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SWAK
Chapter 1
It sounded like a footstep outside my door. I stared at the towel I had placed in front of the crack to hide the light of my computer screen. The sound didn’t return so I went back to the War in my computer. Jimmy and I had been in a battle with the toughest team online since 9:00pm. It was now 3:30am. We had them right where we wanted them. We had them trapped, just like we get everyone else.
Finally, after I flushed them out of a building with my tank, Jimmy picked them off with his sniper rifle. We were now number one in Halo 3 Online. Suddenly a message appeared on my screen.
Well done, just as we thought.
“What was this?” I thought. “Where did the message come from?” Suddenly another message appeared.
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You have been chosen.
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“Chosen for what?” I wondered. This had never happened before and I was beginning to get nervous. I started to shut down my computer when another message emerged.
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Tell no one anything about this. If you do, your family is in great danger. Understood?
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“What? !” I thought. This was getting creepy. As I shut down the computer one more message appeared:
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UNDERSTOOD?
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Just then there was a loud knock at the front door. I shut off my monitor, grabbed the towel from the door, and jumped into bed, pretending to be asleep. “Who could it be at 3:30 in the morning?” I heard my dad get up to answer the door. There were voices, and then I heard footsteps approaching my door. As it creaked open, my dad said, “Ant, get up!”
“What is it?” I asked, pretending to seem tired and out of it. I rubbed my eyes and shielded them from the light my dad had just turned on. This was a routine I was used to. Ever since Halo came out, my parents had been trying to keep me off the computer. They were the reason Jimmy and I were not already number one. Several battles had to be canceled because one of us would get busted.
“The police are here Anthony. They say they have some questions for you about your computer.”
The messages. That was all I could think about in my head. This must have something to do with the messages. “My computer?” I asked. My voice was shaking with fear.
“They say it has something to do with hacking. Say they traced it back to this residence. Someone trying to get into classified information on the governments website. You know anything about this?”
“Hacking? No.” I was telling the truth. I’ve heard of hacking, and everyone likes to brag and say they’ve hacked into something, but I don’t even really know what it is. I’ll admit, I spend most of my free time on the computer, but that is playing Halo, not hacking!
I got out of bed and headed towards the living room. There were two officers in uniform. “Anthony Kay,” one said in a gruff voice.
“Yes sir,” I replied trying to sound calm and relaxed. All the while, my heart was pounding through my ears. I was looking around at everyone else to see if they could hear the thumping.
“We’d like to take you down to the station for some questioning,” he said.
“Questioning? To the station! Officers, he’s only twelve!” By this time my mom was in the room and hysterical. She pleaded with the officers not to take her “baby” away. This was one of the few times I actually wanted my mom to come to my defense. I sat there frozen in fear with the messages on my mind. I knew I couldn’t say anything, just in case this had something to do with them. The warning was imprinted on my eyelids and every time I blinked I read: UNDERSTOOD. There was about an hour of discussion as my parents protested with the officers, but I can only remember parts. My mind was on my future. I had always wanted to become a firefighter, police officer, or soldier; something exciting and dangerous to help my country. Now with a criminal record, I was going to have to find something else. I accepted the cuffs for the first time and followed the officers out the door. I glanced back once or twice to see the looks of horror on my parents’ faces.
Chapter 2
As the police led me to their car in handcuffs, I noticed another squad car had pulled up with someone in the back seat. As they opened the door to shove me in, I saw it was Jimmy. His face was solid white and I could see the salt lines left behind from dried up teardrops. It is about a thirty-minute drive from his house to mine so he must have cried his eyes dry. He was frozen and didn’t even look at me as I bumped my head getting into the car.
I tried to be strong, but unlike Jimmy, I was just getting into this. I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my face. “What a wimp!” I thought, but there was nothing I could do. There was a glass window with metal fencing between the officers and us. Jimmy and I could have talked on the way to the station, but I couldn’t get the words out. I think Jimmy understood because he just sat there like a zombie staring forward. The officers in the front only glanced back a couple of times. Never said anything. I think they were maybe checking to make sure we weren’t planning any escape.
I couldn’t talk, but I could think. There were images in my head about what jail was going to be like. Mostly images from TV shows I probably shouldn’t have been watching. I was picturing large men with tattoos lifting weights. It suddenly occurred to me that I should have listened to my P.E. teacher and tried to get stronger like some of the other jocks in my class. Jimmy and I wouldn’t stand a chance in this place. I couldn’t make up my mind on what I was going to do when I got there. I was going back and forth between begging on my knees for forgiveness (even though I didn’t know what we did) and acting like the tough guy (this was quite a stretch).
I didn’t have a chance to pick either. As soon as we arrived a large officer grabbed me by the arm and began leading me into the police station. We walked passed a bench with three prisoners handcuffed sitting on it. “Hey kid, want some candy?” I heard one say as they all broke out in laughter. His face looked dirty and when he spoke it came out as a spooky whistle because he was missing several teeth. I knew right then that this was going to be a long night.
To my surprise, the inmate was the only one who acted like we were there. We were ghosts to everyone working, even the officers holding our arms. They wouldn’t make eye contact and never said a word. We were placed in an empty cell to my relief. I kept waiting for the thugs from the bench to get thrown in with us but thankfully it never happened. We must have sat there in silence for an hour before I was able to speak to Jimmy.
“What’d you do?” I finally protested to Jimmy. After all, it must have been his fault we were in this mess.
