Immortal Decision, page 9
“What is it you want to know, Mr. Holdren?” Dean asked, looking back at the TV monitor.
“Well, we had a scientist who did a lot of research on you and your brother and it’s my understanding you know your brother is alive. Is that correct Mr. Carson?”
“Yes, I know.”
“The years of research Dr. Berkfield did on your brother, we have most of, but the majority he did on you seems to have been misplaced. So, I have a few questions regarding you. It seems that you two are very similar, both aggressive and have superior fighting skills. Dr. Berkfield died believing you were different. Can you explain to me the difference between the two of you as you know it?”
“That’s your question?” Dean chuckled. “You had six agents take Julie’s father hostage, then had them try to kill me because their mission was to bring me back to Washington dead or alive, then kidnap my girlfriend, all to ask me the difference between me and my brother? Is that correct, sir?”
“Well, that is my first question.”
“Can you tell me where the president is right now?” Dean pushed.
“I’m sure he will be here soon.”
“Then let me see if I can answer your question correctly.”
Dean turned his head from the monitor, looked back at Paul, and winked. “If I were my brother, I would go crazy right now. I would fight every man in this room till they put enough bullets in me that I couldn’t move and lost consciousness.” Dean turned his head back to the large-screen TV. “It would take two or three bullets to put him down. Within twenty-four to thirty-six hours, he would be healed and look for his next chance to fight again.”
“Yes, we pretty much know that much, but what about you?”
“Me?” Dean asked almost mocking Holdren.
Paul could feel the tension in the room rising, he knew Dean was up to something, but he wasn’t sure what. He saw all the agents calmly watching the exchange between Dean and Bill Holdren, but knew he needed to be ready anytime.
“If I were me, which I seem to be, I would take every man in this room out in less than thirty seconds, escaping with minor wounds if any at all. At that time, I would exit the room, find you and break your fucking neck.” Dean heard Agent Blake snicker under his breath.
Dean lowered his head and looked at Blake with his head tilted. “Would you like a demonstration sir?” he asked looking back at the monitor.
He heard Blake snicker again. “You know what,” he said pulling Blake’s head up to look at him. “If I had a gun right now, I would shoot you right here,” he said, poking Blake on the right side of his chest.
He stepped back away from Blake as he heard the gunshot from Paul’s gun and saw the agent slump to the ground. The man to his left reached for his weapon in his coat. Dean grabbed his hand and the gun at the same time, shooting the men on the other side of the room. As they fell to the floor, Dean turned the gun on the man holding it and fired a bullet into his shoulder, dropping him to his knees.
Dean pulled the gun from the agent’s hand as he was falling. After making sure Paul was alright, he opened fire on all the TV monitors, knocking them out of order.
Dean pulled Paul away from the door and ripped it open, stepping out into the hallway. Two agents approached from his left and he opened fire. They fell to the ground, but he, too, was hit. He whirled around and fired in the other direction hitting the three agents approaching. He glanced down and saw that he had taken another round in the right leg.
Dean looked both ways and saw no more agents. He motioned for Paul to follow him as they headed up the hall. His senses were in full gear as he heard people approaching. He motioned back at Paul to stop and dropped to one knee as Paul followed suit.
“There are about five sets of footsteps heading this way. Stay behind me and open fire if they fire first.”
Paul nodded his understanding and aimed his gun toward the hall that was intersecting where they were kneeling. Dean listened carefully trying to make out anything the approaching agents might say. Then he heard a woman’s voice. It was Julie!
“Don’t shoot,” he whispered behind him. “It’s Julie.”
Dean kept his gun aimed not able to hear who was with her. As the group rounded the corner and headed toward him, Dean saw it was the president, Julie, and two agents.
Julie looked up and saw Dean. “Dean!” she screamed as she ran free of the agents on each side.
She ran as fast as she could toward Dean and leapt as she approached him. Dean caught her out of midair and wrapped his arms around her, gun still in hand.
Paul stood up and aimed his weapon, still not sure they were on friendly ground. Both agents stopped and pulled their guns.
“Drop your weapons!” The president yelled at his agents.
“Mr. President, there are two civilians with guns pointed this way. I highly advise against putting my weapon down,” one of the agents said.
“Do it now,” he demanded. “Mr. Carson, welcome,” he said, looking at all the bodies lining the hallway. “What the hell happened here?”
“Your secretary of defense wanted a demonstration. All your men were supposed to be unarmed when we arrived. Apparently, they weren’t.” Dean pulled Julie around so that she was behind him.
The agents beside the president still hadn’t lowered their guns. The president turned to his right and took the gun out of the agent’s hand. “I said put your weapon down!” It was obvious he was getting upset with the situation.
He turned his attention back to Dean as the other agent lowered his gun. “I must apologize for my overzealous agents. I was to be informed the moment you arrived, and apparently that didn’t happen.”
Dean felt the president was sincere in his statement.
