm air sweep over my exposed arms and realize that we’re outside. They run for a while and then stop.

I’m lifted off his shoulder and flung to the ground. I exhale as all the air leaves my body. “Nighty night, kid.” A blow lands on my temple and I fade out of consciousness.

When I wake up, I’m in an alleyway full of trash. My dad is gone.

Chapter 1

Tobyhanna Army Depot, USA 2026

“When do you think we will see action?” I say.

“Soon, I hope, I getting bored out of my mind sitting around here,” says Stanton. The most exciting thing we have done in three months was try out the new honey badger assault weapon. Until then we had been playing cards but quickly got bored since we only had five chips between the two of us..

“Lunch is in ten minutes, we should get going,” he says as he walks out of the tent.

“Alright, I’ll meet you outside in a couple minutes, I got to do something first.”

I turn around and open up my cabinet. It’s dusty and clouds of must float up out of the bin. I pull up the fake bottom of the drawer and take out the picture that lays there. It’s dusty as well so I brush it off, revealing the photo itself. In the center is my father, standing on a beach somewhere waving at the camera. Next to him, is me.

I’m about five in this picture and holding a plastic shovel in my right hand and a bucket in my left. My dad has his arm around my shoulder.

I blink back the tears that come to my eyes as I stare at him. It’s been almost eleven years since I last saw my dad. I miss everything about him: his blue eyes, his rough hands, his beaming smile. He was one of the only people who could cheer me up when I was down. If I was hurt, he would make me forget it. If I was glum he’d tell me jokes, and I would laugh and laugh until I couldn’t feel sad anymore.

After he disappeared, there was no one to cheer me up. The police never found his body. There was blood on the ground where he had been lying but no one could prove he was dead. The company collapsed with no one to run it. My mom came in from Florida to take me to stay with her. She would try to cheer me up but all I could do was cry. It was months until we dug up enough money to send me back to school since my dad’s will was never found. It was the worst day of my life.

I put the picture back in its place and shut the cabinet. I had looked at that picture every day after I had joined the military, all the way to this day. I get up off my bed and walk out of the tent.

Stanton is waiting for me outside of the tent. When he sees me he nods towards the mess hall and starts walking. The sky is blue, not a cloud in the sky. Somewhere far above me I hear a jet fly by.

When we reach the mess hall and find our seats General Mark Melly gets up at the top of the room and prepares to give a speech.

“Fellow countrymen and women, for years we have been toyed with by the Wild Cards. The psychopaths who will do anything for the right price. They are most likely the most dangerous mercenary group ever. Unfortunately a certain someone has enough money to make them capture an entire city, Jeddah specifically.”

Murmurs of disgust spread through the hall like wildfire. My heart nearly stops. That is where my dad was attacked

“I did not, however, get up here to say this. Today I have a very special announcement. A new unit has finished their year long training and are ready to leave tomorrow at daybreak to lead a siege to that city. Please help me welcome up to the stage, the T.R.U. (Terrorism Response Unit).”

The crowd erupts into cheers and clapping as the unit walks onto the stage. There’s five people, three men, two women.

“Here’s Sentry, weapons and explosives expert. You run into anything explosive, he can disarm it.” A brawny man walks up to the podium and nods. “This is Blaze, expert pilot, knows how to take apart any plane and put it back together again within a couple hours.” A lean man walks up on stage, he’s young, almost as young as me.

“This is Ajax, incredible spy, can speak 48 languages fluently.” General Melly points to the muscular man next to Sentry, he has black hair and blue eyes. “This is Blair, Blaze’s sister and computer genius, can hack any firewall in a matter of minutes.” A lean woman steps up to the podium, she wears a green shirt saying “I da Boss.”

“And last, but definitely not least, this is Alice, tactical combat expert, fought in the MMA for nine years.”

She’s strong and beautiful, she’s got light brown hair and glittering green eyes, she wears two pistols under her arms and pulls them out with lightning speed. She fires two shots across the room, one from each pistol and puts them down. I turn around. A target the size of a dinner plate is hung on the wall across the room. I look hard and see a hole in the dead center. I stare mesmerized at her.

Stanton looks at me and smiles. “She’s good, right?”

All I can do is stare.

Chapter 2

I can’t focus on a word my commander says for the rest of the day. I’m sloppy and can’t do a proper pushup. My mind keeps going back to that women. Who is she? Where did she come from? How long had she been in training? I felt connected to her like no one else I’d ever known. I needed to talk to her. I failed to sleep and tossed and turned. All the time I had her face in my mind. What would I do? That’s when it hit me.

