Insurgency, page 1
part #2 of V-War Series
V-WAR: INSURGENCY
By Nick S. Thomas
Copyright © 2018 by Nick S. Thomas
Published by Swordworks Books
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Prologue
The year is 2071. Wars rage in the East, but at home in the United American Nations, the Virtual Reality game ‘Duel Reality’ dominates the headlines. Not only has it captured the imaginations of people across the globe, but has led to the death of an American President, and the rise of a mob-like political system.
Duel Reality had been a way for gamers to fight one another in a safe environment. In an age where gaming had become so unbelievable, Duel Reality’s appeal was founded in its realistic gameplay, a virtual representation of oneself. No player could do in the game that they could not do in real life. But that wasn’t enough for some, and a new iteration of the game, called Terminal, rose to success. Duels had real world consequences. Injuries suffered in the game were also suffered upon the player, even death.
When a petition called for the American President to fight his nemesis in the East, it soon became clear that this was no longer a game. President Simmons was killed in a game of Duel Reality, much to the delight of the audience. The creator of Terminal was seemingly seizing power by rallying the support of players and audiences alike.
But there were still some who saw Terminal for what it was. Governments worldwide called for the shutdown of the Terminal application of Duel Reality. But Terminal’s CEO, Mic Zenner, would not step down at the height of his game’s popularity. The new American President seemed powerless to act, but the United Nations still wrestled with Zenner to bring a stop to Terminal.
Zenner gives them an opportunity to do so, a one-time challenge to decide the fate of Terminal forever. The UN must send a champion to fight in Duel Reality. Axel Ward is that champion. A former American Special Forces operator who is fighting in the East to make amends for his sins. Ward reluctantly accepts to fight in the circus-like exhibition, but only because it will free him and his friends from a future behind bars.
Against all odds, Axel overcame his opponent and sealed Terminal’s fate. But Mic Zenner was never willing to risk losing everything by mere chance. Axel awoke to find his duel was still ongoing, as virtual doppelgangers of him and his opponent fought on. Axel was a loose end that must be tied up. But new friends and allies had his back. A rag tag collective of individuals who would risk their lives to save him, and save the hope of exposing Zenner’s lies.
The attempt to rescue Axel failed. He and Carter Morgan were left at the mercy of Zenner and his organisation, backed by ruthless mercenaries.
But hope remains, while those who know the truth are still free.
Chapter 1
12 th August 2071, 7.55pm
Wellington, Virginia
“Step on it, go!” Zippo screamed.
The blue-haired hacker looked terrified as Nui stamped on the gas. The rubbers of the rear wheels erupted into a ball of smoke as the classic Dodge Challenger kicked out its rear end. Automatic gunfire rang out at their backs, but the burning rubber had created a fog to cover them. Shots landed all around as the car surged forward. The old supercharged V8 roared, the last of a dying breed in this day. They were up to speed in no time at all, but a wheeled armoured car burst through the fog moments later, and two more were not far behind. All bore the insignia of GIS, Global Intervention Specialists.
“We’ve got trouble, and plenty of it,” said Zippo.
Nui gritted her teeth and nodded. There was a confidence and calmness to her, as though she knew precisely what she was doing. A light machine gun opened fire from an open turret on the first vehicle. The rounds peppered the back of their car and smashed the glass of the rear window. Both of them instinctively flinched, but none of the rounds reached them. They hit a 5cm thick translucent ballistic shield installed in the back, though Nui still swerved to avoid as much of the fire as possible. The rounds hammered on the shield like hail stones. Zippo didn’t look confident at all.
“Think that’ll hold?”
“It’ll hold.”
The fire stopped for a moment, and Zippo breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. Once again, they heard shots ring out, but now they peppered the rear bumper and the road below.
“They’re going for the tyres,” said Zippo.
Nui just smiled, things were going as planned.
Several bullets struck the rear left tyres, knocking out chunks, but there was no air in them, for they were solids, and they continued on. Nui reached forward for a toggle switch on the dash and flicked it up. Oil burst out from the rear of the car across the road, forming a broad slick, as if the differential had been struck. Zippo looked back excitedly as Nui observed from the rear-view mirror. The lead GIS vehicle turned at the last moment, but that only made it worse for them as they went over the oil at an angle. The heavy armoured vehicle lost traction on all wheels, sliding as if on ice. It veered off the road at speed, the massive weight causing it to crash into the back of a semi-tractor at tremendous speed.
The front of the armoured vehicle crumpled on impact and dipped down. It rolled over and crashed into a horrific wreck. Licks of fire rose up seconds later.
“Woohoo!” Zippo yelled excitedly.
“We aren’t out of it yet.”
