Chapter 7
The rain was pouring, and it felt silly to wipe her face, but it made her feel better. That initial firefight was something and it was a chance to put the skills that she had been trained in to work. It was pretty much the first time she was putting the sniper skills that she had been taught to use and they proved handy especially when she spotted ISI coming up on Harper and David. She took them out and couldn't resist teasing them a little.
Once David and Harper moved out of line of sight, Salazar gave the order to pick up and move on to Anthem. Torres packed up her sniper rifle and brought up the assault rifle she would need. She stayed close to the CLAWs to make sure they were doing okay. They had gotten them out of the deep water, but sometimes shit happened.
She probably shouldn't have been too worried since they were military bots and had been tested under harsh conditions. It was just her though going back to when she hacked and tested systems before being directed to Secret Service and the Treasury. She developed a complex that if it wasn't checked by her then it was doomed to failure. Maybe an overconfidence in her skills, but she since then learned to let go.
If she wanted to be honest with herself, she was worried about David and Harper down there. She hadn't failed to spot the aerial hunter drone. If it caught you in its sights and you were identified and enemy, you were done for. She wasn't military but working with Spectre had her see this stuff and it bothered her greatly they people came up with machines that were more than effective at killing people. It was unsettling, but she had to grin and bear it.
Hoofing, she did her job of checking her side to make sure they weren't in trouble. It bothered her that it was relatively quiet on their end. She had a bad feeling about it but she couldn't pinpoint where.
"That was good shooting there, Torres."
Torres looked to see Crosby grinning a little at her. She replied, "Not my best."
"Looked good to me. They're dead. Section and Harper aren't. Good shoot," the man replied.
Torres gave a wane smile at that. It was good in the sense that they were dead, and their guys weren't. She just didn't like killing people. It had people question why she was in a job where she may have to shoot people. Maybe it was crazy of her, but she did love her job. "Still terrible. I've done better," she replied with a grin.
"As long as you get the job done," Salazar pointed out. He gave a look at Crosby and watched the man move to cover their rear.
It left Torres in a position to be questioned by Salazar and he took the opportunity, "What are you really doing here, Torres?"
Torres let the rain pour down and wiped her bangs as she looked at the man. He had been quiet and unassuming when she first met him, and she didn't give him much thought. Still, she listened and observed and thought him to be deliberate. No doubt his motives were looking after the team, which was why he was questioning her now. She replied, "I was assigned by Spectre."
"That is what you keep telling us."
"And it's true. I'm not military but Spectre supplemented my training with other skills after tapping me in." She looked at Salazar in the eye. "I'm not the enemy. I'm here to help take down Menendez. Preferably alive."
"Why is that?"
"To prevent martyrdom." Torres looked at Salazar before moving forward. She looked forward and studied the map on her HUD display. "Anthem's just ahead. I can see a clear path for the CLAWs." She gestured it out.
Salazar looked at Torres. He liked her, and she pulled her own weight. He was just suspicious about the timing. Before she came along, they had been working on getting Menendez without the extra help. He couldn't help but suspect that there was some other reason and he wanted to find out before his CO got too involved. He had already seen how David looked at her and how they interacted.
"Looks good, Salazar," Crosby confirmed.
Salazar couldn't deny it, but it was a good path. "Move out."
It was a bit awkward in silence as they moved into position. Salazar decided to break it by asking, "So how is it that no one knows about your AI?"
"Hickam is not my AI…"
Correction, I am the supplementary tactical element to SP064B. Selected through an intensive process of background check and compatibility.
"Hickam," Torres growled. Leave it to the AI to correct what SP issued. She looked at Salazar and explained, "Spectre has a protocol that examines all assets and it determines a compatible partner system based on multiple factors including skill set. It's the same protocol used when assigning MWDs to their handlers."
"And you were given an AI?"
It sounded crazy, but it wasn't. It went back to Spectre's time when she acquired an ADI, the first of its kind. Now the ADI was semi-retired, but the specs were available, and the program expanded upon. Torres shrugged at that, "Not my idea, but Spectre was trying something out. If it works, it could be used in military operations. I'm the fucking guinea pig."