The next morning, I wake up at 0200 hours and sneak out of the tent, onto the camp ground. The cold air hits me in the face and makes me shiver. Spot lights sweep the ground and occasionally a guard will walk passed but I was able to keep out of sight.

I creep along the dew-stained grass towards the Marines’ tent. I walk past the armory and the idea hits me to take a gun but I think better of it. I walk for about five more minutes before I reach the tent. It is large and has the Marines’ logo printed across the side. I push the flaps apart to gaze upon the sleeping soldiers. I look around for a cabinet or pile of clothes. I see what I’m looking for in the back of the tent: a group of uniforms on hangers on the wall. I would need to sneak past the Marines to get there though.

I start to crawl along the wooden floor. As I climb past a large soldier, he stirs. I stop and lie completely still. If I am caught here, I will be fired or arrested. Eventually, the man settles back into his deep slumber and I continue to creep along the floor.

When I reach the hangers, I take a shirt and a pair of pants. I sneak back out of the tent and back to my tent. There I change into the uniform. It is a tad big and makes my shoulders look huge but it will work. I get back into bed and wait for morning. I close my eyes, only to be woken abruptly by the morning air horn.

I sit up and am out of the tent before any of the other soldiers have gotten up yet. I run over to the mess hall, grab a muffin and nibble at it as I walk towards the airstrip. I am not really hungry. When I reach the airstrip, most of the cadets are heading to the mess hall for breakfast. I see the plane on the runway. It’s a huge metal ship with multiple guns poking out of the sides of it. It could probably hold about 60 people but if I took a seat with the rest of the Marines everyone could identify the missing link. I’ll have to hide in the cargo hold. Half of my head keeps screaming at me, telling me everything that could go wrong with my plan. I could be found, arrested, blacklisted… The other side was egging me on. We’ll catch my dad’s kidnappers and I would get to talk to Alice and…

I run up to the plane and go around back. The cargo hold is open with all the Marines’ luggage inside. I climb into an open space and prop my head up with a relatively soft bag. Eventually I doze off.

I’m woken by a large shake and a screech. I sit up and look out of a small port hole in the compartment. We are landing on a small dirt runway. We rush passed junky cars pulling even junkier planes onto the runway. We are in Saudi Arabia.

The moment the plane stops I push on the door. Locked, naturally. I look out of the porthole again and see a soldier coming around to unlock the cargo door. I scramble to find a hiding spot away from the eyes of the Marine. I cram myself into the corner of the compartment and prop a large bag over me. I pull my feet out of view just as the soldier opens the door. Light streams into the compartment, blinding me. I put a hand over my eyes until I can make out the bags around me. I look back towards the door. The soldier is unloading the plane and drawing near to my spot. All I can do is curl up and hope.

“Hey, Rando, how’s it coming?” says a voice outside the plane.

The Marine looks away and I take my chance. I dart out from behind the bag and out the door just as he looks back.

The airport building is small and made of light steel. It has few windows. I see a line of the Marines walking into the building a couple pases away. I run over to them and join the back of the line. We pass through baggage check and I’m patted down for weapons. When we all pass, we are handed our baggage (none for me) and we walk out of the front doors and out to a road. Two green carrier trucks wait there and we pile into them. They smell of sweat and gunpowder. I sit down next to a skinny man with a match sticking out of his mouth. His nose is disgustingly long and he leers at me as if he believes he’s the boogie man. We start driving at a swift pace, following two humvees most likely carrying the T.R.U. We drive past broken-down stores and street venders pleading for us to buy something. At one point I see three men huddled around a burning trashcan.

We reach the camp and pass through a large gate. We drive into the camp and are greeted inside by an armed battalion lead by a large mustached man. His chest was covered in medals including five stars on his breast. He motions for us to exit the trucks and the T.R.U get out of the humvees. He shakes all their hands and smiles at all of us.

“Come,” he says in a deep voice. “We have much to discuss.”

We are lead past firing grounds where soldiers are firing on training dummies. The barracks are stacked with soldiers playing cards and talking. We are finally brought to a large tent where computers line the walls, and a large screen stands at the front of the room. I sit at the back as the rest of the Marines find their seats. When we are all sitting, the large man turns to us.

