David
That night, we found a hotel with a few empty rooms and we rented three. Big Luke told us to request a six AM wake up call again. The phone rang right at six and I answered.
"Hello?" I asked groggily.
"Hi, this is Tina at the front desk calling for your six o' clock wake up call," said the lady on the phone.
"OK. Thank you," I said and I hung up.
I got up and got my clothes on for the day, a pair of black basketball shorts, my white Nike's and a navy blue T-shirt. I brushed my teeth and headed out to meet my friends in the lobby.
Brandon was the only one there. He was dressed in his usual cargo shorts and running shoes, only now he was wearing a white long sleeve shirt. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and he was spinning his livestrong wristband around his wrist. He was seated in a couch as he waited.
"Where's Big Luke?" I asked as I took a seat in the adjacent couch.
"He sounded like he was on the phone when I walked by," he replied.
We waited around until we saw Big Luke come down from the stairs right at seven.
"What's up, fellas?" he asked as he buttoned the cuffs on his button-up shirt.
"Not much. Where do you want to go for breakfast? I'm starving," I said as I stood up.
We left the hotel and found an IHOP somewhere down the road. I had a simple breakfast platter with bacon, pancakes, sour dough toast and scrambled eggs. Brandon had a bowl of oatmeal and Big Luke was having biscuits and gravy. It took us a while to get a seat with the Saturday rush.
"So, what's the plan for today?" asked Brandon, now halfway into his bowl of oatmeal.
Big Luke's eyes were on his breakfast but his mind was somewhere else. "I think that we need to start looking around for trailer parks around here. I've got an idea that might work to speed up the process," he finally answered.
"What's your idea?" I asked.
"Using a UAV to scan above trailer parks and see what we can see."
We finished our meal and Big Luke picked up the tab. We walked outside and hit the road. We drove on the freeway for a while until we turned onto a back road that went past several trailer parks. I felt that Dr. Speck could be living in anyone of them. We pulled over to the side of the road and Big Luke got out. Brandon and I followed his lead as he walked back to the driver side quarter panel of the car.
"KATE, can you switch to the UAV filler cap?" asked Big Luke.
The filler cap was large and protruded from the quarter panel of the car. Rather than "FUEL" written on it, it read "C4". We watched as the filler cap sunk into the body. We heard gears turning for a second and a identical filler cap rose above the quarter panel. This filler cap read "UAV" in the same font as "C4".
"OK, that's cool," Brandon said as he stared in awe at the ingenious idea that was the multiple filler caps.
I could see on Brandon's face that he had many questions about the UAV, and he was going to ask them. "What powers it?" he asked.
""It's got a small battery that the alternator charges," replied Big Luke as the two stared at the filler cap.
"What does it look like when it's ready to fly?"
"I'll show you," Big Luke walked to the trunk and KATE popped it open for him.
He lifted a laptop and a joystick controller from the truck and closed the lid. The laptop was one like a cop might have. It had a rugged silver casing and its own carry handle. Big Luke set the laptop on the deck lid and flipped the screen open. He plugged the joystick into the side of the laptop and waited for the computer to boot up.
"KATE, activate the UAV, please?" he asked.
Instantly the filler cap detached itself from the quarter panel and sprouted small metallic legs. It walked over to the opposite side of the of the laptop. Big Luke pressed the release button on the side and the filler cap sprouted four small rotor wings around its circumference. Big Luke opened up an application on the computer and there was nothing but black in the small window.
"KATE, connect to the UAV, please?" asked Big Luke.
"I have established a connection," replied KATE.
"OK, lets see how this baby flies," he said as he pulled the trigger on the joystick.
The rotor blades on the filler cap began to spin and the thing lifted off into the air. It flew up about three feet above our heads. On the screen, I saw Big Luke with his elbows on the deck lid as he controlled the UAV. Brandon was looking up at the UAV and I was standing next to him looking at the screen.
I looked up at the UAV. It was hard to see against the cloudy sky but the black spot on the camera lens gave it away.
"What happened to the weather?" asked Brandon and I finally realized what he was taking about.
The sky had become overcast since that morning which had been bright and sunny. Now it was at least fifteen to twenty degrees colder and looked as if it could start raining any minute.
"I don't know," I said, still staring at the sky and the little silver disk that was hovering in the sky.
"KATE, can you take over?" asked Big Luke who didn't seem concerned over the weather.
"Yes I can," she replied.
Big Luke let go of the joystick and the UAV didn't fall or stumble. It just flew up higher and started circling the surrounding area. Brandon and I stood on either side of Big Luke as we crowded around the laptop.