“What?” I caught him by surprise. It even caught me by surprise, hearing my own voice, because we had been sitting in silence for so long. “I didn’t do anything. What did you do? I should kill you right now!” He stood up and I could see his fists were clinched. Before I was worried about other inmates in a cell with us. Now I could see I should have been fearing Jimmy. We used to be about the same height, but this last year it seemed like he doubled in size. It was nice to have him as a friend at school. He was almost like a bodyguard. He never noticed because he never had to protect me, but I knew no one ever said anything to me because they knew they would have to deal with Jimmy.
“I, I, I…” Jimmy was moving towards me and I was trying to explain myself, but nothing would come out. I tried scooting across the floor away from Jimmy, but before I knew it, he was on top of me. I tried to cover my face from Jimmy’s blows. He didn’t go for the face though. I guess because deep down he knew he didn’t want to hurt me. I felt the first two to three blows to the ribs, but after that they went numb. I still couldn’t talk, especially now that I was getting my butt kicked. After Jimmy’s arm got tired, I managed to get out, “Messages.”
He stopped immediately. “What’d you say?”
“Messages. Did you get the messages?….On your computer?” His face turned real serious and he began looking around nervously for anyone that might be listening.
“You got those messages too?” He whispered.
“Yeah, what do they mean? Who sent them?” I replied still holding my side and trying to catch my breath.
“I don’t know. I was hoping you knew. You mean, you don’t know why we’re in here. It wasn’t because of you?”
“No Jimmy. I promise,” I said. “I don’t know anything about this. I do know, however, that if we’re going to survive, we are going to have to stick together and not fight like this.”
He looked embarrassed. “Oh yeah, sorry about that. You o.k.?”
“Yeah I’m fine. You hit like a girl anyway.” We both laughed and then our good moods quickly changed. Footsteps and the jingling of keys were coming right for us. We spread apart and braced ourselves for what was coming.
Four large men in black suits arrived at our cell. They looked like the guys from the Men in Black movie. They unlocked the cell doors and as usual, grabbed Jimmy and me without saying a word. We walked right out of the building (this time the bench was empty) and there was a line of black SUVs waiting for us. The cuffs were taken off and we were on our way somewhere, and fast. It felt like we were going 100m.p.h. when we finally started to slow down. It looked like we were going to an airport, but not the one my parents and I left for Florida from. This one was different, smaller.
Once again we were led away. Out of the cars and into a plane. “Buckle up.” One of the men from the SUV said. And that was all he said as he walked off the plane and got back into the vehicle. We were alone again. As the plane left the ground, we watched our town, our lives, and everything we ever knew pass right below us. There wasn’t anything we could do.
Chapter 3
After the plane was in the air for some time, a door at the front of the plane opened and in walked a man I had never seen before. This man was different. He started out right away and asked, “Hello, how are you guys doing?” After everything that had happened in the last five or so hours, one would think I couldn’t trust anyone. For some reason, though, this man’s voice made me more relaxed then I had been all night. He went on, “I know you are a little confused and tired. The sun is just coming up, but I don’t think you two got too much sleep last night. Actually, I’m sure you didn’t because you were up playing Halo 3 against my partner-- Tommy, AKA, The Tomb Maker and me. But I guess you were the ones making the tombs last night.” He chuckled a bit.
Jimmy’s jaw dropped and mine followed. We just looked at each other and then Jimmy spoke up. “You were team Assassination Proclamation? You sent the messages?”
“Oh, yes. The messages. They were true because your family could be in danger, but don’t worry, not from me. My name is Sean Clark and I am head of SWAK. We are a lot like the SWAT Team. SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. SWAK stands for Special Weapons and Kids. My job is to search for kids that have special talents, which could be of help to the US Military.”
“SWAK,” I mumbled in a whisper. “Military. But Jimmy and I are only twelve.”
“I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but we have been tracking you two for about a year and a half now. We know you have the skills. Last week the Nation received a threat and your services are greatly needed. I will get into the specifics of your mission after we land, but for now I need you two to get something to eat and rest. We have a long couple of days ahead of us.” He finished saying this as he headed back to the cabin of the plane leaving Jimmy and I by ourselves.
Chapter 4
I woke up to the bouncing of plane tires on pavement. We had arrived at whatever destination we were heading to. I felt much better than when I had fallen asleep. Sean left us some cereal and orange juice before he went back to the cabin and that really hit the spot. I looked over at Jimmy to see if he was awake yet. He was looking right back at me and I’m not sure if he got a wink of sleep last night. His eyes were bloodshot and he still had the zombie look on his face.
“Get any sleep?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe a little,” he said wiping his eyes.
“I wonder what the mission is? I’m only twelve years old, I don’t know if I can handle this.” I was beginning to panic.
“Hey, trust me, being thirteen doesn’t help much.” Jimmy was one of the older kids in our class. He had one of those early birthdays. I still had another couple months before I would be thirteen and now I didn’t know if I would ever live to be a teenager.
“Sean seems nice,” I said trying to lighten the mood. “I always did want to be a soldier.” This was true, but I was hoping to be a little older and more prepared. The plane came to a stop and Sean emerged from the plane’s cabin again.
“Did you boys get some rest?” he asked. We both nodded. I did get a little rest, but Jimmy may have been lying. “Time is short and I need to go over the mission with you. I hope you’re ready, the country is depending on you.” As he said this, his head bent down and he looked over his glasses at both of our eyes.
“Yes sir,” I said.
“Good. Now here’s the mission.” He pulled a laptop computer from his side and placed it on the table in front of us. “Terrorists are claiming to have placed a bomb at a Navy Shipyard in Norfolk, VA. They have an insider that has infiltrated the ranks and continues to work. We have no idea whom the terrorist might be, but we have tracked signals from a cell phone and think we know the building they are working in. The bomb is believed to be strong enough to completely wipe out the shipyard and the surrounding community. Right now, the US Army is pretending to be in negotiations with the terrorists, however, the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists. We have to find and disarm this bomb before they realize we are not going to give them anything. They have set a time limit of 36 hours before detonation. I think this gives us about 30 hours to work with.”
