48

Last Alarm

Chapter 48

"Darkness Falls"

Part Two

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. _ H. P. Lovecraft

Dedicated to the Memory of:

Justin Patterson - Private 1st Class USMC

Time: Mid-Afternoon

Z-Day Plus Four

Current Location: Junior Officer's Quarters

Deck Five of the U.S.S Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) - "The Bonnie Dick"

I don't remember exactly how long it was that I just stood there in the dim light of my empty stateroom staring transfixed at the tan Regimental SAS beret I held in my hands as I tried to come to terms with the fact that it, and everything else that was going on around me, was all really happening and not just some dream that I would suddenly find myself being rudely awaken from, any second now.

But then after quite a bit of time had passed, I finally accepted the fact that I really wasn't dreaming and that everything that was happening around me was all very real and my life had indeed taken a dramatic turn that before this day, I would have never thought possible.

Now I was no longer the rogue warrior that I had been for so long, who had spent so many years trying to scratch out a living in a world who didn't give a damn about who I was, where I'd been, or what I did.

But now my wildest dreams had been fulfilled, and I was now at last, back in the Regiment…back to the only home and family I had ever really cared about, next to my wife and child.

And once the reality of my situation finally began to sink in, I snapped out of my delirium and then attempted to don the beret in my hands, feeling more than a little anxious as I did so since I hadn't worn one like it since I had left the Regiment so many years ago.

To my dismay however, donning the beret suddenly proved to be extremely difficult, because for some strange reason at that very moment my hands suddenly began to start shaking so badly that I almost thought I might drop it as I then stopped myself, and gingerly placed the beret on my bunk and just stared at it.

Every fiber of my being wanted to don my beret right then and there, and it was all I could do to keep myself from making another attempt to wear it again, and yet as eager as I was to place that beret on my head and wear it proudly once more like I had done so many years ago….I couldn't.

As much as I wanted to place that beret on my head again, I knew that if I truly intended on returning to duty in the Regiment and wear that beret with honor, then there were some changes about myself that I needed to make, starting first with my appearance.

"No…." I said aloud as I shook my head. "Not just yet."

"At least not until I've had a shave and a proper haircut first…." I said to myself as I then began looking around the stateroom for anything useful to help make myself more presentable.

Although I had been given a chance to take a shower earlier when I had first come aboard along with Rika and the others, the shower the Navy pukes had forced the lot of us to take had been more for decon purposes than hygiene, although given the fact that we were all pretty ripe from not having showered for the past couple of days, it hadn't hurt either.

But at the time, since all of us had been more interested in stuffing our bellies instead of making ourselves look and smell pretty, neither I, Rika, or the others had even thought about asking the swabbies to issue us any type of toiletry items, and so now I found myself in desperate need of a shaving kit to get rid of the two weeks' worth of beard on my face as I continued to search every drawer and locker in the small cabin.

After several minutes of fruitless rummaging around however, I was dismayed to find that there didn't appear to be any spare shaving items lying about in the small cabin for me to use, and since my knife had also been taken away by the Marines along with the rest of my weapons I didn't even have that option, not that I would have shaved my face with my knife anyway unless I really wanted to slit my own throat.

After a little more searching through Jem's personal items however, I finally managed to find what I was looking for in Jem's rucksack, as I grabbed the black leather shaving kit I found lying there at the bottom of his ruck and then walked towards the door to my cabin and prepared to head towards the Junior Officer's *"head", which I knew was located at the far end of the passageway.

*(Head- Navy slang for Toilet or Bathroom)

But just as I opened the door and was about to step out into the brightly lit corridor, I couldn't help resist taking one last look at my beret as I paused in the middle of the doorway and looked back over my shoulder to where I had left it, still sitting on my bunk.

"Be back in a jiff, mate…." I said winking at my beret. "Don't go anywhere."

As I stepped out into the corridor and shut the door behind me, I then walked over the two Marine guards whom had been assigned to stand guard over our section and informed them that I was going to the "head" at the end of the corridor for a quick shave.

And then I explained that after I was done with that, I was then going to see about getting a haircut afterwards when I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Rika's heavy snoring coming from her cabin.

It had been a rough four days ever since the Outbreak began, especially for every one of us who had been fighting the Infected almost non-stop throughout most of it, and so to say that we were all exhausted would have been one hell of an understatement.