“Dean, it’s ok, he just wants to talk to you,” Julie added as she took Dean’s free hand in hers.
The president turned to the agent beside him and handed him back his gun. “Clean up this mess and see to it all these men get medical attention right away. Both of you, go,” he said sternly.
“They’re all alive. I didn’t kill them,” Dean reassured him.
“Well, I guess I owe you my thanks for not wiping out all my Secret Service agents,” the president said with a hint of a smile.
Dean felt safe for the first time since arriving and could feel time returning to a normal speed, the hair on the back of his neck lay down.
“Ok Mr. President, you did your part of the bargain and returned Julie to me. What do you want from me?” Dean asked as he turned and handed his weapon to Paul.
“Follow me. I have a lot to tell you and just as many questions,” he said, and headed down the hall, this time unescorted by any agents.
“What the hell are you doing here Carns?” Julie whispered.
“I told Dean he needed someone to watch his back till he got you back. Mission accomplished. I’m Paul by the way.” He reached out his hand to Julie.
“Nice to meet you, Paul Carns.”
The president led them through many rooms and down many hallways finally, he opened a door and motioned them in.
Chapter 11
Dean walked in first still holding Julie’s hand, taking every precaution he could. He wasn’t about to lose her again. The room was very large with a meeting table in the middle that could seat one hundred people. One wall to the right was nothing more than wooden panels from floor to ceiling. The others had several TV monitors and computer screens mounted to them. The president closed the door once the four of them were inside and walked to the table.
“Please Mr. Carson, have a seat.”
The president pulled out the chair at the head of the table and Dean took a seat. He motioned for Julie and Paul to sit down as well. He sat to Dean’s right, Julie sat to Dean’s left and Paul sat next to Julie.
“I know, Ms. Beckley, but I’m not sure we have met Officer…” the president said as he looked at Paul.
“I’m Paul Carns. Dean picked me up along the way.”
“I kidnapped him, but I can’t get him to go home now,” Dean said.
“I would love to hear that story sometime Mr. Carns.”
The president reached for a phone sitting in the middle of the table and dialed. “Can you have General Burns come to the situation room, please? Also, send in Mr. Holdren." The president hung up the receiver.
“I’m not sure Mr. Holdren will want to see me or Carns,” Dean said.
“Well, if he had done as I told him, I wouldn’t have a hallway full of downed agents. I told him to call me the minute you arrived and for no one to speak to you but me. So, I guess he got what was coming to him.”
Dean’s cell phone started ringing. He knew it had to be Jimmy as no one else had the number. “You ok, Jimmy?” Dean asked as he answered.
“Jesus Dean, are you all right? What about Julie?”
“I’m fine and so is she. She’s sitting right here beside me. We’re with the president.”
“Then why the hell are all these people coming out on stretchers?” Jimmy asked.
“Oh, they’re agents. I didn’t kill any of them either.”
“Is that Captain Beckley?” the president asked listening to the conversation. “Tell him I’ll send someone for him, and he can join us.”
“The president’s going to send someone to get you and bring you here to us, so don’t shoot them.” Dean laughed.
Once General Burns, Secretary of Defense Holdren and Jimmy were in the room and all were seated, the president started the conversation. “Mr. Carson…”
“Please, call me Dean. I don’t answer to Mr. Carson very well.”
“Ok, Dean, the late Dr. Berkfield left us a ton of information on the drug-enhanced Army unit, which includes your brother. Since his death we have appointed a new scientist to take over his work. Most of his conclusions were like what Dr. Berkfield told us, but there are exceptions. He believes they’ve become stronger mostly from exercise and conditioning. The major thing he noted that has changed is their ability to strategically plan events. They used to just push forward conquering anything in their way. Due to their time in the military, they have learned to plan more in advance.
“Dean, I do understand that we created this monster, so to speak. The Army took them when most of them weren’t even eighteen yet. They gave them a home and a purpose, trained them, trying to give them discipline like they would any other recruit. They failed to see along the way that they were getting too good for anyone to handle, and by the time the Army realized they had made a mistake, all these years later, it was too late.”
“Is that the only thing your new doctor has found?” Dean asked.
“He believes that their goals have changed. They were trained to fight in combat. Every time they won a battle they celebrated as a group, which is normal for a unit to do. In the last year or so, winning battles hasn’t been enough to satisfy them. Their goals in life seemed to have changed. They still have the urge and need to fight and conquer, but Dr. Miller believes individual goals have changed the group goals.
“They were discovered AWOL two days before they attempted to kill you at your home. When they left the Army base all they took with them were their uniforms and weapons with all the ammunition they could get. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to get them off the base. After the stand they took on Dale Road in another attempt to kill you, they’ve dropped off the radar with one exception which I’ll get to in a little bit.
