Welcome to the second chapter of Green Circle Blues.
Let me start off this author's note by explaining the chapter title.
The "Guns of Navarone" is a novel (that was later made into a motion picture) about a small Allied commando team that had destroyed a seemingly impregnable German fortress on the fictional Greek island of Navarone that threatened Allied Naval forces in the Aegean Sea back in the Second World War.
Its two massive cannons (about twenty inches in diameter, I think ) were powerful enough to sink a World War II era battleship in two or three salvos.
Just to show how big the barrels really are, they are twice as big as those used by the M1 Abrams tank.
In this story, a well-emplaced gun is used to threaten well-meaning travelers using the Interstate 84 on their way to Washington or western Oregon from Idaho.
A bit of a stretch between the two above subjects, but it is the best that I can get right now.
Also Arbalest's artificial intelligence or "Al" will be having some dialog here as well since both the mission and journey itself is pretty much underway.
As I promised, the action part of the whole story will start here.
Legend: "words" - Al's speech, songs and the artist who sung them and the chapter quote. "words" - spoken dialog 'words' - thoughts
With all that said, read and enjoy.
"This is bad, man. I've got bad vibes here." - Doc Gomez, Platoon
Chapter 2 – The Guns of Navarone
As the gray Aston Martin Vanquish was passing through Interstate 84 on its way to Idaho's state boundary with Oregon, Sousuke had inserted the compact disk he got earlier from the AADA Center into the CD driver of the car at the dashboard's middle column.
This did not escape the notice of his elder passenger sitting on the shotgun or gunner seat.
"Sousuke, where did you get that CD? Also what is the information stored there? Nothing strange, I hope." Richard said as he had leaned into the middle of the dashboard as far as he could with the safety harness in place. He had also balanced the battered briefcase on his armored lap.
"U-Uh, negative sir. I-It is a digital copy of the route that we will be taking to Seattle," Sousuke had stuttered a bit as his train of thoughts was broken somehow. "Al, please upload the information to your digital map for future access. It was given to me by the staff of the AADA center in Boise."
"Affirmative, Sousuke." answered Al, the Arbalest's AI. "Now analyzing data for inclusion to previous digital map information."
"That's good. It is best to be well prepared for important missions like this." The scientist had nodded in approval at answer given.
"Encoded radio transmission from Boise, Sousuke." Al interrupted.
"Prepare decryption of incoming transmission for two way communication, Al." Sousuke commanded as he had lifted the microphone off its holder.
"The task is already done, Sousuke. Line is now secure."
"Sousuke, are you guys out the city limits yet?" asked a familiar voice on the car's rear speakers.
"Affirmative, Melissa. " The mercenary answered as he had let a metallic green Mitsubishi Eclipse with a recoil-less rifle protruding from its hood pass him by. "We are now traveling on Interstate 84 in between Nampa and Caldwell."
"Well then, I'll give the signal for the assault then." Melissa replied, her tone indicating her relief at the answer given. "Thanks."
"What assault, Melissa?" The young man had mentally cursed himself for being so out of the loop in this particular mission but was unable to ask the older woman since the signal was cut off from her end.
The mercenary had made a mental note not to repeat the same mistake in future mission planning.
"Sousuke, she meant that Lieutenant Clouseau and Sergeant Major Weber will help the Boston Police Force attack the Boise headquarters of Green Circle in South East Boise. answered the car's AI.
"The State department has already been in constant contact with Mithril to lead counter strike efforts against the environmental terrorist group. " The Ai had added after a beat. "This is why we were assigned to escort Dr. Mardukas to the Seattle algae plant. He is the seaside city's only hope in diffusing the mini-nuclear bomb wired deep within the bowels of the algae plant by elements of the said group."
"Al is correct, Sousuke. " said the old scientist sagely. "It is also because I am the only one who can successfully disable the detonator as a sort of precaution against would be industrial thieves. Green Circle knows this fact as well and will surely try to prevent me from foiling their plans to destroy the algae plant and Seattle itself in the process."
"I understand. " Sousuke said as he had rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his free hand. "No wonder, all sensors were set to active search and the weapons on ready status before I even got back to the arena."
"Another transmission from Boise, this time it is from Lieutenant Clouseau." Al then interrupted the conversation. "The transmission itself is also encoded. Its probable source location is somewhere in South Boise."