And so it was no surprise that Rika and the others would still be fast asleep in their cabins, although I didn't know how that was even possible with the way the thin walls on Rika's stateroom were practically vibrating from all her snoring as both of the young Marines standing there with me tried to keep from bursting out in laughter from all the racket Rika was making, as I tried to stifle my own laughter as well.

But as funny as it was to hear Rika shaking the walls of her cabin with all her snoring, I have to say that the racket Rika was making was nothing in comparison to the unearthly sounds that used to hear coming out of Saya Takagi's room as I was making my midnight security check through her house when I was once employed as the personal bodyguard of her father Soichiro Takagi, and his family.

F_ck me, until I heard it myself I wouldn't have thought it possible that a teenage girl that young or that tiny could be capable of making so much bloody racket, although I have to admit, right now Rika was coming in a close second.

But as amusing as Rika's bellowing was to hear, I was extremely anxious to clean myself up so that I could don my uniform again, and so without another word, I gave a friendly wave to the Marines and then headed off down the corridor towards the Officer's head.

And then once I arrived, I then let myself in and placed Jem's shaving kit on one of the many stainless steel sinks mounted on one side of the room as I then studied my reflection in the mirror for a moment before turning on the hot water and opening the leather case, as I then frowned in disgust at the jumbled mess within.

For the benefit of those that don't know him, Jem Poynton is a cheap bastard who for whatever reasons why, fancies himself a bit of a "ladies man", and the contents of his shaving kit was definite proof of his ego as well as his stinginess as I rummaged through several small bottles of aftershaves and deodorants stolen from various hotels all over the world, before I finally managed to find a safety razor and a small can of shaving foam.

"Bloody hell, about frickin' time!" I mumbled to myself in disgust at having wasted so much time practically wading through all of Jem's crap just to find the actual "shaving stuff" in his so-called "shaving kit" as I then generously lathered up my face and then went to work on my beard with the razor.

"I'll be using some of your aftershave and deodorant too, you prissy wanker!" I mumbled grumpily as I carefully shaved my face, smiling all the while at the image of Jem getting his bloomers all in a knot after finding out that I had stolen his shaving kit and had used some of his personal items.

"Serves that cheap bastard right too, making me have to wade through all his stolen hotel crap just to find a lousy sixty-pence razor…" I mumbled grumpily as I finished shaving and then rinsed off the remaining foam before toweling my face off.

After I had finished, I gazed at the mirror for a long moment and admired my handiwork and once I was satisfied, I then rinsed off the razor and then used some of Jem's aftershave and one of his unused mini-deodorants, before tossing both items back into the case and zipping it shut.

Now feeling somewhat refreshed, I then exited the officer's head and returned to my cabin and quickly tossed Jem's shaving kit upon his bunk as I then waved again to the guards who were now standing at the other end of the passageway to let them know I was now on my way to get a haircut.

Both of the young Marines merely nodded back at me in response as I then turned around and started heading back up the passageway at just about the same that Rika's loud snoring suddenly split the air again behind me, which caused the Marines to snicker loudly at the sound.

Miraculously, I somehow managed to keep my composure as I continued to make my way back down the end of the corridor, and then climbed my way up the steel staircase leading to the upper deck.

Like most ships of her size, the "Bonnie Dick" was pretty much a self-contained floating city that was built with a number of amenities on board, including its own library and barbershop, which the sailor's on board make regular use of daily.

But as soon as I reached the top of the stairway and stepped out onto the upper deck, I was beginning to have my doubts that anyone would actually be available to give me a haircut when or if, I ever arrived at the barber shop, as I tried desperately to avoid being knocked to the ground and trampled by the large throng of people that were moving within the narrow passageway.

And to my surprise, unlike the normal complement of sailors that I was used to seeing aboard a naval vessel, most of the people that I observed moving around in the narrow passageway were not American sailors at all, but were in fact, civilian refugees that had obviously sought refuge aboard the "Bonnie Dick" when the Outbreak began and had been pressed into service by the American Navy personnel.

And as I tried to make my way through the narrow, crowded, corridor filled with a mixture of civilians and ship's crew who kept bumping, kicking, poking, and prodding me every step of the way, I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that before the Outbreak it would have been unheard of to see so many civilians walking around in such secured areas of the ship that had been previously off limits to civilians.

