HRM Legation, Tokyo Japan, Z-Day+2 1825hrs
Corporal Davis burst into the third floor office Major Giles had occupied since the outbreak began.
"Sir, Sir, we are VSF, Sir!"
"Calm down, Davis," the Major said evenly. "What has you in such a state?"
"Sir…the...pant, pant... the Inscrutable…huff...just confirmed…launch of…"
"Launch of what?" the Major replied, unsure of where this conversation was going.
"The USS Norfolk," Davis succeeded in huffing out. "She just launched a full spread of nukes, sir."
Giles dropped his tea cup to the floor as his mouth fell open. Minutes passed as the two men stared at each other in stunned silence, neither daring to believe the news.
"Do they…" Unsure of how to proceed, the Major simply pressed forward. "Any idea where they are headed? The nukes, I mean."
"Yes, sir," Davis replied numbly. "Telemetry tracks three to Russia's Far East, three to China and one to North Korea. Confirmed by the Ark Royal, sir."
"Then we get to sit and watch the world burn." The Major slumped into his chair. This was the doomsday scenario everyone feared would happen and that everyone prayed never would.
"How soon can we expect retaliation?"
"Sir, Moscow fell silent on Z-Day+1, their nukes are cold. China spun four as soon as the pre-emptive was launched. Their birds are in the air as we speak."
"Then powers beyond our control hold all our fates in their hands," the Major whispered.
The handset on Davis' shoulder screeched to life with incoming chatter. Davis toggled the mike and listened with rapt attention.
"Sir, news. Three JMSDF escort cruisers and an American missile frigate intercepted three of the warheads mid-flight. The USS Curtis Wilbur is silent and failed to launch an intercept."
The handset squawked further.
"Understood," Davis replied as his heart sank into his stomach.
Well?" Giles demanded.
"We're the target, sir," Davis sobbed. "That last nuke is headed straight for Tokyo. We have maybe twenty minutes before detonation."
Giles grabbed the telephone receiver from the phone on his desk and dialed up the internal PA.
"Now hear this! Now hear this! Secure the compound. Nuclear missile inbound, I repeat, nuclear missile inbound. Secure the compound!"
A panicked commotion went up among the Marines as they scrambled to secure everything. The Embassy was designed to withstand a siege and military attack with chemical and biological agents. Would it survive a nuclear attack?
White and Pegg scrambled off the guardhouse roof quick as their legs could carry them. Their training kicking in, absconding with their equipment. Lance Corporal Edmonds ran close on their heels, the dazed young woman recently admitted in tow. Only once inside did the Marines realize that she had not been properly quarantined, but by then it was too late. The bite mark on her arm noticed only after she began to turn. Corporal McDonnough seized a massive, down-curved, heavy-bellied knife from a holster on his belt and swung it with full force into her skull; cracking bone and spilling blood into the foyer as the poor unfortunate fell to the floor, unmoving. With a sadistic grin on his face, the mad explosives expert extricated the knife and brought it down several more times until he was seized by Staff Sergeant Blake and two other Marines. McDonnough continued swinging his knife until his arms could be restrained. The pool of blood, brain and bits of bone that had been the woman's head slicked the marble floor.
"Restrain that man!" Blake barked at McDonnough's captors. "The rest of you, back to work! We haven't the time to fuck around!"
"Oh, bugger me sideways!" L/Corporal Edmonds cried out. "I left the side gate open! Oh fuck me!"
By the time anyone reached the lobby doors, a sizeable group of "them" had breached the yard through the open gate and were moving toward the main embassy building. Several more, attracted by the commotion, approached the gate at close distance.
"Bar the bloody doors, you bastards!" Blake bellowed "And close the blast shutters! Right fucking now!"
Boots pounded the marble flooring as the lobby doors were slammed shut. Someone produced several zip ties and these were employed around the pull handles to keep the doors from being pushed open. One of "them" had crawled up the stairs and by the time the doors were secured, had stood up and began pounding on the plexi-glass inserts. Blake moved around the receptionist's station and slammed his fist onto the emergency blast shutter override switch. The shutter fell with a terrific whoosh, severing Zed's hands and locking the Marines into the building. Within seconds, the entire building was secure behind the shutters.
Pausing to catch their collective breath, the Marines took stock of what they had. Secure inside, but now surrounded and with no other choice but to await airlift…if the Ark Royal survived the blast.
At this moment, Blake's handset came to life.
"Staff Sergeant Blake, this is Corporal McDonnough. We have…a problem."