Torres wasn't prone to swearing, but hanging around David, Harper and the rest of his SEAL team, the language she heard from her brothers filtered easily into her own and it cemented the 'one of the boys' thing going on. At least some of the team accepted her. Salazar seemed to be the only one suspicious, or he was overly cautious. Normally, she would give the benefit of the doubt, but even her job didn't allow for that luxury over much.
Salazar looked at the woman who seemed exasperated with the questions. She gave the impression that she was there for the ride and didn't have a clue as to the endgame that Spectre had going. It seemed that no one did. Some did seem to know more like David. Then again it was no secret that his team leader and Spectre were friends. Even then, David didn't always know the deets to the plans that Spectre put them through. Maybe no one fully knew that except Spectre.
In the meantime, Torres was scouting the area to make sure that they weren't running into problems on their way to the rendezvous. Salazar decided to not be so hard on Torres since she did prove herself at Myanmar. David may have chewed her out, but she did save them from being cut down by evening out the odds. So, he was inclined to go with that. He replied, "So you just field test Spectre's ideas?"
"Not all of them," Torres replied. She knew how much she was to give and gave it, "Mostly they are based on observation and she makes the idea and puts it into play with an ops team to see if it will work. Always a different team. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I only saw two go into play when she tapped me."
Salazar nodded at that, "Spectre knows what works."
"More like calculates probability. That's the current speculation."
Torres knew that she was going to be asked questions about Spectre and she voiced that to the woman when she first got the news that she was going to be assigned to a JOSC team. Torres went into panic mode at that because the assumption would be that because she worked with Spectre, she would know things no one else would.
They are going to ask about you.
Then let them, Simone.
What do I say?
The truth. Everything you experienced with me.
It had been uttered with a knowing look and looking back, Torres realized that Spectre anticipated and gave her the best advice. Because in truth, Torres only knew what she did and compared to the larger picture, it was a small piece. She added, "I may have worked with Spectre before coming here, but I don't know everything. Just what I observed and what everyone seems to know. That Spectre reveals things that people don't bother to look at. Chasing leads where none exist."
"Common knowledge."
Torres nodded before moving ahead. They were close to the trainyard and they needed to set up. She spotted a guard on the roof and pointed. "Guard. Rooftop."
"Take em out, Torres."
Torres switched to her sniper rifle and aimed down the sights. She had to place the shot just right in order to anticipate the fall of the body so that it wouldn't alert anyone else. She slid into position and took aim down her scope. If she had been at her desk at the Treasury, no one would have believed that she was that good of a shot and a SAS officer made damn sure she could shoot. She took the shot and the guard was down. She called it, "Tango down. Still good. Not compromised."
Copy that. Torres, set yourself on overwatch. More likely things are going to go loco.
"Usually do," she replied as she moved to set herself up.
Salazar heard that and smiled slightly. She had become part of the team and it was rather amusing to watch her put Harper into place. He gave orders to direct the CLAWs and Crosby into position. When that was done, he radioed, "Section, in position. Train yard. Lot of activity."
Monitor the area. Keep me updated.
"Copy." Salazar turned and moved to take a position. "Torres, everything good?"
Lot of activity. Could be trouble if the shit hits the fan. So far things are moving smoothly. Like they don't care that their seeker drone was just on the warpath.
That meant that they were comfortable or not worried. That could spell trouble and it had Salazar on the alert. He studied the scene below.
Picking something up on my audio, Salazar. Something about a SOC-T or something.
"You speak Arabic?"
Pashto and couple of tribals in this area.
Salazar, the ISI have taken delivery of some new SOC-Ts near your position.
Salazar blinked and replied, "Understood. Torres, can you pick up any more?"
Working on it. Still maintaining overwatch. Out.
Salazar watched below and noted the movements of Torres. She had shifted to get better audio and to maintain her assignment. It had him wonder about her since she said that she had been pulled from behind a desk even though she had been on presidential detail.
Salazar. Section. Confirmed. Menendez is here. Main courtyard with ISI leader.
I'll contact Briggs.
Patching you through, Commander.
Salazar shook his head. It was weird hearing the AI come over the comms like it was nothing. It was vaguely irritating since the AI had a British accent despite the fact that Hickam was American and had an airfield named after him on the base in Hawaii.
Don't mind Hickam, Salazar. He's only following his programming.
"Damn," Crosby commented with a chuckle since he was also listening.