“Find the bomb?” asked Jimmy. There was a look of panic in his face. “I don’t understand. How are we going to help find and disarm a bomb!”
“With the help of the R7000. It is the most sophisticated robot ever made. It has taken over five years and 27 million dollars to complete. Like I told you two earlier, we have been watching you for over a year. You will be the best at its controls. The R7000 is controlled just like the tanks of Halo 3. All you do is watch the screen and control the R7 just like you are playing a game. You two are the best and that’s why you’re here.”
“I don’t know,” whimpered Jimmy. “That was just a game, this is real life!”
“You are right,” answered Sean sternly. “There is no room for mistakes. The lives of 500,000 people are in your hands. Now look at this screen. I have placed the R7 outside of the plane. It has a camera that is showing up on the screen. Here Anthony, try to move it around and look at the outside of the plane.”
As I rotated the R7’s camera, I could see the landing gear of the plane. It was weird looking at the outside of the plane with me being right inside. “Go ahead, take it in for a closer look,” Sean said with a grin on his face. He could tell I couldn’t wait to see what the R7 could do. I moved to the wheel of the plane and zoomed in. We could all see the rust around the rim.
Jimmy was starting to get excited and shouted, “Boy, I don’t know if I would have gotten on here if I would have seen all of that rust on the wheel.”
“I don’t think you had much of a choice,” Sean said. We all shared a laugh and then it was back to business. “Now, the camera has an extension that lets you move it up, down, or sideways to look at things without moving the whole robot. See if you can look up into the landing gear.”
Sitting at the controls and using Sean’s Laptop, I led the R7’s camera up the landing gear of the plane. I had never seen a plane this up close before and I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. It began to get dark as I entered the plane with the camera. “Hit Ctrl “L”” Sean instructed. As I followed his orders a flashlight on the end of the camera began to show everything more clearly.
“Cool,” Jimmy and I said in unison. The camera was continuing through the inside of the plane.
“How far does this thing stretch?” I asked. I wasn’t sure, but it had seemed like I had gone at least five feet.
“The camera on the R7 will stretch up to 20 feet. This allows the operator to view things from a distance without catching the attention of those nearby,” explained Sean. I continued on and saw what appeared to be a ceiling to where I was heading. I reached it and began to head back down.
“I guess that’s the end of the road,” I said as I moved the camera down.
“Wait.” Sean stopped me. “I drilled a hole in the floor where you just were. See if you can find it.” I went back to the ceiling and began searching for a hole. After about a minute of searching I saw something that looked like a hole.
“There it is!” screamed Jimmy. He was sitting at the edge of his seat. This is the kind of stuff he lives for. I found the hole and sure enough the camera went right through. I led the camera along the floor checking out the new scene. It looked like there were maroon seats and tables, just like the ones we were sitting at.
Suddenly, I saw the shoes of people and realized we were not alone in the room. I screamed a little and jolted the camera back so I would not be recognized.
“There’s someone in there!” cried Jimmy.
“In where?” asked Sean confused.
“In the plane!” I blurted back. “Didn’t you see those shoes?”
“Ohh,” Sean finally understood. “We’re on the plane you goofballs! Go back and take another look at those shoes.”
I hesitated, but slowly crept the camera back to where I saw the shoes. “Now, press “shift” and use the arrows to zoom into the shoes.
I followed his instructions and the camera slowly came into focus on the sole of the shoe. I began to read what I saw “A-N-T—B.” They were mine!
“Look familiar?” Sean asked.
“You still write your name on your shoes?” Jimmy asked poking fun at me.
“My mom makes me,” I embarrassingly replied. “But how?” I asked trying to change the subject.
“The camera must be in here with us. See if you can find it Jimmy,” instructed Sean. Jimmy began searching for the camera. The plane was not a big plane and the camera could still see my shoe so it couldn’t be too far. He looked around for a bit and then became frustrated. He got on his hands and knees and began searching.
I could see him looking on the laptop and began to say, “Warmer, warmer, colder, cold, hot, hot.” Jimmy didn’t like this game, but by this point he must have been right on top of the camera because I could see right up his nose. “Stop!” I yelled and Jimmy froze. I ran the laptop over to him so he could see what I was looking at.
“What’s that?” he asked with a confused look on his face.
“The inside of your nose genius.” He began to move his face a little and then recognized it.
“Whoa,” he said and started to move his face around. He positioned his mouth over the camera and opened wide. I flicked on the light of the camera and we were both amazed to see it right beneath us. It lit up the inside of Jimmy’s throat and we looked at each other saying simultaneously, “This thing is awesome!”
The neck of the camera was so small we couldn’t see it, even when we were standing right over top of it. It looked like a thin wire from my iPod headphones, but Sean assured us both it was strong enough to withstand a beating. “It’s made out of reinforced titanium, cut razor thin, but with several layers to add to its toughness,” he told us sounding like a proud father.
Chapter 5
Having the details of the mission fresh in our brains, we headed off the plane. I don’t think either one us really understood what we were doing. I remembered learning about the human body in my 5th grade science class. Our teacher, Mr. Saunders, told us the body has two defense mechanisms when faced with great danger, fight or flight. Believe it or not, Jimmy and I were going to fight. If someone had told me when I was eleven that I would be taking on terrorists, I would have never believed them.