"Patch it through, Al." Sousuke replied softly.
"Sousuke, I heard from Melissa that you guys are nearing the state line. Good luck on your journey and may Allah be with you. " The Mithril lieutenant said with a short laugh at what he would say next. "We'll be keeping Green Circle busy in the meantime. Nothing stirs a hornet's nest more than direct assault, I always say."
"Thank you, sir and good hunting on your part as well."
Both mercenaries had closed the transmission with Sousuke making a few glances at the radar screen and side view mirrors every once in a while, his alert mind wary for any surprise attack.
The whole hour was rather uneventful and even quiet for the two occupants of the Vanquish. The Vanquish had just crossed the bridge over Snake River as it had entered the small town of Ontario in the state of Oregon.
The car's Bose radio was currently playing some Frank Sinatra classics like "The Lady is a Tramp" and "I've Got You Under My Skin". Both songs were part of the three song play list of the favorite radio station of the scientist.
Sousuke had mixed feelings at hearing the songs being played since they had both reminded him of a certain blue-haired girl he left in Denver, Colorado. But he had pushed those feelings away since he had a dangerous mission to finish first.
The first song's ending lyrics did echo his own feelings through since Kaname would always be a champ in his eyes.
Eight miles out from Ontario, the car's radar had detected two blips coming in at high speed from their six o'clock. The mercenary had taken a quick peek at the side view mirrors and saw two BMW G 650 Xcountry motorcycles getting closer to them.
Both motorcycles were painted black with green trim. Their riders had worn improved body armor in the same shade as their bikes.
"Al, arm the smokescreen and Gauss cannon. It would seem that the diversion is not fully successful," Sousuke told the AI as he had turned on the hi-resolution targeting computer.
"As you wish, Sousuke. Both weapons are now armed and ready for action."
The pop up turret had risen in tandem with the car's rear panel, the latter where the license plate is installed. In two seconds flat, both the Gauss gun and smokescreen were rendered visible to the outside world.
The cyclists, seeing that their target had bared its teeth, had taken the opportunity to fire the first shots of the road battle.
The gray car had weaved a bit to try to minimize damage to its rear and side armors, but the cycles were nimble enough to duplicate the former's zigzag maneuvers.
Thus, the car's rear armor was slowly chipped away by round after round of accurate machine gun fire. Some machine gun rounds had even made a few small cracks at the car's rear windshield.
The smokescreen was also damaged before it was able to produce the needed volume of the gaseous white cloud.
It had taken a whole minute before white smoke finally exited from the rear opening of the Arbalest. Unfortunately, the delay was enough for the two cyclists to critically damage the smokescreen thus limiting the amount of smoke it could spew.
The white smoke had temporarily blinded the bikers as they were downwind of the chasing car. The cyclists had tried to keep themselves from losing control of their machines as they weaved this way and that to get out of the thinning smoke's range but were only moderately successful at best.
The last thing that the Green Circle goons had ever heard were the buzzing sounds similar to those made by bees only much louder just before they felt something pierce their armored bodies.
Their cycles had also disintegrated in spectacular explosions as they were punctured with streamlined steel needles moving at seven times the speed of sound.
"Targets eliminated, Sousuke. I am now retrieving weaponry for later use," Al reported as the turret had folded down and the rear closed up. After the task was completed, only the machine gun barrels in the car's front were visible from the outside.
"I hope that is the last of them. If not, we may not even succeed in this mission." Sousuke remarked as he had taken a peak at the weapon displays that showed the statuses of the used Gauss gun and smokescreen.
"Do not say such things, Sousuke. We have to succeed. The fate of Seattle and the thousands of people living there is in our hands," Richard said as he had found himself in an unfamiliar role of being the cheerleader. It was a role that his adopted daughter does very well.
Both men went silent and just enjoyed the sight of the setting sun as it had lowered itself slowly behind the tree-lined Blue Mountains. Before long, the Arbalest had reached the Baker City exit but the car simply bypassed it.
Sousuke had made a brief glance at the charge indicator before looking back at the now slowly darkening scenery beyond the reach of the Vanquish's headlight beams.