Nui watched the other two vehicles manoeuvre around the slick and pick up the trail, though they were far behind now as she floored it to get away. A burst of fire struck them once again, but she turned sharply at an intersection. They went into a slide, but she reversed the steering, and floored it once again. The rear end snapped back into line, swinging slightly like a pendulum. Eventually, it snapped back straight again, and they raced forward. Zippo was thrown around violently, despite being in a harness.
“Jeez, where did you learn to drive like that?”
“You kidding me? Even if I didn’t have to learn it for my job, I hit the track all the time years ago.”
“You? You raced?”
“Sure, my dad worked on track cars.”
“Well, damn.” Zippo laughed.
“What?”
“I dunno, you just always seem to tight.”
“Yeah? Well, when the freedom of your country is at stake, that’ll do it to a person.”
“Freedom? We sure haven’t had that in a long time.”
“Really? Then you haven’t seen much of the world. Out on the frontier, out where Axel was fighting. You ever seen what it’s like?”
Zippo shook her head.
“Well I have, and trust me, this is paradise compared to it.”
She slowed the car down, took a tight bend, bringing them to a halt.
“I never expected anything from anyone, but you can’t tell me we have it perfect,” insisted Zippo.
“Nope, and anyone who thinks we ever will is dreaming. We make the best of things. That is the dream we all have.”
“And what does that mean for you?”
She thought about it for a moment, but finally shrugged. She wasn’t completely sure.
“You don’t even know? So you’re fighting for something you don’t really get?”
“Plenty of things are grey. But Terminal and Mic Zenner, they are black and white. I know you didn’t believe me before, but you saw what he did with Axel. He, myself, and the entire world. Now that is the worst kind of corruption. The kind you hate, isn’t it?”
Zippo begrudgingly agreed.
“You see, it’s not so clear, the line between good and bad.”
“I never thought it was.”
“But you supported Zenner and Incognito. Because you wanted to believe in the things they were saying, without really understanding why they were doing what they did.”
She had no words and dwelled on that thought. For Zippo it had always been obvious. She hated authority, and so supported anyone who opposed it. Neither side seemed to have clean hands anymore.
“This is it.”
Nui saw one of the armoured cars pull into the street behind them. She slipped the shifted into gear and floored the gas, just as the other vehicle loomed into view ahead to block both ends of the alley. The tyres spun wildly as the engine roared once more. Neither of the gunners on the vehicles opened fire on them, believing they had the car trapped. But Nui took them forward twenty metres and veered off sharply under an open roller shutter. They stormed inside a large abandoned industrial complex.
“You think this is gonna work?”
“It has so far, hasn’t it?”
She kept moving, but not so fast that their pursuers could not catch up. They did not hold off on the trigger this time, and the gunner atop the lead vehicle let rounds fly. Dozens impacted on the glass shield behind Nui and Zippo. They hunkered down as they heard it shatter from the weight of so m
Hud had fired the shot from an elevated position, but he left the rifle resting on its bipod, and he leapt down. He rushed towards the truck with a large drum-like object in one hand.
“Come on!” Nui yelled.
She kicked the door of the car open and climbed up onto a large gantry. An old blanket lay over the railing, and she quickly pulled it away. It revealed an old military Browning .50 calibre machine gun that had been recently fitted there. They watched Hud reach the truck. The driver was shouting frantically at the passenger beside him. Nui racked the bolt and took aim at the driver’s windscreen. Hud lifted a huge crane-like hook connected to a chain that looked thick enough to anchor a ship. He dropped it over the front towing eye as the driver got it into reverse. He backed away at speed, but it when it reached the end of the chain it came to a violent halt. The crew was rocked, and the nose dropped. The back wheels rose up on their suspension and dropped back down.
Nui opened fire. None of them had ear defenders, and the noise was incredible, echoing around the old industrial complex. It was almost ear splitting. Hud slid the drum under the vehicle and rushed back for cover. He pulled out a detonator from his pocket and pressed the top button. The drum magnetised and shot up, clamping to the undercarriage of the truck.
“Knock, knock,” he said. He had a wicked smile on his face.
He pressed the larger button, and an almighty explosion rang out. The truck lifted half a metre off the floor and crashed violently back down. The blast had been enough to make Nui pause, but she soon went back to firing. The armoured glass of the cockpit was shattered, and one side door buckled and partially opened, where the hull had warped from the blast.
Hud reached for the shotgun on his back and rushed towards the stricken vehicle. He was wearing body armour, although he had nothing on his head. He looked up briefly to check Nui was still covering him. Wisps of smoke were rising from the partially ajar door. As he drew nearer, he could see the driver was not moving, and the passenger seat was empty. The doors at the rear creaked open, and the survivors stumbled out. Hud reached the rear of the vehicle just in time to see Dia shoot one down, while Luna charged them with a ballistic shield held out before her. Several gunshots ricocheted from the shield, but she was in amongst the two GIS operators in no time at all.