“I am General Titus, I will be your commanding officer while you are stationed here.” He sounds as if a frog was shoved down his throat. He clicks a button and a map of a city comes up on the screen. “This is Jeddah. It’s currently completely controlled by the Wildcards. They forced everyone who lived there out for an unknown reason. Whoever is calling the shots is stationed here.” He points at a large skyscraper in the middle of the map. “This is the Kingdom Tower. It is guarded by over three hundred soldiers and has anti aircraft guns stationed all around it to prevent our planes from getting anywhere near. Bunkers with heavy machine guns are stationed in ten spots around the city.” He makes circles in the areas with little squares around the city. “You will infiltrate here” and he points to a point in between two bunkers. “Then you will destroy these two bunkers from behind. Once this is complete, you will set up a camp here.” He points to a group of houses near the infiltration point. “There you will make your way to the main building.” I start to worry. I didn’t sign up for a suicide mission but then again, I didn’t sign up for anything seeing as I had stowed away. “Once you are here you will send up these.” He holds up a small drone. “With these you will identify the positions of all the soldiers on or in the building.

“This is a small long-range drone. It can go up to 40 mph and can use facial recognition to identify who is close to the big boss and how we can take them down. Tomorrow you will be trained with these drones and tested physically to find out who will be playing a big role in this operation and who will not. Only those who complete the test will be moving up with the T.R.U.”

My heart freezes. I won’t be able to pass this. After the meeting, I walk towards my bunk with my head down. All of this for nothing. I get into my cot and try to fall asleep. The bed creaks and looks like it’s about to collapse. I twist and turn but eventually slip into a light slumber.

When I open my eyes, the tent is now a war zone. Bullets whizz past my head and bombs are going off in every direction. Soldiers from the Wildcards are firing at our troops. I try to move but I can’t. I spot Alice out of the corner of my eye shooting back. Suddenly our troops start to fade. Suddenly no one is there. Alice is the only one left. She continues firing but a figure is creeping up behind her. He raises a knife above his head. I call out trying to warn her.

“Alice!”

I sit up in bed, sweat running down my face. I look around. I’m still in the tent. All the beds are empty. I get up and walk out of the tent. The morning light streams down around me and I can hear birds chirping. The entire ground is clear. I start wondering what to do when I hear a gunshot. More follow it. It’s coming from the back of the camp. I turn and sprint towards the sounds, readying myself to fight. I turn the corner and look up. I see the Marines firing into targets. Behind them, taking notes, are the T.R.U.

The test must have started. I run forward towards the ranges. Sentry steps in front of me.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Sorry sir, nobody woke me.”

“Fifty pushups, now!”

I drop to the ground and start. I can feel the sweat drip off my face onto the ground. By the time I’m finished, my arms are aching.

“Now get yer ass a weapon and start shooting.”

I run over to an empty slot and grab the rifle that lies there. I put the sight to my eye. I try to line the crosshairs up with the target but my hands are shaking and my arms ache from the pushups. I fire a shot. Blam! I hit the grass about five feet away from the target. I try again. Blam! It lands about two feet away. Blam! Blam! Blam! Nothing hits. I put down the weapon, frustrated and embarrassed. I look in the next booth and see a Marine shooting as well. Pling! Pling! Pling! I look towards his target. All the shots are hitting the dead center. I look back at my target.

“I will hit you,” I whisper to myself. I raise the gun again. Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! I lower the gun and look at the target. Three holes are engraved in the right corner and one in the bull’s eye. I breath out a sigh of satisfaction. Maybe there is hope after all. We continue shooting for about thirty minutes before Blaze yells for us to cease fire.

“We are ready to announce those who will continue on with the T.R.U.: Jason Radcliff, Bradley Vine, Steven Brock, James Alexander, Noah Williamson, Logan Mathews, Jayden Oliver, and Dylan Carter.”

I didn’t make it. All of this was for nothing. My shoulders droop and I feel like I’m going to fall apart. I start to walk away from the grounds when someone shouts, “Grenade!” It lands in the middle of the field, right in front of Alice. I do the only thing I can think to do. While everyone scatters, I throw my body on top of the grenade, shielding everyone else. I don’t matter anymore, better me than anyone else. I close my eyes and wait to be blown to pieces. The explosion doesn’t come. I slowly open my eyes and look up. Everyone’s staring at me. I get to my feet and look around. The T.R.U is looking towards me, lost for words.

“Can someone please explain to me why I’m not blown all over the shooting range by now?” I ask.