The car's various sensors still did not register any threat as it had entered the zigzag portion of the I-84. Both occupants of the Vanquish were not even sure if this had meant that Green Circle either had given up on chasing them or was just waiting for them at another ambush point in their route ahead.
"It's quiet, maybe a bit too quiet." remarked the scientist as he had rubbed his chin in thought.
"I agree with you, Sir. There may be trouble up ahead."
Before Sousuke could explain his theory further to the surprised scientist, Al's voice had once again intervened. "Sousuke, we have another transmission. This time, it is from an unknown source and it is also broadcasted on the Citizen Band frequencies."
"Can you trace it back, Al?" Sousuke's hairs on his neck rose slightly. He did not know what to respond should the incoming transmission would be from Green Circle or its satellite groups.
"Negative, Sousuke. The mountains are giving so much interference that it makes the signal hard to trace back to its source." The AI replied flatly.
"Patch it through, then."
Both men had steeled themselves for what would happen next.
"Hello, hello. " An unfamiliar and raspy male voice was heard from the car's speakers. "You guys must 'ave a newfangled device in there ta keep us on hold fer this long. Not that it'll actually help ya in this case."
"Who are you and what do you want?" Sousuke told the speaker as soon as he had gotten hold of the mike. He was not in the mood for mind games and would like the man to get straight to the point.
"Touchy, touchy. The voice had replied with a tinge of impatience in his tone. "Who I am is not important. What we want is fer you ta pay us one thousand dollars in cold hard cash, plain and simple."
The mercenary and scientist had looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
'Just the usual road bandit,' they thought in tandem.
"Alright, how can we pay you then?" Sousuke said as he had visibly relaxed when he remembered the AADA report about higher than average ambushes in this part of the I-40. He had mentally thanked himself for going to the AADA office earlier that afternoon.
"Around the next curve, there's an old roadside rest stop. The voice said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Stop there and drop the moolah inta the old gray trash can at the left side of entrance. No funny stuff like shooting it or ignoring it altogether as I can see if ya leave the money or not."
"I suggest that you follow these simple instructions… if ya like ta live long enough to see the next off-ramp, that is."
As soon as the line was disconnected, the scientist had suggested that they pay the bandit.
"It's only one thousand dollars," Richard added, hoping that Sousuke would listen to his sound advice. "That is just a small price to pay for the lives of five hundred thousand people."
"No can do, sir. " answered the auto duelist as he had turned right at the next curve. "I have a plan."
"I hope that this one is better than the last time you told me that," the scientist replied as he had let out a worried sigh.
The roadside stop was just right as the highway embezzler had told the mercenary. The whole place had looked like it was a popular stop for highway travelers more than fifty years ago. Now it is just an empty building with little to no signs of life inside.
Even the few plastic furnishings that was seen from the outside were old and ready for a trip to the recycling plant.
Dust had coated everything from floors to bars and silky cobwebs served as the building's only decoration. The said silky apartments had attached themselves either in the building's inner corners or anywhere that they can be spun by their arachnid tenants.
The room itself was slowly darkening as the sun continued its downward path towards the distant horizon.
After entering the shack, Sousuke had taken out 1,000 dollars worth of one hundred dollar bills out his wallet and studied the billfold for a bit. He then returned the money in his wallet and pulled out a similar pile of smaller denomination bills, mostly either one dollar or five dollar bills.
The mercenary then bundled them together and tied them with a blue rubber band that he had drawn earlier from the Arbalest's glove compartment. After tying them securely, he had dropped the bundled money into the rusting trash can and returned to the car.
As Sousuke was buckling up his seat belt, he told Al to prepare the electronic conceal system for immediate use as soon as they had passed the next curve.
About three miles down the road, the Arbalest had entered the stretch of the interstate where the right shoulder was solid rock and the left was sheer cliff. As the road had curved off to the left, Al thenreported that he had detected an emplaced weapon in the rock wall, about five hundred meters ahead of them.
Both men had looked at the said rock wall to see a 40mm anti-tank gun, strategically placed to cover the entire curve of the highway.
The gun was well-protected by a natural rock bunker so any chance to knock it out by means of the Gauss gun is next to none.
In light of this fact, Sousuke then asked Al on what were the chances of escape if the ECS was used to cover their escape as he and the scientist had pulled down the sun visors down to blot out the glare from the setting sun.
