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Chapter 46

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Newly minted Major JT Tyler and the nine men of Fortress Team One stared at the imposing presence of the B2 Spirit stealth bomber, its bay doors open and rotary launcher lowered, ready to receive its deadly cargo.

“Listen up, men. Your mission orders just came through, so take a look at these packets, study them, then get ready. All your gear is here. You got one hour before you load.”

Skull opened his mouth to speak but Huff beat him to the punch. “Uh, Major, sir, oh, congrats on your promotion, sir, but uh, didn’t you say General Tyler was going to brief us on our mission?”

Dripping with sarcasm JT replied, “Sorry, Chief Master Sergeant Huff – congrats on your promotion too, by the way – the general had some more pressing business and he couldn’t make it, so he delegated the task to me. Now that you’ve practiced with the drop pods and all the gear, you’re going to have a chance to put it all to use on behalf of your country.” Major Tyler turned on his heel, cutting off further protests.

The nine commandos looked at each other, then turned as one toward the corner of the hangar where the intelligence people had their systems set up. A few minutes later they gathered in the locker room, Miller on lookout to ensure they were not disturbed or overheard.

“What the hell kind of mission is this?” asked Huff, for once lacking his usual bravado. “There’s no extraction plan!”

Skull laughed, humorless. “Sure there is. Fight our way to the coast and a sub will pick us up.”

Huff spat, “With no signal annex, no codes, no radios compatible with Navy comms, hundreds of miles of enemy territory to cross, and if we do what they want us to do, the best we can expect is to get caught and put in solitary confinement for eternity plus one. Does this seem right to you?”

“Nope.” Skull drew his lips back and hissed, a momentary rictus.

“It’s a setup!” Banson hissed. “A suicide mission! I knew we were expendable!”

“Damn right it’s a setup,” Skull said firmly. “But if everyone sticks together, we can work out a plan. Let me and Chief Huff talk it over, then in a few minutes we’ll tell you what we come up with. I don’t intend to die for whatever Tyler Junior’s got going. Miller, you keep watch on that door.”

“Why don’t we just bust out right now?” Marquez growled.

“Wouldn’t you rather disobey orders a long, long way from HQ than right here at home?” responded Skull. “Just wait, we’ll figure something out.”

He and Huff retired to a corner to argue. Fifteen minutes later they had a plan. Thirty minutes later Fortress Team agreed. Fifty minutes later they loaded aboard the aircraft.

Just before they did, Skull secretly handed an envelope to one of the B2’s maintenance technicians and whispered a word in her ear. She nodded, slipping the paper into her pocket.

***

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Plaguefall.

Demon Plague Probe Two took the same orbit, inserting itself far outside of any interception, sending in its dispersal packages careening along paths similar to the first set.

The Russians sent up a barrage of missiles, nuclear warheads among them. The dispersal package dodged them all, moving far too fast to intercept. All they succeeded in doing was spreading some more radiation and expending more expensive weapons.

The other five overflew their paths without incident, spreading their phages, and then dropped to Earth just as the last ones had, into the waiting arms of exploitation teams.