“I want you to know, we had no idea they were after you. Everything we have learned so far has been after the fact. General Burns was the first to hear that someone had tried to kill you in your home. We immediately sent some special operation Seals to find you in the hospital and guard you. By the time they got there, you were gone and all they found was a dead doctor.
“All the events that have happened in the last seventy-two hours are what lead us to where we are right now. I needed you to be safe and be here so we could talk and exchange what we know.
“It’s my understanding from a briefing I received a little bit ago that you had no idea about any of this or anything about your brother until three days ago. Is that correct?”
“Dean didn’t know anything, but my father and I did. I told Dean all we know last night,” Julie spoke out of turn.
“Mr. President, before Dr. Berkfield died and before Dean’s mother died, I did a lot of snooping trying to find out all I could about Dean and his brother. Dean’s father and I were very close before he died. We flew together during Desert Storm. I tried to find out all I could to tell his mother. Even though I told Julie what I knew, neither of us told him in hopes that this day would never come,” Jimmy said.
“I’ve asked General Burns to brief you on what he knows. He oversees soldier advancement, training, and tracking. He knows every kind of training these men have done and their capabilities,” The president said motioning to Burns.
“When these groups of kids were integrated into the Army, they were taught simply the basics. We gave them a purpose. Soon, by the third year, it wasn’t enough. They had demonstrated a great sense of loyalty to their unit, so they were then trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat, and after that, advanced weaponry. Once all these things were mastered, I went through an evaluation process of each one and all passed with flying colors and their unit was chosen for combat. They have served on no less than thirty-five excursions abroad against foreign enemies. They’ve never been in a battle they haven’t won.
“Recently, in the last few battles, it was noted that they have learned to fight in small groups. At first, it was one for all and all for one. They have advanced and they now understand the value of four or five smaller groups obtaining a goal for the whole.
“They are well versed in all military weapons except for aircraft. We have never taught them to fly. In short, these men are armed and extremely dangerous. In my opinion, knowing each one of these men, I think they have a larger goal. One bigger than any they have battled for. I’m not sure what that goal is but I fear it may be retaliation against the very arm of the service that trained them. I fear these men may be about to declare war on the United States.
“Since they have dropped off the grid, I believe they are traveling by ground. We have alerted every airport and every seaport. They have probably broken up into smaller groups so as not to draw attention to themselves and reunite wherever it is that they have planned to accomplish whatever mission they have in mind. We have eyes everywhere watching for anything that will give us a location. If they use an ATM or credit card at all we’ll know. As of now, their last known location was Dale Road. After that they disappeared.
“They have two leaders. One is your brother, Bobby, he is one of the oldest of the group and has been with the unit since day one. The other leader is Garr. If you have ever seen him, you know who he is. He is by far the biggest of the men and stands about six feet eleven inches and weighs over four hundred pounds and this man doesn’t have an inch of fat on him. I have personally seen this man take up to five direct hits from gunfire and still get up and finish the battle. I hope for your sake, Mr. Carson, you never face him in battle. There may be more leaders now since I am sure they are in more than two groups. If I get that information, I’ll let you know. Know this, these men follow a chain of command. The leaders are the key. The men will follow orders almost to a fault if their leaders give a command. That’s about all I have Mr. President.”
“Mr. Holdren, do you have anything to add to this conversation?” The president asked.
“Well, if we all understand the one thing no one has mentioned, these men heal within twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Tell me general, when this Garr took all those hits, was he fine the next day?”
“By the next evening he was doing calisthenics with his unit.”
“To me Mr. President, this is the real concern going forward. How the hell do we kill them if need be?”
“General?” The president motioned for him to answer.
“In our opinion, even though they can take multiple hits and heal quickly, we feel other weaponry can achieve this result.”
“Meaning, if we drop a bomb on them, it should do the trick?” Mr. Holdren asked.
“Something like that, sir.”
“In all the battles and wars, none have been hit by a bomb or mortar, has any of these men died in battle?” Holdren pressed.
“No, none have died.”
“Mr. President this is my concern. We don’t even know how to kill them!”
“Your concern is noted.” The president then turned his head toward Dean.
“Now that you know what we know, is there anything you can tell us that we don’t know? Dr. Berkfield was in my office two weeks before he died. He was briefing me on his concerns about the drug-enhanced unit and had foresight about this day, apparently. He told me they would become bored and lash out. When I asked him about you, because I had no information, he simply told me you were special and far superior. I understand you’ve only found out about who you are days ago, but is there anything you can tell me that would make him say that?”
Dean could tell the president was reaching for answers. “I’ve only seen them once, I’m not sure of the differences. I got away is all I know.”
“That in itself surprises me, Mr. President,” the general said. “If they wanted him dead, I can’t believe he was able to escape.”
“To their defense, I was only up against six of them, and Jimmy rescued me. I don’t know if I would’ve survived.”
“Mr. President, if Mr. Carson would submit to a series of tests, we could more accurately gauge the differences,” Mr. Holdren interjected.