But yet here they were, every one of then carrying an assortment of tools and equipment as they headed off to whatever task they had been assigned, as they all pushed past each other in the narrow corridor and somehow managed to succeed in administering a new bruise to my body along the way.

Henno had briefed me earlier back at the airport about what had happened at the American Naval base when it had been overrun by the Infected, thereby forcing the *"Old Man" to put his ship to sea with hundreds of civilian refugees quaking in fear below the decks of the "Bonnie Dick" and with only sixty percent of his crew left to run the ship.

(*Old Man- Navy-speak referring to the Captain of the ship)

And as I gazed upon the thoroughly confused, and still visibly frightened faces of men and women dressed in various civilian attire filing past me in all directions, I could only imagine the horrors that these people must have endured as they tried to escape the Infected with their families in tow and nothing else in their possession but the clothing on their back.

And then as I gazed upon the grim faces of the ship's crew, I realized that I couldn't even begin to imagine how they were feeling right now with the knowledge that so many of their shipmates had been lost, along who knows how many of their own families' who had been quartered at the naval base when it was overrun.

Yet despite the horrors they had all seen and the horrific loss of their family members and shipmates, the sailors were doing their very best to be patient with their new civilian recruits, who despite their unfamiliarity with the ship as well as the obvious handicap of the language barrier, were all still doing their very best to fulfill the tasks assigned to them.

Yet despite the best efforts of both the crew and their civilian charges to maintain normal ship operations as best they could, it was painfully obvious that all air and sea operations aboard the "Bonnie Dick" were nowhere near what they would have been had the ship's normal complement still been aboard, and only now was I beginning to understand how miraculous our rescue at the airport had been given the circumstances.

After a half hour of pushing past the flow of human traffic moving in all directions, I finally arrived at the barber shop and as luck would have it, found one of the sailors who worked there taking a coffee break.

Exhausted from helping the rest of the ship's crew with handling supplies all day, the sailor was a little reluctant at first to help me out with a haircut, but after a little successful horse trading, he finally agreed to give me a quick haircut as I walked over and sat in one of the large barber chairs, as he threw a drape over me and then went to work on my disheveled mess of hair with an electric trimmer.

After a quick couple of minutes had passed, the sailor then announced that he was done as he then removed the drape from off my shoulders and handed me a small mirror as I gazed at my reflection in the mirror for a long moment in absolute astonishment at the image staring right back at me while he brushed the clippings of hair off my neck and shoulders.

The transformation made to my appearance just from the shave and haircut I had received was nothing short of astounding as I gazed into the mirror and saw that I no longer resembled the same old, burnt-out street thug that I had resembled for so many years, but now I almost looked like the same fresh-faced youth I had been when I first joined the Regiment with the exception of my eyepatch, which still gave my face a fierce-looking appearance, although I no longer appeared anywhere near as grotesque as I had before.

Now feeling completely refreshed and rejuvenated in more ways than one after my shave and haircut, I thanked the young sailor and tipped him with a handful of sterling coins I had found stashed in Jem's rucksack as I then left the small barber shop and proceeded to push and prod my way back down the corridor again for another half hour before practically flying back down the steel staircase as I headed back towards my cabin.

And once I arrived back at my cabin, I wasted no time in quickly donning the crisp new BDU's and combat boots that Dempsey had laid out in the room for me earlier, as an old familiar feeling that I hadn't felt in ages suddenly came rushing back to me as I dressed.

And as I paused a moment from dressing myself, I reflected on the fact that the last time I had felt this way was back in early '07 just before my world had fallen apart all around me, after having been booted out of the SAS.

And yet now by a strange twist of fate, here I was back in the Regiment and would soon be back in action again as I hurriedly finished tying the laces of my new combat boots in triple knots and then stuck them into my boots as I then gazed over at my beret which was still lying on my bunk where I had left it.

I could feel my heart beating rapidly as I gazed over at my beret, and so before I made another attempt to don it, I paused for a moment and took a deep breath to calm myself before I then slowly reached for it.