Sean took us into one of the empty airplane hangers. “There she is boys, the central command center for the R7.”
“Where?” I asked. “All I see is that van over there.”
“That’s it. It’s the most sophisticated vehicle the military has. It is designed to go under cover and still have the capabilities of controlling the R7.” I tried to get exited but all I could think about was how much it looked like my dad’s work van. It was nice and knew, but a far cry from the armored Hummer or tank I had in my mind. Sean must have noticed our disappointment and went on, “wait a minute boys, get that look off of your faces. Haven’t you heard of the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover?’ You haven’t even seen the inside yet.” He motioned for us to head towards the van.
“It’s just… I was thinking of something a little more “mean” looking. Is it at least bulletproof?” asked Jimmy. Sean suddenly pulled the gun out of his holster and immediately fired at the van. I had seen the gun on Sean’s waist before, but was not expecting him to shoot it. I fell to the ground in surprise. The echo rang out in the empty hanger and my ears were on fire from the piercing blast. Looking at the van, I couldn’t find the bullet mark, but I could see what was left of the bullet lying just under the van. Sean looked over at me on the floor. He could tell I was embarrassed. “Oh boy, I have a lot of work to do with you two,” he said replacing the gun in his holster. “Have you ever heard, held, or shot a real gun before?”
Before I had a chance to respond, the van door swung open. Again my heart dropped to the floor. I laid flat on the ground and expected to see a terrorist’s gun barrel pointing straight at me. “Hey, what are you trying to do?” a voice yelled from the van.
“Sorry Tommy. I was just showing these boys the type of protection they were going to have. How’s it coming in there anyway? Anthony, Jimmy, this is Tommy, our technology specialist and your Halo 3 opponent from the other night. He was part of the team that created the R7 and he also helped build the command center.”
“I’m just adding the finishing touches. We should be ready to go within the hour.” He shifted his focus toward us, “this is the team we lost to. They’re younger than my little brother.” Tommy looked as disappointed in us as we were of the command center.
“All right, enough chit chat,” said Sean. “Let’s get down to business and show these kids how things work.”
“Pleasure to finally meet the destroying duo.” Tommy was much younger than Sean and had a completely different attitude. Sean was all business, but Tommy was loud and always moving around. It seemed like he never stopped talking. The only time he inhaled was when Sean would interrupt him to correct something he was telling us. While he seemed a little crazy, he definitely knew what he was talking about and it was evident that he had the same love for the R7 as Sean.
He opened the sliding door of the van, “gentlemen, I present to you the command center of the R7000.” Sean was right. We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. As the door slid open, I could see the walls were plastered with flat screen TVs. There were two chairs with controls, one on each side of the van. I never would have guessed a van could hold so much merchandise and still have room to mover around. Tommy jumped in and began our tour. “Right here is where you boot up the controls. One button turns on all of the TVs you see around you. Go ahead Jimmy and press it. Let’s see what this thing can do.” Jimmy hit the button and the command center came to life.
All of the screens engaged and it was like traveling to another world. Well, maybe more like traveling through time. I had never seen anything like this before. It was a far cry from my home computer and much faster. “The processor in this thing is like lightning!” Tommy told us as the computer booted up within the second Jimmy pressed the button. “There are twelve flat screens in this baby! Each one is hooked up to the camera in the R7. The camera has a 360-degree lens that lets the operator see anything in any direction. The main screen, or the one that looks right in front of the robot is in front of the controls. This is the view you were looking at when using Sean’s laptop. The two of you will have to work together to cover all of these screens. That way, nothing is able to sneak up on you.”
Tommy then moved towards the back of the van. “This my friends, is one of the most important features of the command center.” He leaned over to show us a lever that looked hidden under some wires. “Remember, the R7 is made from the newest technology available. There are a number of people that want to get their hands on this equipment for the wrong reasons. Because of this, you two have a great responsibility. I hate to say this to a couple of youngsters like you, but you have to know…If anything goes wrong and you think your life and the R7 controls are in danger, you have to pull this lever. There is a database that keeps records of everything the R7 views. Watch this.” He moved over to the controls and began typing. Soon an image appeared on the screen.
“Hey, that’s what we saw when we were controlling it in the plane,” Jimmy said watching the TV.
“Exactly. Now watch this.” Tommy punched in some more codes and all of the screens lit up. We could see different camera angles in every screen. “While you guys were playing in the plane, I was watching your every move in here.” He typed in a couple more passwords and our voices began thundering through the van. Jimmy and I shot our heads up trying to locate where the sound was coming from. “Speakers,” said Tommy pointing to all four corners of the van. “There is a high definition microphone on the end of the camera that can pick up and separate up to 100 different sounds. You can listen through the speakers, or there are headphone jacks for when you guys are the only ones listening. The R7 has too much sensitive material to let it get in the wrong hands. It is up to you two to guard this information with your lives. Got it?”
“Got it,” we both answered calmly. Much of our nerves had subsided and I think we were ready to do business.
“Alright, who’s got shotgun? Let’s head to the training facility. We don’t have much time.” Jimmy hopped up front while Sean and I sat by the controls.
Chapter 6
It was about a fifteen-minute drive to the training facility. “The army has an empty building it uses for training exercises. We are going to use it as a practice site for the R7,” Tommy told us on the way over. “We will have to study the blue prints first and then take the R7 into the building. No one knows, and no one can know about this mission. If you are detected in the building, people will panic and begin exiting the building. Remember, we know the terrorists have a mole in the building and if they think something is going wrong, I’m sure they will blow the bomb.”