"The probability would be a fifty five percent chance of escaping successfully with the ECS used alone. This is even with their sight being affected by the setting sun's rays shining directly in their faces."
"That is good enough. Activate ECS on my mark."
The Arbalest had just come out of another curve when Al had reported a nearly untranslatable radio message coming from the mountaintop to the left. In a rare show of humor, the AI had also reported the only translatable part – "Blast 'em."
A moment later, a loud boom was heard followed by the unmistakable sound of concrete being blown to pieces just behind them.
"I told you to just pay, Sousuke," The scientist said, his panicked tone betraying his anger at the driver. "Now do something about this."
"Now, Al." The mercenary ordered as he had pressed the accelerator pedal further down towards the floorboards. He had ignored the panicking gunner and concentrated on keeping the weaving car on the road.
Just as the mercenary had put the petal to the metal, the car had swerved a bit to the left and scraped its front fender with the steel guard rail. Some gray paint was scraped off in the process.
The next two shots went wild as the gun's two man crew had tried to locate the escaping car, through ranging shots only, given the widening distance and their hampered sight.
The two gunners were totally at a loss as to where to place their next two shots as they had difficulty seeing their target through the blinding glare of the descending sun. Adding to their woes was that their targeting computers and its accompanying sensors were totally useless on honing in at the escaping car.
Their spotter, who was in the adjacent mountain, had given them the correct coordinates for the remaining two salvos but they were still seconds too late to make a crippling hit.
Still, one salvo was close enough to spray some flying pieces of asphalt to the Arbalest's front grille and even hit the power plant components behind it.
Another salvo was only a foot away from hitting the Arbalest's rear bumper.
By the time the sun had lowered itself enough so that the gunners could see the valley clearly, the Arbalest was already out of the gun's effective range. It just continued on its way to La Grande, just thirty minutes away downhill.
As the gray Aston Martin had neared in La Grande westbound exit 261, Sousuke asked for permission to recharge the Arbalest's power plant as it was dangerously running low of the needed electrical power. The scientist had agreed and even suggested that they eat a light dinner there as well.
They had found the Le Grande Truck Stop at the corner of Island Ave and 26th Street. The truck stop part in the sign is actually a misnomer.
This is because its building design actually has more in common with a recharge station and diner than a full-fledged truck stop but neither the mercenary nor the scientist had complained about it.
The three charging generators were placed in front right under a steel canopy with La Grande Truck Stop in red neon letters on two of its sides.
A large lighted rectangular aluminum sign also with the establishment's name, supported by a concrete tube- thirty inches in diameter, was placed a few meters beyond the said generators.
At the back of the generators, lie the diner and the repair bay. The latter structure was only big enough to accommodate two luxury type duel cars, parked side by side.
As the Arbalest had drove in, its occupants had noticed that the repair bay was currently occupied with two more duel cars parked just outside. With a pained sigh, Sousuke had parked the car in the unoccupied generator nearest to the ramp where the Arbalest then entered.
Both he and the scientist then headed over to the diner to order a quick dinner while the Arbalest's power plant was being charged.
The young owner of the whole establishment, a certain Issei Tsubaki, had chatted with them as he usually does with new faces in town.
"So where are you guys headin'?" the owner said as he had sat down in the seat next to the mercenary after wiping some dew off his glasses with his left thumb.
"Seattle, Washington." answered Sousuke as he had eaten his cheeseburger with relish. "We have…some business there."
He was about to drink his cherry flavored Dr. Pepper soda when Issei had asked again, this time to the scientist. "So what's with the beat up brown briefcase on your lap, Grandpa? I can assure you that this place is safe and sound for elderly people like you."
The scientist had bristled a bit at being called an old man in such a disparaging manner.
"For your information, young man, I am only in my late forties and I would rather be called Sir or something with a little more respect."
"Sorry, sir." The young owner said with both sincerity and trite as he had made his apology. "I guess I was a bit too relaxed with you. I meant no disrespect when I called you Grandpa though."
"It was that you were just so tight that I had to loosen ya up a little. My ol' Grandpa would surely be wailing at you for being such an old stick in the mud. He may be old but age did not bother him one bit, no sir."