She smashed the shield into one at a charge. He was thrown back into an armoured door of the vehicle, collapsing unconscious. The last was a woman, and Luna thrust the lower edge of her shield down into her leg. The woman cried out in pain and dropped down onto her knees. Luna struck her with the stun baton, and she went out cold. It was not lost on Hud that she did everything she could to not kill if she didn’t have to. None of them wanted to be killers.
Finally, the complex fell silent. Nui sighed in relief, as if she hadn’t expected to get through it.
“Nailed it!” Zippo shouted excitedly.
Dia and Hud were quick to draw out zip ties and restrain the ones unconscious. They all then met in front of the wrecked armoured vehicle. Hud looked at his bullet-ridden car and sighed.
“Sorry about your car,” said Zippo.
“She’ll live.”
“I mean, we could have found another to use, couldn’t we?”
“Of course, but it had to be that one,” replied Nui.
“Why?” She protested as if she had gotten quite attached to the classic automobile.
“Because these assholes were hell bent on finding it.”
Hud nodded in agreement.
“It was a good plan. Not subtle or clean, but it worked,” admitted Dia.
“Damn right it worked,” he said with a smile.
He looked incredibly pleased with himself, as if this was the opportunity in life that he had always been waiting for. For the rest of them it was actually the very opposite. It was hell. They had gotten used to living a comfortable life. Now they were on the run.
“These guys won’t be out for long,” said Dia.
“What do we do with them?” Luna asked.
“I say we finish them off,” said Zippo callously.
But they knew for a fact she’d never known what it was like to kill someone. She was just angry.
“What we did was to defend ourselves. Any more harm that comes to them is on us,” said Dia.
“Yeah? And any if we leave any of them alive they will come after us again,” said Hud.
“So if the answer is to kill all of our enemies, what kind of people would that make us?”
“Murderers, Dia,” Luna whispered, dwelling on those they had already killed.
Everyone fell silent, but the silence was soon filled with the whirl of turbine engines as a craft swooped into the street where they had entered.
“This can’t be good,” said Zippo.
A ramp from the hovering craft opened, and several GIS operators leapt out.
“Split everyone, you know what to do. Go, go!” Hud yelled.
He raced to his car with his partner. Dia led the other two through a side door and locked it shut. They ran on. Hud fired up his Challenger, and revved it hard. He slipped the clutch and let rubber burn once more.
“They must want us real bad, sending these kind of resources after us. It’s crazy.” Nui looked back to see if they were being pursued.
“You kidding me? Zenner is rich as hell. He is just throwing money at this, and he’ll throw whatever he has to. It’s too dangerous for him not to.”
They were tearing through the factory at a far higher speed than was sensible, but Nui didn’t question it. The open shutter was just twenty metres ahead when another GIS craft descended into view.
“Don’t stop!”
“I don’t intend to,” replied Hud.
They burst out through the door at high speed and took a sharp bend. Hud snapped the front end around and went into a drift. The back of the car clipped the edge of the ramp. The GIS operatives on it leapt back for cover. The impact was enough to knock the whole vehicle so that it tilted forward. Its rotors crashed into the factory and tore itself apart. Hud put his foot down once more, and they sped off in the distance.
Nui watched their rear for several minutes, expecting to be pursued again. But Hud ducked and weaved through several roads until they reached a busy highway. They then vanished in the sea of cars. Hud reached to the dash and picked up an old radio receiver. Nui was still shaking her head at such antiquated tech, and that made him smirk.
"Sand Snake, this is Open Road. Do you hear me, over?"
They both waited anxiously for a response, and at first there was none. Then a few moments later the speaker crackled, and Dia's voice rang out.
"This is Sand Snake. We're free and clear. We'll see you soon, over and out."
"All these years and you didn't think to update things a little?" Nui asked as he put the handset down.
"You know how much can be tracked with all this new-fangled crap you use?"
"Yeah, it's my job."
"Exactly."
"You're suspicious of the government listening in, so you work for them?"
"Sure, at least this way I have some idea of what the hell is going on."
"Yeah, and how is that working out for you?"
"Those guys out there, they aren't who we work for. They aren't from some government agency. They are independent contractors."
She was quiet and let that sink in.
"This isn't a few guys hunting us down, is it? Armoured vehicles and airborne transportation, this cannot go unnoticed."
"Nope."
"Then why are we still on our own?"
"You really need to ask? I told you, Zenner has the money to buy anything or anyone he wants."
"But not you?"
"Damn right."
"Why not? A few million credits could get you a house with a garage for three more relics like this. Why wouldn't you take it?"