We arrived at the site and it was what one would expect. It looked like a deserted town. There was an abandoned building surrounded by barbwire fencing. Sean informed us that they had the place cleared out this morning so we could get right to our training. We were the only four in sight. At this point, the reality sunk in. Everyone knew it was crunch time and we had a mission to complete. There wasn’t much talking and the laughter disappeared.
Sean turned on the timer and showed us how much time was left. In big red lights hanging near the front of the van, it read:
28hours 12minutes 34seconds.
There was not a lot of time and he thought we would need about five hours of practice at the training site. I thought five hours was too much time, but after five hours turned to seven, I realized this was going to be harder than I thought. The difference was that in Halo; I could take my tank wherever I wanted. There was no hiding, just destruction. Working with the R7 was delicate. The camera controls were touchy and we had to get through the building undetected. To make sure we would be able to go through the building out of sight, Sean and Tommy set up test boxes for us to find and marked them on the blue prints. Then, they went into the building and began watching for us. Every time they located the camera, they would wave us back to the beginning.
I thought it was a little unfair because they were looking for us and knew we were there. I tried to tell them that the people in the real building would not be looking for a tiny camera in their workspace. Sean would not listen. “We only get one shot and one shot only,” he kept repeating. I guess he was right, but we were beginning to get tired and started second-guessing ourselves. Sean must have sensed we were growing weary because he came out to the van and told us to take a short break.
Finally, nine hours into the training, and three undetected trips in a row, we were ready. The timer was staring down at us:
19hours 43minutes 09seconds
We stopped to get something at a drive through, and then it was off to the shipyard.
Chapter 7
After leaving McDonald’s, Sean had Jimmy and I move to the back of the van. He pulled shut the window that had allowed us to see and talk with the passengers in the front seats. This left Jimmy and me alone to think about the task ahead. Jimmy was the first to speak, “Do you really think we are ready for this?”
“No, but I don’t think there are any other options. Jimmy, you know we are the best. Unbeatable—always have been.” I tried to sound confident to ease Jimmy’s nerves, but I’m sure he could see right through me.
“Unbeatable,” he mumbled under his breathe. “I’m starting to wish we never got into that stupid game in the first place.”
“You can’t think like that Jimmy. There are people counting on us, on US man! We can’t let them down. I’ll tell you what, if I had to choose anyone, I mean anyone in this world, to count on and to watch my back, it would be you.” I was telling the truth about this. Jimmy was one of the best in the business and I was counting on him to watch my back.
“I guess your right Ant. If not us, then who? We are the best and we can do this. But hey, if anything does go wrong and we don’t make it, I want to thank you for always being there for me. We’ve always been best buds and I just want to say thanks for that. I wouldn’t want to die with anyone else.” You might think that talk like this would rattle our minds and make us start freaking out, but in a weird way, it calmed our nerves and it was right then that I knew we were ready and there was no stopping us.
“Hey Jimmy, you know I feel the same about you. Get your hand up.” He raised his fist and I reached up with my hand and clinched then. Then we both said, “Destroying Duo.” I continued, “one last battle, in the name of SWAK.”
The rest of the ride was quiet. It was possibly the last time I might have a chance to talk to Jimmy, but we had said all we needed to say. I felt the van pulling to a stop and we both looked at each other knowing there was no turning back from here.
Now I’d never been involved in a military operation before, but I knew there would be lots of security measures when entering a base. That’s when I found out how serious this mission was and what a high ranking Sean held within our armed forces. As we pulled up to the security checkpoint, I could hear the voice of a security officer outside the car. “Good evening sir, I’ll need you to open the back.”
“Sorry can’t do that. There is classified material in the back and it is not available to anyone’s eyes.”
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car.” There was a sense of urgency in his voice.
“Wait, here is my badge. I have clearance to be on this base and I need to get in right away.” I could tell Sean was not angry because the guard was doing his job, but I could also tell he was ready to get going.
“Oh, well sorry sir. I didn’t recognize you. Please, be our guest. Do you know where you are going?” The guards voice completely changed. There was a different type of fear in his voice now. The kind of fear you get when the principal calls you down to the office. I almost felt bad for the man.
“Yes, thanks. We’ll be fine.” And that was the end of it. The van began moving and we continued driving for another five or so minutes before coming to a stop again.
This time, the window slid open and Tommy poked his head back to check on us. “Did you two make it all right?”
We nodded and then Sean reminded us of the time. “OK boys, we don’t have a lot of time so this is going to have to be quick.” He and Tommy made their way to the back of the van with us. Sean continued,
“We are parked right to the side of the building where we think the bomb is planted. You have the blueprints of the building and the possible locations of the bomb. Tommy and I are going to head into the building with the R7 in its briefcase. Hopefully, we will be able to drop the R7 at the drop zone we marked on the blueprints. We have to get in there fast because the General is probably already looking for me. No one on this base, but our unit knows about this mission. I’m sure the guard notified his superiors of my presence, and the General will want to welcome me and wonder why I am on his base. Because of this, Tommy and I will have to meet with him and will be unable to return to the van. I have two of my men that are already parked behind us and watching. Five minutes after we leave, they will enter the van and sit in the front two seats. They have specific instructions not to bother you two while you are working. The only thing they should say is the code word. This way you will know they are with SWAK. The code word is Natalie-Shelley, both of your mothers’ first names, in that order. Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure working with you and I am confident you will be able to complete this mission. Your country thanks you, and may God be with us all. Start booting up the system, and remember the timer.”
We didn’t have time to respond as we watched Sean, Tommy, and the R7 exit the van.