While the elder scientist was reflecting on the comment and also quietly ate his salad, Sousuke had asked if he could buy some ammunition for his car. The young owner then stood up and escorted him to the ammunition counter at the opposite side to the diner's counter.
The spinning ceiling fans had mussed up their black hair a bit as the young men passed by underneath them.
"I can only sell you one box of Gauss ammo since we're pretty much under stocked at the moment. " Issei said as he had just placed the box of Gauss ammo on the wooden counter before continuing. "Ever since the AADA had put up that advisory about Baker's Dozen Truck Stop, we've gotten a lot more customers than we could handle but we're still doing the best we can under the circumstances."
"As for the smokescreen charges, you'll have to buy 'em in Pendleton. Ol' Man Winston in the Pendleton truck stop is no Uncle Albert but his grandson's weapon shop is the best stocked in the entire route for this whole week or so I heard."
After Sousuke had thanked the chatty owner and even gave him an extra fifty dollars for the tips, Issei had one last thing to say.
"Be careful out there, there were four big bruisers who were looking for a gray Aston Martin Vanquish with two machine guns up front and a pop up turret on top." Issei said as he had tried to remember something. "They also added that it was ridden by a black-haired hotshot driver with a scar on his lower left cheek and an old man with a briefcase. I believe they took off towards Pendleton on three green BMW G 650 Xmoto motorcycles; one of the cycles is even fitted with a fleximum sidecar."
"Anything else?" Sousuke was beginning to imagine who the bruisers really were.
The young owner had added with a snap of his fingers. "Oh yeah, they're all painted black with green trim."
"Thank you for all the information. " Sousuke was already on his way out the door. "We will surely be on our guard, Mr. Tsubaki."
The scientist had already left earlier and was already sitting in the shotgun or gunner seat of the Arbalest.
"Hey, call me Issei. Mr. Tsubaki makes me feel old," Issei said as he tried to correct the mercenary but the latter had already exited the restaurant. "Damn that guy."
The Arbalest had exited to the I-40 via the same exit toll way and continued its way west then northwest towards Pendleton.
While Sousuke had kept his eyes on both the map displayed in the heads up display before them and the radar screen, Richard watched the shadowy silhouettes of the local fauna.
After the car had exited La Grande, the elderly scientist could only see some farmlands with some juniper trees interspersed at both sides of the road. Going further up and westward, pine trees and fir trees has replaced the junipers. Wild grasses have also shared the rocky ground where the trees grew roots.
This went on for about thirty minutes before the Arbalest's radar had once again detected three distinct blips, all three of them coming towards them from behind at high speed.
A quick peek at the rear mirror had showed that the cyclists were members of Green Circle as the mercenary had been warned earlier by Issei.
The black and green motorcycle with a side car had taken the lead and was trying to overtake the Arbalest from the left. The other two were shooting at the gray car's rear armor as if they were keeping it busy from shooting at the overtaking bike with a sidecar.
Sousuke had activated the Gauss gun while the Arbalest's A.I. had engaged the automatic target detection system and set it on full defense.
As the explosive bullets were chipping the rear and side laser proof plastic armors with audible pings, only the Gauss gun had again rose to the occasion.
The Vanquish's hind lights had also fallen victim to the numerous bullets hitting the car at nearly the same time. Pieces of fiber glass from their red and orange lenses had littered the road where the car had passed.
The turret weapon had centered its sights on the side car passenger who was about to jump towards the car's roof. A single shot had holed him squarely at his abdomen before he fell on the asphalt with a loud thump.
This situation had angered the bike's driver as he too had added his own firepower on the hapless gray car's rear, chipping even more plastic armor with embedded ceramic chips.
The continuous stream of bullets was so bad, the car's rear spoiler was damaged enough to separate from the car itself after it was blown away by a rouge draft.
The loss of the rear spoiler had caused the car to wobble slightly at the high speed it was traveling, forcing Sousuke to slow down enough to regain some control.
While his friends were still trading shots with the gray car, the rider of the motorcycle with side car had made his ride overtake all of them since he wanted to see the frightened eyes of the Arbalest's passengers as they die by his hand.
He was further motivated by the sound of a fellow member's cry of pain as one of the chasing cycles' medium power plants was holed through and through. The holed power plant had triggered an explosion that destroyed the cycle and killed its rider instantly.