We watched on the screen at all the trailer parks in the area. Most were inhabited with people that couldn't live anywhere else but a trailer park. Many of the small communities had a combination of mobile trailers and semi-permanent double-wides. Others were one or the other. There were old cars from the late seventies and engines laying around or hanging from trees. Several people in tank tops sitting in lawn chairs with their feet soaking in plastic kiddy pools. Who ever wasn't in a lawn chair was hanging clothes out on a clothesline to dry. Kids were running around and throwing mud or sticks or whatever they could find at each other.
We kept watching for a few hours or so until the UAV moved to one park in particular. Nobody was outside and there were no cars in the yards. Several old and abandoned double-wides littered the park. Everything had a darker shade over it as if the clouds were thicker there.
The UAV got about halfway across the park when the screen went black.
"We lost connection," said Big Luke. "KATE, how far did it get?"
"About twenty-two point three four miles North," KATE replied.
"It was knocked out of the sky," said Big Luke. "That UAV has a range of fifty miles easy. Someone or something knocked it out of the sky."
"That's got to be our trailer park then," said Brandon.
"Yeah. Can KATE locate the UAV's last position?" I asked.
"Yes I can," said the car.
A holographic image of a map popped up from the spot where the UAV had been. There was a road that we were on traced in yellow against a blue background.
We climbed back in the car and Big Luke followed the yellow line that was now plastered on the windshield. Eventually we made our way into a forest and the pavement turned to gravel.
"KATE, let me know when we are two clicks out, please?" asked Big Luke.
"Certainly," replied KATE.
We drove for a few more minutes and KATE informed us that we were two kilometers outside of our destination. Big Luke pulled the car over and we got out. It was time to get kitted up. As tradition stated, we got our gear ready in silence. Mentally preparing for what was about to happen. Afterward we could ask whatever questions we might have. Normally I didn't have too many questions, but today I had several.
"So, which double-wide is the target?" I asked.
"All of them. We clear each one until we find our guy," he responded.
"You want me at over watch?" I asked.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea," he responded. "Find a elevated position and take some armor piercing rounds with you. Just in case."
I picked up two spare mags for my M110 that were loaded up with armor piercing rounds. I dropped them into my left cargo pocket on my BDU pants. This way when I'm looking down range and my rifle is shouldered, I can reload quickly without having to reach across my body.
"Anymore questions?" asked Big Luke.
"What do we do when we find him?" asked Brandon.
"Cuff him if possible. Shoot him if necessary," he replied with little to no emotion.
"Wanted dead or alive?" I asked.
Big Luke just nodded, "Mm Hmm."
"What do we do with the weapons?" I asked.
"Destroy them. One is an organism and the other is some kind of machine. We have no way of taming an organism and we don't know what size the weapon is. Make it easy and just destroy them both," he replied. "Take care KATE. Stay in contact."
Big Luke tapped the fender twice as we set out on our hike. We walked in and around the trees, using them for cover as we trekked through the brush. The branches on the trees were high up so it was easy to walk. I was amazed at how well Big Luke could keep his feet quiet with all the sticks and twigs on the ground.
When we were about half a kilometer out of the trailer park, I split off from the team and started heading for some higher ground. The whole trailer park was located at the bottom of a large bowl. I found the second to highest peak and set up shop.
I dug my spare mags that I got from KATE's trunk out of my pocket and placed them next to my FFP or Final Firing Position. I put my ghillie suit on. I had swapped out my new white and black one that I used for snow environments for my green and brown one for woodland areas. I stuffed it with twigs and other things from my surroundings to help me blend in. I laid prone and faced the trailer park at the bottom of the bowl.
Looking through my scope, I tried to find my team. I knew that we entered from the South but the brush was so thick that I couldn't see them.
"Hawkeye to Red 5 and MacGyver: what is your twenty? Over," I asked over my radio.
Just as I said it, I felt a rain drop land on my arm. Then another landed on my back. It wasn't long until it was raining sheets and I was soaked. I had to turn up the volume on my radio just to hear over the rain pounding on the forest around me.
"MacGyver to Hawkeye: we are approaching the South side of the trailer park. We are about to clear the first double-wide. Over," I heard Brandon through my headset.
"Good copy," I replied.
I put my scope on the first trailer to the South side of the park. I saw Big Luke and Brandon stacked up on the door, Big Luke on the right with the handle and Brandon reaching across the door on the left. Brandon was melting the handle as Big Luke covered them both.
I started looking around at all of the windows on the trailers, scanning for any targets. I couldn't see anything. Then I heard the sound of rotor blades over head. I looked up away from my scope to see a Russian MiL-24 fly right over my head.