Chapter 8
“Natalie-Shelley.” It came from the front seats as the doors creaked open. It was exactly five minutes after Sean and Tommy left the van. Jimmy and I had been startled by something hitting the side of the van so we were glad to hear the code words. The two soldiers didn’t even look back to acknowledge us. Instead, they just took a seat and began scanning the area around the van. They were wearing uniforms, but not military. I could tell they were posing as delivery drivers and wondered if the sound from the side of the van was them slapping a magnet to make it look like a company van. They really thought of everything.
The R7 was on as Sean and Tommy carried it into the building. The cameras weren’t picking anything up but as we engaged the microphone and put on headphones, we could hear Sean and Tommy’s voices. “I think we take a right up this hall and it will put us out of view of the security system. The vent for the R7 drop zone should be just around the corner,” Tommy was whispering.
“OK, you wait here and keep an eye out. I am going to have to remove the vent cover and then replace it after unloading the R7. If anyone starts coming my way, you know the signal. Remember; try to stall them as long as possible so I can make the drop. Try to stay out of view of the security cameras because if they notice you loitering around, they are going to send someone to check you out,” Sean instructed Tommy.
The building has a system of vents that are for the heating and air conditioning of the building. Each room contains at least one vent. Our job is to drive the R7 through these “roads” in the floors and ceilings to each vent. When we get to one, the camera of the R7 is long and skinny enough to go through the opening of it and search an entire room. The wheels and camera neck of the R7 have been wrapped in a fabric that provides grip while allowing it to move silently along its course.
“UUUUMMM,” we could hear a loud clearing of the throat and at that point knew Tommy was giving the signal of someone approaching.
“ZZZZZ,” Sean’s drill was still buzzing to take off the vent.
“Hi General.” The microphone of the R7 was so sensitive that we could hear Tommy’s voice down the hall. I spun around to get Jimmy’s attention, but he was already looking at me.
“The General!” he shouted in a whisper. His face was full of panic. Suddenly our screens were picking up a signal from the camera. The TVs looked like chaos, spinning and jostling around. Sean must have been removing the camera from the bag.
Things quickly settled to show Sean’s face on the camera. “Good luck,” he whispered and gave us a wink.
“Young man, at attention!” the general’s stern voice rang through the hallway.
“Yes sir, sorry sir,” Tommy stuttered.
“At ease soldier. I’ve been told you are traveling with Commander Clark. Where is he?” questioned the General. I remembered Sean telling us on the plane that his last name was Clark.
“Yes, Commander Clark. We have been traveling together.” There was a short uncomfortable pause. This must have been Tommy’s attempt at stalling. He needed some help.
“Well, where is he?” asked the General again, growing more impatient.
“ZZZZZ,” Sean must have been replacing the vent cover.
“Soldier, what is going on?! What have you done with Commander Clark,” the General demanded.
“He, he,” stammered Tommy.
“General!” Sean’s voice rang out in a familiar tone. “How are you?”
“I, I, I guess I’m fine. Welcome to the Norfolk Navy Shipyard Commander Clark,” the confused General responded.
“Well, I’ll be feeling a lot more welcome when I find a bathroom. We’ve been looking all over the place and I ran into a dead end that way. Can you help me out?” replied Clark. He was really laying it on thick now. I couldn’t resist watching this scene unfold. I maneuvered the camera through the vent opening and followed Sean back towards the General. It felt weird being able to see and hear their conversation. I felt like if I said a word or exhaled too loud, they would all turn around to discover us. Instead, we watched as everyone shook hands and the General led them to the nearest restroom on the floor.
Back at the van, reality set in. We were either never going to see Sean and Tommy again, or we were going to see them after this was over. It was up to Jimmy and I to save the base and all of our lives. I reeled the camera back to the R7 and looked up to the clock.
18hours 4minutes 17seconds
Chapter 9
Jimmy and I had the blueprints to the building and we had 87 targets plotted out to investigate. He worked out our route and kept an eye on his six camera angles while I controlled the R7 through the air ducts. It took us two minutes to reach our first destination; an office that was buzzing with activity.
First, I put the eye of the camera through the vent to peer into the room. There were at least eight people around a table. They were having some sort of meeting and I could tell the gray-haired man at the end of the table was the boss. He was leading the meeting and I knew he would be the one I would have to look out for. Everyone else was half asleep and the boss seemed to be talking to himself. It reminded me of when my teacher lectures in class. My mind is never on what we are talking about, but he is always alert and ready to pounce on my every mistake. Whether it is passing a note, shooting a spitball, or just doodling in my notebook, he is always right there. Taking this into consideration, the main camera angle I was looking at pointed straight to this man. I wanted to avoid his view at all costs, even it meant putting myself in the view of seven uninterested others.
Through our headphones we could hear, “Well, this new design will allow us to get closer to enemy ships without being detected. We tested it on our radar and the submarine only showed up the size of a large ship. We are currently trying to develop our radar systems to recognize the vessel in case the enemy has similar technology.” We listened and watched the man point to some papers he was holding. Here was a meeting about new technology being used to get closer to the enemy, and we were sitting in on it with our new technology that they knew nothing about. I was glad we were working for the good guys and not the enemy.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked Jimmy. “Do you think we can make it?”
“I don’t know man? It seems dangerous, but we really don’t have a choice. This is the first of 87 stops and we need to get moving. What we have to remember is that we can see them a lot better than they can see us. Remember how close we had to get to see the camera on the plane?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’m going to take it behind the gray-haired dude because he seems the most alert.”
“Good plan,” Jimmy reassured me. The problem was not getting into the rooms for us. The trouble we ran into was that each spot in the room where we wanted to be was tricky to get into. In this case, we were checking this room because there was a filing cabinet in the northwest corner of the room. Sean and Tommy picked areas like these because they knew the bomb wouldn’t be sitting out in the open. It made sense, but it also made our search much more difficult.