When the said motorcycle was far enough from the car, it had turned around and charged at the latter straight on.
The big rider's eyes were filled with hatred and his mind is set on one thought only - turn the Arbalest into a million pieces of scrap metal. He had even armed his cycle's self-destruct button if his vehicle's machine gun's high density bullets failed in their task.
The two vehicles had fought it out with a ferocious exchange of machine gun fire as the Gauss had taken yet another cycle permanently out of action. The scientist had to cover his eyes at the sight of the Green Circle operative and his bike being riddled with high density .50 caliber machine gun rounds.
The car itself was severely damaged from the car's grille up to the hood. Some bullets had even holed the front windshield. Luckily, the gray car's occupants were spared from the deadly slugs that had passed thorough the holed windshield.
Not relying on luck, the pair had instinctively ducked as soon as they saw the machine gun flashes. Al even took temporary control of the wheel while the ATAD had continued the barrage of .50 caliber bullets while the mercenary was keeping his head down.
A few seconds later, the Green Circle operative had said his last hurrah's as he too met his fiery end in the motorcycle's triggered explosion just as the Arbalest had swerved out of its way at the last second before stopping at the road curb for a few minutes.
As soon as he got out of forced huddle, Sousuke simply had continued on his way for nearby Pendleton. The fortress city itself was only downhill from where they were now.
About fifteen minutes after the latest attack by Green Circle, Al had once again warned them of an incoming vehicle coming fast behind them at a flat eighty miles per hour.
The black cycle had appeared briefly beside them before revving up and taking the lead.
"Sousuke, let us follow him. " said Richard, eager to prove his claims that Green Circle does not always use the trademark color on their vehicles. "He's probably yet another member of Green Circle."
"Sir, with all due respect, he hasn't fired on us so chasing him is pointless." answered the mercenary pointedly.
"That maybe true but if he does anything funny, follow him. He may lead us to the rest of those environmentalist malcontents."
The Arbalest had trailed the bike at a two car distance, but the cycle suddenly made smoke before disappearing in the darkness ahead.
"Damn it, we lost him. " Richard fumed as he had crossed his arms across his thin chest. "If he is involved with Green Circle, you take the blame for letting him go."
"Yes sir. " Sousuke explained as he had noticed that difference in this situation to the others before it. "Although your theory may have its merits, this may not be true in this case. I mean, if he were to lead us to a trap; he should not have shaken us off like he did."
After a pause, the mercenary then added. "Also, we only have enough machine gun ammunition for two short bursts and nothing more."
"Not only that but my plastic armor's integrity is down to only thirty five percent, Dr. Mardukas. he car's AI added as his self-preservation programming had kicked in. "If we fight another road battle, our chances of survival are down to twenty percent if not lower."
"You both have good points there, Sousuke and Al. " The scientist had agreed after giving the explanations much thought. "Alright, let us just continue this mission."
"Thank you, sir but we still have to make a stop in Pendleton truck stop for repairs, re-arming of the weapons, and a top up recharge."
"Just make it quick. We are about halfway there according to the digital map in the screen, and it's already nine in the evening."
Yet another ten minutes had passed by before the occupants of the Arbalest actually saw the welcoming lights of Pendleton City twinkling in the distance.
Alright, chapter two is done, and only two more chapters left to go. Again, I apologize for any dialog that would be offensive to some readers. If there are such dialogs, feel free to tell me in a private message and I will fix it then and there.
Also, I don't Dr. Pepper.
The battle scene here is short and brutal for a good reason. The reason being is that real gun battles are just as short and are even more brutal than what I can actually imagine.
So if I get any more descriptive in the battle scenes, I may as well post this story maybe even the rest of the Anime Car War series in Adult Fanfiction Net.
Preview for Chapter 3:
When the group had arrived at the shack, its back and roof was already engulfed in flames. The only reason it did not fully engulf the wooden shack is that the neighborhood was already fighting it bucket-brigade style. A few locals had even pulled a water wagon from the back of a nearby house. Still it was slow going since the wagon's four wheels had gotten rusty from disuse so it was hard to move even if five people were pushing it from behind.
Again just read and enjoy, that is all I ask.