Salazar sighed as he positioned himself and waited for orders. This was going to be the longest mission ever. Or it was going to drive him crazy. He had yet to decide on which.
Of course. Not only am I aware of the infiltration… I engineered it. And Spectre is still one step behind.
David didn't have time to process what he had gathered. He saved the recordings of data, but the analyzation would have to come later. He winced when his surveillance was cut off and Harper said something about them being onto them. He was trying to clear his head when he heard the clink.
It was a fucking grenade.
As Torres teased him, the water was like home. Training to be a SEAL instilled that water was a second home. David was just as comfortable in the water as he was on land and, at the moment, it had been a lifesaver. First from the explosion and second from the gunfire as he and Harper were chased out from underneath the trainyard. It put some distance and now they had to hoof it to link up with Salazar and evac.
Commander, picking up several tangos on your six, closing in.
Section, they're closing in on you!
The contrast between the AI's calm tones and the urgent ones of Salazar was enough to make a person's head spin. David though focused on keeping up with Harper and pushing to meet with the others.
CLAWs in position. Maximus on the roof. Brutus in the street.
David replied, "What about the vehicles for evac?"
Secured. I've reprogrammed an enemy drone to support our extraction.
"Shit! Half of fuckin' Pakistan's outside the damn door!" Harper was stacked up on the door while the sound of bullets was flying.
David could hear it. They were grossly outnumbered, and he sensed that if Salazar hadn't taken the initiative to reprogram an enemy drone, they were going to lose this one. He wasn't going to give up though and was going to fight to the bitter end.
Signaling to Harper, David had him open the door while he signaled Brutus and Maximus to target enemy personnel and fire. With the miniguns on the CLAWs, they were able to cut the numbers down to manageable levels and it didn't hurt that they took out a searcher drone. It looked like they were going to be able to get through this after all.
"Salazar! Where are you?"
Thirty seconds out.
"It's now or never man!"
They had to make a break for it now that there was some sort of a lull. David nodded and signaled Harper to get a move on it. Harper took point and David covered as they left the building they had been holed in. They were still taking fire and David didn't see the ISI that had sneaked up on him and Harper until he heard the echo of a shot.
Turning he saw the body fall. The look on the guy's face was almost comical. No doubt he didn't expect that.
Getting pretty bad at checking your corners, Section.
"I was saving that one for you," David retorted. "Where are you Torres?"
Making my way to extraction. Salazar is pulling up now.
Sure enough, the transport vehicles were pulling up and David could see Torres jumping down from where she had staked over watch and covering positions. It occurred to him that he may have had one of the CLAWs fire on her position, but she didn't seem put out and she looked fine. He looked up and shouted, "Salazar!"
"Ain't you a sight for sore eyes? Where have you been?" Harper said as he jumped into the vehicle. While he was asking Salazar, he was also directing it towards Torres when she jogged up and hopped in.
"Covering your ugly ass," Torres replied as she jumped in the passenger seat next to David. "Ready to use an enemy drone?"
David snorted at that. It wasn't the first time he had hacked enemy hardware. It was all part and parcel of the going to war gig. "Just as ling as you keep up covered, Torres."
"I can shoot. Never said I could shoot well."
David wanted to laugh. Little did Torres know that Spectre used to say the same thing to him and anyone who commented on her use of a gun especially her ability to be a sniper. It went hand in hand with the fact that Spectre was an analyst herself when she had been tapped and now she coordinated multiple counterterrorist teams and often to the befuddlement of the military brass and directors of intelligence. It could probably be called irony or a comical coincidence. In any case, it didn't matter since they needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
You've got the whole fucking SDC descending on your current position. You better hope they're in a fucking good mood.
"Cheery," Torres commented. She pointed at the map, "Look multiple routes through the town. The drones can clear the path. You just gotta burn rubber."
David did a quick study of the map. There really was no choice. They were going to drive out of there guns blazing. Not the ideal way to extraction. They did have multiple points of exit. "Alright, this looks viable," he said, pointing out the route and sending it to the other vehicle.
"Be ready for contingency, Section," Torres warned as she locked and loaded her gun and rifle.
"Don't need to tell me twice. Let's get the fuck out of here." David put the vehicle into gear and waited until the drone cleared the path. "Once we get moving, Torres, set the drone to target enemy personnel."