Ajax steps towards me. “We had an extra spot so I threw a dud grenade onto the field to see what people would do. You chose to sacrifice yourself to save everyone else here. I have to say, I’m impressed. Welcome to the squad, wait what’s your name?”

“Uh…Brown…Adam Brown

“Well, welcome to the squad, Mr. Brown.”

“Crowd dismissed,” says Sentry.

I start walking back to my tent, mind racing.

“Hey, wait up.”

I turn and see Alice jogging towards me.

“Thanks, I don’t know many people that would do that.”

“It’s nothing, I was just saving… saving my….” I say.

“Whatever, you’ve earned my trust, thanks again.”

She starts jogging back to the training grounds leaving me standing, unsure of what to do. Eventually I blend back into the crowd and head towards my bunk.

I’m woken in the night by someone shaking me.

“Get your ass out of bed.”

Confused, I sit up and climb down from my cot. The figure grabs me by the shoulder and shoves me outside. The moon is shining it’s eerie glow, lighting up the field. I turn to see who pushed me. The moon lights up his face: Sentry.

“Let’s get one thing straight: Alice is my girl, mine, if I see you so much as address her when it’s not needed, I’ll slit your throat.”

“I’m sorry sir, I was just talking to her, I — ”

He lands a punch in my gut. I fall to my knees and he hits me in the cheek. My head hits the ground, dazed by the punch.

“What do you never do?”

“Talk to Alice,” I groan.

“Right,” he says. “Nighty night.”

“Wha — ” He hits me in the temple and I black out. I wake up to light shining down body. Marines surround me. I sit up and they step back.

“You okay, cadet?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Sentry…” I stop. Sentry is in the back of the crowd, staring me down. “Must have started sleep walking.”

“Then what happened to your face?” I touch my cheek. A gash had opened up there and I can feel dry blood lining my face down to my chin. I pull up my shirt. A massive bruise covers my stomach.

“Probably training.”

Eventually, they head away to do their own things. I get up and wipe the blood off my face. I’m about to go change when the general’s voice comes over the loudspeaker.

“All cadets advancing on to Jeddah, report to the armory immediately.”

I start walking with the line of the others chosen. When we get inside, a large steel door closes, blocking out all sound coming from outside. General Titus stands up at the front of the room.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, today you will be leaving for the assault on Jeddah. You’ve been brought here to be equipped.” The T.R.U. start passing out vests.

“This is your standard bullet proof vest. When in the city you must where it at all times.”

I receive mine and fit it on. It’s heavy and firm but I wear it all the same.

“Here is the weapon you will be using, I’m sure all of you recognize it as your standard AR 15. You will customize it depending on what job you get.”

I grab mine and look at it. It has an elongated barrel and an adjustable back piece.

“This is the sidearm, the M9 Beretta.” They’re handed out and I fit mine into the holster at my side.

When everyone’s gotten their weapons and understands how to use them we walk out of the armory and onto the grass. The sun has come out and is now burning the backs of our necks as we walk towards the carrier trucks. We all pack into them and rest our backs on the rough green cloth that makes up the roof. The truck revs its engine and comes to life. It shakes back and forth as we drive out of camp and through the broken and cracked streets of Jeddah. Street owners gaze as we drive past their shops. We slowly make our way through the crowded street, avoiding cows and goats. When we get out of the populated part of town we take a cut down an alleyway and out onto the open desert road.

Ajax stands up. “It’ll be about a 30 minute drive before we reach the outskirts of Jeddah. Hopefully we won’t be spotted before we want to be.”

Am I really about to infiltrate a highly guarded city overrun with terrorists. How will this work? Will we even make it into the city before we are shot to bits? What happens if everyone else dies and I’m the only one who makes it into the city.

I start to stake down my tent while the others talk and gloat about their shooting skills. The air has turned humid and a storm threatens to strike at any moment. After my tent is built I head over with the other recruits to have dinner. Hard tack and rice. I pick up my food and head back to my tent. I sit down on the grass and nibble at my food stiffly, thinking about strategies to not get shot within the first five seconds of action. I’m about to get up to throw away my food when Alice strolls over and sits down next to me.

“Hi.”

“Oh, hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I was just feeling kind of down.”

“Why?”

“Well, I was thinking about my parents, my dad just passed away.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know I… is there anything I could do to help?”

“No, I was just looking for someone to talk to, it’s hard to explain, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Actually, I would, when I was ten my dad was kidnapped or killed… they never found his body…I was there when he was attacked. It happened here actually, in Jeddah.”

“I’m sorry, I thought…was that the reason you came here?”