Unlike earlier when I had first attempted to don my beret, this time my hands were no longer shaking as I gingerly picked up the beret and then walked over to the mirror and carefully placed it on my head before straightening myself up fully and then stared at my reflection in the mirror.

I could even not begin to try to describe my feelings at that moment as I gazed at the reflection of myself standing there in uniform once again as I began to once again feel that same old "aura" that I used to feel so long ago beginning to flow through me once again as I stared at my reflection.

I always knew that the whole "aura" feeling that I always used to feel when I was dressed in uniform was just all in my head, but even now I couldn't help but feel that same old strong surge of confidence and pride that used to course through me before every time I wore my uniform, which was the very same way I was feeling right now, as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

And as I stared into the mirror for a moment longer, I suddenly noticed something else that I hadn't noticed in the reflection of the mirror before, as I immediately whirled around and hurried over to the beaten up old rucksack that was lying next to my bunk.

So enthralled had I been with the sight of my new uniform and the beret earlier, that I hadn't even noticed that the *"Old Man" had also brought me back my old Regiment-issue rucksack that I had left aboard the heli earlier, as I eagerly tore open the ruck and pulled out most of the items lying within and was relieved to find the small black padded case I had concealed at the bottom of my ruck.

*("The Old Man"- In this case, Andrew is referring to Colonel Dempsey)

And upon finding that small padded case still lying there untouched and apparently, undiscovered, I breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that Dempsey had obviously been looking out for me once again because if the Yanks had gotten wind of what lay in the bottom of my ruck, the Captain of the "Bonnie Dick" would have gone absolutely ape shit.

To be honest, given the circumstances you really couldn't blame the crew for not being vigilant about maintaining security after we had boarded the ship, but just the same, I'm sure the Captain of the "Bonnie Dick" would have blown his stack over this particular lapse in security aboard his ship.

At the moment though, I was just grateful that no one had noticed the little black pistol case that was buried at the bottom of my rucksack, although truth be told, I wasn't the only one attempting to smuggle weapons aboard the ship either after having noticed the familiar outline of a pistol bulging at the bottom of Rika's pack while we were still aboard the heli.

Unlike me however, Rika didn't have Colonel Dempsey looking out for her, so I was pretty sure her attempt to smuggle a weapon aboard the "Bonnie Dick" would no doubt prove unsuccessful especially after her clocking that Marine for trying to disarm her, and so I was pretty sure that her pack would no doubt be searched and any smuggled weapons found within would then immediately be confiscated.

Truth be told, it was a good thing that Dempsey had smuggled the ruck into my cabin for me, because if anyone had found out about the weapon I had smuggled aboard, I wouldn't have cared if the entire United States Marine Corps, SEAL Team community and DELTA Force combined had joined forces to try to take it away from me, I would have killed anyone who dared try to confiscate it.

Unlike Rika's smuggled pistol, the pistol that lay in the black padded case at the bottom of my ruck wasn't just any run-of-the-mill object that could be used and then tossed away…and neither was the person it was originally meant for.

From all appearances though, the contents of my ruck appeared to have been untouched, but just the same I double-checked to make sure that the case hadn't been opened and then, once satisfied that it had not been tampered with, I then placed it back in the bottom of my ruck and covered it with some of my personal items.

After that task had been done, I then separated a small leather case from the contents of my ruck and gingerly pulled out a small laminated photo that lay encased within, as I then gazed for a long while at the photograph of my family and I during happier times, which had been taken years earlier before I tragically lost them all.

And I was still gazing fondly at that photo when a soft knock suddenly sounded at my door.

Immediately I tucked the photo into the left breast pocket of my BDU blouse and then hurriedly placed the ruck into one of the two empty steel lockers in the room before I walked over to the door of my cabin and opened it, and saw a face I had thought I would have never seen again in my lifetime.

"Caroline…?!" I said with unmistakable shock in my voice at the sight of the only female member of the 22nd SAS Regiment, who was standing there in the brightly lit corridor dressed in her usual Army-issue dress slacks and black sweater.

"Good to see you too, Andy." Captain Caroline Walshe said crisply in response, as she gazed back at me with all the warmth of an iceberg.

Although Caroline was no commando by any stretch of the imagination, she had been an ever present figure at "22nd Reg" for some time, and although she was a *"ranker" who spent most of her time busy with administrative duties, most of us considered her as being "one of the boys" since she somehow always managed to put up with us, including Jem, without losing her cool.