"Funny how you just assume," Torres teased. She tapped her earpiece, "Hickam. Are you in the system?"
Copy that SP064B. I have control of the drone and will clear a path. Just follow the destruction.
"Copy that," Torres replied with a wry grin. "Punch it, Section."
David shook his head and took his cue. It seemed that after they 'kissed and made up' after Myanmar, Torres was much more comfortable voicing her opinion though it helped that he had been the first to make a move on that. He liked it and prayed that they would get through this mission. He punched it and accelerated, taking the path that the drone cleared.
Sending route cleared.
Faster man. Gotta make that evac point.
No fucking shit they had to make the point. The added obstacles were the debris left behind by a trigger-happy AI going destruction mode with a drone and abandoned vehicles and debris from the dilapidated town. It was a fucking walk in the park on this one. David didn't say anything but adjusted his speed, knowing that it was pointless to say anything about Torres having a steady hand.
Torres was doing the best that she can. Luckily Hickam was 'seeing' everything in real time and could react accordingly. This was one of the specs that Spectre wanted to know about and it looked like she was going to get a favorable report. That was moot as she was concentrating on laying cover fire. Visibility was difficult in the pouring rain. Adding the speed and the fact that they were getting shot at in all directions… it was one of those nightmare mode training sims.
As she took out an RPG, she commented, "We're going as fucking fast as we can, Harper. Keep the fuck up."
We're clearing a path for you. Look for the smoke.
That helped a bit and Hickam took over with the drone. There were still a few enemy SOC-Ts coming at them and David accelerated to ram it. The combination of speed and power sent the vehicle tumbling over and launched theirs into the air. David held his breath as the vehicle slammed down onto the pavement and continued to roll.
Go left! Onto the highway!
"Hickam clear the highway!"
Roger that.
They're right on us.
Torres swiveled in her seat and looked for a target. Taking her sniper rifle, she aimed. It was a difficult shot, but right now, they needed any and all options to make the extraction point. She fired and took out an enemy SOC-T tire. The deflated tire caused the vehicle to swerve and the driver overcompensated and crashed.
Nice one, Torres.
They plowed through buildings causing debris and shattered glass to fly. It just added to the challenge as David maneuvered their vehicle, trying to keep all four wheels on solid ground. He was grateful that Torres' AI was covering them with the drone and was doing a pretty good job of it.
Something tells me that ain't a regular SOC-T.
Keep going!
They're all over us!
They were almost there, and it seemed like SDC was catching up or ISI or whatever. They were in a hot seat and it was getting hotter. David was doing all he can to avoid explosions and gunfire that could take them out. He heard Torres say, "I'm out of sniper rounds."
"Do what you can," David shouted.
Got a gunship bearing on us!
Shit! Drone's headed right for the helo! Dammit! We lost the drone!
They lost air support. That was fucking great. Still David could appreciate that they wouldn't have gotten that far without the AI manning the controls. He knew not all was lost since Torres wasn't worried about the drone being taken out. No doubt she would launch into something about software versus hardware or some shit like that later. He turned his focus on the road ahead and noticed a few things, "Collision's started a chain reaction!"
"Evac point's up ahead!" Torres pointed out.
"Hang on!"
David swerved to avoid the flames erupting from a gas line and pulled into the evac point. He turned to swerve to a stop. "There's our evac point."
They made their way there but came to a dead stop. David noticed that Torres tapped her earpiece and held her gun at the ready but not raised. It was like she was expecting them or was reading the situation. Either way, it looked like they were in deep shit with this one.
"Oh shit. Now what?"
"American forces should not be in Pakistan."
David would have spoken, but Torres took the lead, "True, but we have no quarrel with China, General Zhao. Our interest is Raul Menendez."
David watched as Zhao looked at Torres and nodded, "Then we have a common enemy, agent of Spectre. But know this. If you are here for Raul Menendez, I have no need to kill you."
"True," Torres replied, "But you and I both know that Spectre is everywhere."
Zhao smirked as he looked at David and the other SEALs before looking back at Torres, "We'll see."
A/N: They got the intel and had to run from the SDC and it looks like Torres is going to have to play nice with General Zhao. Stay tuned for next time on Waves on the Shores...