“One of them.”

“What was the other one?”

I sigh and blush. “You.”

She looks at me and smiles.

“I’m sorry, I should go, I…”

“No, stay, I’ll be lonely.” She leans over and kisses me on the cheek. My hand makes it into hers. I press my lips against hers. I can hear her breathing and wish I could be so calm. She pulls away.

“Uh..thanks, see you tomorrow.”

“Um okay, bye and…thanks, I needed that.” I get up and walk to my tent. I push the folds apart and climb into my sleeping bag. I kissed her. I fall asleep without undressing, happy and not so worried about the coming day.

I wake up the next morning mosquito bitten and sweating. I get up and climb out of my tent. As usual, everyone else is up I see Alice loading bullets into a sniper rifle. I walk over to her.

“Good morning,” she says. “Mind helping me load these?”

She hands me a rifle and I start loading the shots into it. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Are you in a relationship with Sentry?”

She sighs. “Technically, yes but I’m not really into the big lug anymore. I just don’t tell him, he’d be wrecked, plus we’d been in a relationship for a year now, it would just be unhuman. Why do you ask?”

“Well, back in the camp after you came over to me for jumping on the grenade Sentry woke my up in my sleep, beat the crap out of me, and then told me he’d kill me if I went near you again.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry now, he’s scouting out and he was sleeping last night, I know he’s an asshole so I’ll try to make sure he doesn’t find out. we’re going to meet back up with him on the raid.”

I nod and go back to working but now keeping an eye out, just in case Mr. Bodybuilder decides to snap my neck. At noon we all grab our gear and pile into the Blackhawk helicopters that had came over night. We sit down and the helicopters take off, soaring into the sky like oversized black insects. They fly over the desert buzzing. I spot a giant stone wall covered with soldiers ahead. My heart starts to race. A voice comes over the intercom.

“Weapons hot, boys, prepare for a fight.” The helicopters fly over the wall and start shooting. Gunfire explodes through the air. The soldiers are taken out immediately as the helicopters rain hell down on them. I look in horror. These mass weapons of death, mowing people down so easily. It was horrible. I joined up to save people, not kill them. Once the last soldiers have been taken out, the Blackhawks turn and fire missiles down on the bunkers that hold the remaining soldiers. They explode in a whirlwind of smoke fire and bodies. The helicopters let down ropes and one by one we swing down them onto the ground.

Once on the ground we start to sweep the area for survivors. I climb over the bodies of those who used to be alive. Nobody is found. The Blackhawks turn and fly off.

We start walking through the city. Once or twice I hear a baby’s cry or someone’s scream. We keep moving. About halfway to the skyscraper we enter a large black warehouse. The doors creaks as we push them open and soot coats our clothes. Alice orders us to release our drones here.

I sit down and pull the device out of my pack. It’s as light as a feather. I take out the controller and switch it on. I push up on the height module and the drone takes off. I look at the screen in the middle of the controller. It displays a picture of the right side of the warehouse. I pull the drone higher and turn it. The screen goes to a blur of the room spinning in circles. I stop and remember what I was supposed to do with them. I pilot the thing out of a shattered window and out into the sky. I fly up and up, until I can see the entirety of the city. The broken buildings. The stray dogs becoming specs as they run across the street. I spot the building. It towers over everything else in the city, dwarfing them in size. I cruise towards it. Hundreds of soldiers surround it, laughing and talking. Every couple of passes, an anti air gun stands pointed upward in case of attack. A couple tanks drive round and round the building, making sure no one unauthorized comes in.

I start flying towards the top of the building. Occasionally one of the drones from my group flies past me but mostly the air is clear. On the very top floor, thirty guards stand blocking a large metal door. In the back of those 30 soldiers, I recognize a man I know very well: Rack. I drop the controller and fall back. A couple soldiers run over to me, Alice leading them.

“What happened, did you find the target?” I sit, stunned.

“No I…I…I found one of the men who kidnapped my dad. He’s one of the thirty guards who are protecting the door. The big one with the spade on his bicep.”

“Did you get a look inside?”

“No.” My heart was racing, I felt like I had just caught a punch to the gut that left me with no air to breath. I didn’t care about the mission. I wanted Rack dead. I started to feel the room turning.

Alice shook me. “Stay with me recruit, stay with me. You’re not relieved of your duties.”

I get up.

“We can’t stay here, sooner or later they’ll find us.” Alice sighs.

“I guess you’re right. Let’s go!”