I ran the camera along the outside of the wall hitting the southwest corner. That was the easy part, now I had to head straight down the wall within the path of about seven pairs of eyes. I slowly began heading down toward the cabinet when Jimmy yelled, “Stop!” I released the controls and spun around to see what was the matter. “The third guy from the left seemed to lock eyes on it. He kept them there for a second, but he must have been daydreaming because then he looked away. Slow and steady though just in case he noticed something.”
“Yeah, thanks for watching my back.” There were about three more of these interruptions before I reached the filing cabinet. I found the crack and began to climb towards it to enter the space that could hold a bomb. When I knew I was inside and out of sight, I flicked on the light of the camera to view the contents. This was a nerve-racking experience. We could still hear the voices from the meeting, but we couldn’t tell if anyone was looking at us because we couldn’t see their faces. The search of the cabinet took a couple minutes. “All clear my way,” I said to Jimmy.
“Same here. Nothing. Let’s move on.” I began retracting the camera towards the vent and there were fewer stops on the way back to the base of the R7. It was a successful trip into the room and we were able to gain a little confidence from it. Possibly, a little too much confidence because several stops later, things were starting to heat up.
Chapter 10
I can’t say it was a good idea to give two kids our age this much power. I’ve heard the saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I truly believe in this quote, but we were lacking in the responsibility department.
“Dude, just do it!” Jimmy probed, trying to get me to rub the leg of an innocent bystander. While the mission was still on our minds, so was taking advantage of this great opportunity. “Come on!” Jimmy pleaded.
In the previous rooms there was always one situation where we were holding our breath because we knew we were caught. But with all of these close calls, no one even blinked at the camera. They would lock eyes on it, seeming to discover us, only to move on without a second glance. One person even touched the neck of the camera with their hand when picking up a piece of paper. My body was sweating all over from my nerves, but after this moment, we realized the R7 had a better design than we could imagine.
We now had the sensation of being invisible. The possibilities were endless and our minds were sidetracked. “Please, Ant, please. It is hilarious.” Jimmy was referring to what I call the “spider effect.” Everyone has it. It’s when you feel what could be a spider crawling somewhere on your body. The natural reaction is to freak out and brush it away as soon as possible. We had already punished three victims and Jimmy was trying to get me to do a repeat on our last victim. She nearly fell out of her chair the first time we attacked.
“Alright, Alright, I’ll move in for the kill.” The best part about this gag is that no one wants to get embarrassed. This means that after they don’t find a bug near their leg, they stay silent and only look around to see if anyone noticed them jumping. We had already harassed the three members of this room and no one was talking about it. I inched the camera back towards the feet of our target. She was wearing pants, but there was a large enough opening at the bottom for me to touch bare leg at about her calf. The R7’s ability to retreat fast enough to avoid getting smacked surprised me. It reminded me of my dad’s tape measure shooting back into its base.
Just as I was about to make contact, her leg shifted. I had to retreat, and then regain my position. We really didn’t have time for these games, but the temptation was too much for Jimmy and me. Finally, I grazed the back of her calf at nearly the same spot as before. Her hand shot down like lightning and tried to squash the bug on her leg. Fortunately, we were able to escape unnoticed. We almost fell out of our chairs laughing. The two guards up front glanced back to see what was going on, but it was obvious they were there for protection and paid us no extra attention.
The next couple of hours were similar to this event. We were continuing the mission, but also satisfying the instincts we had with our newfound invisibility. A typical room would be a complete sweep, and then we would play a trick on our way out. We pushed small items off of desks and even turned off the lights in one room. It was great to hear people question each other about what had happened.
We even explored the Holy Grail--the women’s restroom (we made sure it was unoccupied of course). We justified our actions by deciding it was the perfect place for a bomb. It was disappointing, however, because we found it looked just like our bathrooms and we didn’t find the bomb. The games grew old, and the mission was becoming monotonous. We plugged away at the targets like clockwork and watched our own time slip away:
13hours 27minutes 44seconds
Chapter 11
As we worked, I wondered about the guards watching over us. They seemed to just scan and scan the area nonstop, never talking to each other. Never making eye contact. I tried to imagine what they were thinking, maybe about family, if they had one. It was during this time that I began to imagine what my family was doing. Jimmy and I were both getting tired after the hours we had already worked. I continued the mission, but began to daydream about being back home and spending time with my family. It helped to pass the time, but my flashback was interrupted by the guards’ voices.
Because they hadn’t spoken the entire mission, it made me think something was wrong. My muscles tensed up and I began to stretch my neck out to hear their conversation. “It looks like their going to try and park right in front of us,” I heard one guard say. I had noticed they were wearing guns at their waists the moment they entered the van and saw both of their hands creep towards their holsters. I turned around to see if Jimmy had noticed. His eyes were also glued to the waists of the guards.
One guard began to speak into the radio connected at his chest. “Calling Freebird, do you have a visual on the approaching SUV.” It looked like he was waiting for a response, but nothing called back over the radio. By this point, Jimmy and I had paused our mission to watch the events unfold. I kept telling myself it was just a car parking, no a big deal, but my heart was telling me otherwise. It was pulsing through my entire body and my nerves felt like I was in that first room again with the R7.
“Freebird, do you copy?” The other guard impatiently called into his radio. I could sense the urgency in his voice and knew he was becoming nervous. “Something is wrong,” he said, making his first eye contact with the other guard. “They should have on their radios. Something is wrong.”
“Maybe they took a break,” the other guard tried to ease his nerves. The conversation sounded like Jimmy and me trying to calm each other down. This kind of talk never worked for us and I could tell it wasn’t working for the guards either. They both had their weapons in their lap now.
“Freebird, we need our eye in the sky, do you copy?” he made one last attempt then turned to the other guard. “Do you have a visual on the driver? The tint in the back window is too dark, but you may be able to catch a glimpse through the driver side mirror.”
“Negative, I can’t pick up any features. I think the side windows may be tinted also. I’m counting three occupants. Can you confirm?”
“Yes, I have three also. No idea on any descriptions, but I’m also seeing three bodies.”
As I listened to their conversation, I wished I had the R7 outside of the van. I could run the camera up through the door panel and give these guys exactly what they needed. “What do you think is happening?” I whispered to Jimmy.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel good,” he replied.
One of the guards must have heard us because he turned around motioning and said, “Get down boys. Away from the windows and out of sight.” That was all the advice Jimmy and I needed. We were on the ground, lying face down, staring at one another in disbelief.
“I don’t like that it is taking them this long to get out of their vehicle,” one guard said. I couldn’t figure out what was more scary, watching and waiting, or waiting without watching. It was killing me to not know what was happening. I slowly lifted my head so I could just see the car. The doors started to open…all at the same time.
Chapter 12
The next few minutes were a blur. Three men, normal looking men, stepped out of the car. The guards’ weapons remained in their lap, but they reached for some controls coming out of the dashboard. Sean hadn’t shown us the inside of the cab, so I didn’t know what the controls were for. It seemed that the men were just going to head into the building and walk right by the van. I almost felt relieved, but before I could exhale, the driver reached into his coat.
I watched his hand, which seemed to be moving in slow motion, pull out a shimmering pistol and point it right at the van’s windshield. He wasted no time pulling the trigger and shot a round that ricocheted off the bulletproof glass. It was quickly evident that we were in deeper trouble than we thought.
Almost simultaneous with the first gunshot, something struck the van from behind. This sent Jimmy and I flying into the barrier of the cab. As we lay sprawled in the back, I could see light shining through the back doors of the van. A crowbar entered the crack and began further prying it open. As the light from the door grew, my hopes for survival shrank. I looked to the guards again to see what was happening up front. The controls they reached for were triggers that connected to the front of the van. There must have been gun barrels that pointed out from under the hood. Out of the windshield, I saw bodies of the men from the car quickly dropping to the pavement. The guards remained calm and if I hadn’t seen any of this, I wouldn’t have known anything was going on.
I turned my attention to the back of the van where the crowbar continued to wedge open part of the door. “Stay down,” ordered one of the guards. They had finished their business in the front of the van and now began spraying the back of the van with bullets. Anyone trying to get in would surely be stepping into a certain death. That’s why I was surprised when the first body came in and didn’t drop. Its arms reached toward Jimmy while the guards continued to apply bullets to the intruder. Then, behind the first body came a second, this one carrying a gun and returning fire.
“Help, Aahhhhh,” Jimmy’s shrieks were piercing my ears. There were also bullets whistling past that could later be heard penetrating parts of the van.
“I’m hit!” cried one of the guards as he tried to shield himself with his seat. It was clear that the bullets were not meant for Jimmy or me. I sat huddled in my corner nearly pulling my knees through my chest. My eyes were fixed on Jimmy and the hand that now had a hold of his shoe. Neither Jimmy nor I had tears on our faces. It happened so fast there wasn’t enough time to cry. The hand slowly retreated, stretching Jimmy’s leg behind it. The bullets had stopped because the guards up front didn’t have a clear shot without putting Jimmy in danger. The enemies had what they came for and therefore no reason to continue their shooting. I watched in anguish as my best friend was dragged from the van to an almost certain death. The look in his eyes and the way his fingernails clung to the bottom of the van left an inerasable image in my mind. As Jimmy’s hand slipped out of view, I saw him try to reach the lever, not wanting give the enemy any information. It was right then that I knew Jimmy was no longer a kid. He was a MAN, a SOLDIER.
“You OK kid?” The guard in the driver’s seat asked as he climbed into the back of the van.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I was able to choke out. After snagging Jimmy, the thugs were gone as quickly as they had arrived. I stayed curled in a ball for several minutes, while the guard went out to secure the area around the van. “It looks clear,” he informed the wounded soldier. “Tim, how bad are you hurt?”
“I’ll make it. I think the bullet’s still lodged in my shoulder. Never mind me though, we have to find that kid,” the wounded soldier grumbled. After all of this time, I could finally put a name to one of my guardians.
“I’m not sure what they left in, or how they even got on this base. They must have gotten to Jeremy on the roof and that’s why he wasn’t picking up his radio. These aren’t amateurs we’re dealing with,” the other guard continued giving details to our situation.
“Did you find any ID’s on the ones from the car?” asked Tim.
“No, nothing.”
“Is Jimmy going to be all right?” I chimed in. Both guards looked surprised and it seemed as if they had forgotten I was still in there.
“What’s your name kid?” Tim asked
“Anthony. But what about Jimmy?” I was starting to realize what had just happened and the tears began to well up in my eyes.
“Well Anthony, we can’t guarantee you anything with your friend, but trust me, we are going to do everything we can to find him. It was obvious they were trying to take him alive so chances are he’s still breathing. This may seem hard and I don’t know much about it, but you still have a mission to do. We need you to focus on the mission and we’ll work on locating your comrade,” he instructed. I didn’t know what else to do, so I uncurled and began picking up the pieces in the van.
Chapter 13
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