Chapter 3

We walk out into the night air. Crickets are chirping and the only light in the whole city is coming from the skyscraper. We creep along, weaving in and out of buildings, enveloped in the darkness. Cats race out of trashcans and across our path, making us jump. The only sound that can be heard are the coyotes’ shrieking howls echoing across the desert. When we reach the skyscraper, we see that we’ve arrived in the back, therefore less guards. The tanks make their rounds every two minutes.

“How do we get past the guards?” I ask in a whisper.

“Silencers” she says.

We screw the cylinders onto the front of our weapons.

“On my mark, fire, fire!” We shoot into the group of men. Fut! Fut! Fut! They drop without a sound. We run, heads down, over to their bodies and drag them off to the side. When no one’s looking, I drop down and take off one of the guard’s earpieces and fit it into my ear. Luckily they’re speaking English across the intercom.

One of the soldiers takes out a blowtorch and starts to cut a door in the thin metal. When the door is cut, a suction cup is placed on and pulled back. We catch the door and lay it down softy. Everyone goes through the door just as the tank comes around again. We emerge onto the bottom floor.

A couple soldiers stand there, guarding an elevator. We raise our guns and fire. They fall. We run past them and over to the lift and get in. We press the top floor. We start to rise. Suddenly, shouting comes through my earpiece.

“Building on lockdown, repeat building on lockdown, weapons hot!” I go over to Alice.

“They know we’re here. When that door opens I’m going to chuck a flash grenade out, don’t let them shoot. Kill everyone but the big guy.”

“But-”

“Just do it.” She nods.

“When this door opens, Jackson is going to chuck a flash grenade, I want you all to shoot everyone you can see except the big guy in back, copy?”

“Yes ma’am!” they all shout.

The floor dings and the door opens. Without looking I throw the grenade out of the elevator.

“Cover your eyes!!!” The bang sounds and the air explodes with gunfire. I open them again. The ground is littered with soldiers but Rack still stands. I press my gun to his head.

“This is for my father, this is for taking away all I ever loved.” I’m about to pull the trigger when he yells out.

“Did you ever know what plan B was?”

“Why would I care?”

“Because then you’d never know why we killed your father.”
“What was it?”

“Your company had been running out of oil, it was almost bankrupt when Rubio discovered Jeddah. It was built on top of a life supply of oil. It however was still a city though so it was illegal. To dig under it. Your father did not want to risk it so Rubio hired us to kill your father. After he was dead Rubio took control of the company and with the money he made, hired us to keep people out of the city. He got rich off it.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m stalling you idiot.” I feel a crack to the back of my head and I fall to the ground.

When I wake up again every one’s in chains and bent on their knees. Wildcard soldiers stand all around us. In front are Rack, and Sentry.

“Sentry?”

“Hello Jackson.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making cash, little man.”

“How could you? You were a Marine, a proud man fighting for his country and you’re going to give it all up for a couple of bucks.

“You have no idea who I am.” He rolls up his sleeve and on his right bicep, is a spade.

“You motherfucker!”

“I know, I’m a double crossing bastard but you couldn’t even start to believe the sort of bucks I’m making.”

“What are you going to do with us?”

“Well them” he points at the other Marines, “I’m going to kill them.” He nods at the soldiers and the Wildcards gun them down. I struggle in my chains.

“Her” he points at Alice, “I’m going to keep her as a souvenir.”

“You” he points at me, “I’m going to beat the living shit out of you.”

He punches me across the face and I fall to the ground. He gets me up and hits me again. I feel a tooth fall out and clatter to the floor. He hits me in the gut. I choke up blood and I hear something cracking. It doesn’t look like he will stop until my brains start leaking out of my ears. He kicks me in the chin and I fall to the ground again. He pulls a hammer out of his back pocket.

“I’m going to kill you the same way I killed your old man.” He raises the hammer. I close my eyes.

Suddenly Sentry’s head explodes. His blood splatters all across the back wall. I look to where the shot came from and see a hole in the glass wall. More shots come. The Wildcards try desperately to find cover but one by one they’re hit. When the last Wildcard slumps against the wall, dead Marines swing down on ropes and crash through the window. They run over to us and cut off our chains. They fall away and I turn my wrists in pain. One takes off his mask.

“General Titus?” I exclaim.

“Yes, by god, I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

He attaches harnesses to our chests and hooks them to the ropes. He pulls the rope twice and yells.

“Take my Marines home!”

The End

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