*("Ranker"- Military slang for Officer)

That's not to say Caroline was a pushover however, in fact, she was actually a pretty tough bird once you got to know her, and she had always made it clear that she wouldn't put up with anyone's shit whenever any of us got too out of line.

Of course, with her being the only woman in an entire Regiment of some of the toughest (and undeniably, horniest) men in the world, you couldn't blame Caroline for always wanting to keep things "professional" between her and the rest of us, although rumor had it that she fancied Jamie, who was the youngest member in RED Troop.

But underneath that frigid personality of Caroline's beat a real heart of gold, and so I knew that there really was no malevolence behind the frigid look she was giving me now, although to be honest, at that exact moment I couldn't remember a time that I was ever so happy to see that same old familiar blood-chilling look on Caroline as I did right now.

"Oh, and congratulations on your return to "22nd Reg", Andy." Caroline added with the beginnings of a slight smile to the corners of her lips which for Caroline, was the equivalent of a bear hug and an open-mouthed kiss.

"Ummm, thanks….Caroline." I replied feeling a little awkward in her presence, part of me wanting to keep it professional, another part of me wanting to scoop her up and give a deep, passionate kiss and jump up and down like a kid and whoop it up until my lungs hurt.

"It really is great to be back..." I finally managed to stammer, feeling about as awkward as I had ever been and completely unsure of what to say next as the icy look on Caroline's face suddenly melted and she gazed at me with a look that seemed almost motherly.

"I've been ordered to escort you to Colonel Dempsey's quarters, Andy..." Caroline said in a more gentle voice as she gestured for me to step outside. "If you'll please follow me? "

"Uhhh…..sure Caroline, lead the way." I said chastising myself mentally for being so tongue-tied, as Caroline merely nodded in response and then began to lead the way down the long narrow passageway as I removed my beret and tucked it into the shoulder strap of my BDU blouse as I followed her.

The trip to Colonel Dempsey's stateroom was a relatively short walk from where the rest of us were quartered of which I was extremely grateful for, considering how awkward the silence between Caroline and I was as we walked down the narrow corridor without a word passing between us.

And once we reached Dempsey's cabin, Caroline then knocked on the door as I heard Dempsey's voice call out from the other side for us to enter, as Caroline opened the door and then gestured for me to enter ahead of her.

"Andy…!" Dempsey said with a big smile on his face as he got up from the chair he was sitting on and then held out his hand to me as Caroline then excused herself and shut the door behind her, leaving the two of us alone.

"How are you, lad? Get any rest at all?" Dempsey asked with a hint of excitement in his voice as he looked me up and down in obvious approval of my now, clean-cut appearance which was a vast improvement from the disheveled-looking character that had come aboard the "Bonnie Dick" earlier.

"Aye, I was able to sack out for a little while, Boss." I replied as Dempsey then offered me a cup of cocoa, which I politely declined.

"Good…good….!" Dempsey replied with a smile, probably still trying to recover from the shock of my transformation. "I was hoping you'd had the opportunity to get some rest, especially after all you've been through, and I really didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping…"

"But when Caroline had mentioned that she had spotted you in the passageway earlier…" Dempsey added. "Well…I was hoping that you and I could have a little chat, before the lads come back from the airport."

"Sure, Boss…." I said suddenly a little concerned over the fact that Dempsey wanted to talk with me privately as he then sat back down on his chair which was next to a small pull-out desk upon which lay a large collection of assorted documents and maps of Japan, as he then gestured for me to sit down on a chair next to him.

Back in Hereford it was extremely rare for Dempsey to ever speak with anyone privately in his office, preferring to speak openly with all of us as a unit instead, unless he wanted to discuss something serious with either Caroline, Henno, or Johnny Bell, the leader of BLUE Troop.

And even though Dempsey was all smiles right now and there was no visible indication that anything was wrong, the alarm bells going off in my head were screaming at me that something was definitely up.

"As I'm sure you're very well aware of, lad…." Dempsey began, a serious look forming on his face. "The military forces of the entire world have experienced enormous casualties as a result of the Outbreak, including the JSDF and all NATO forces in this region of the world."

"And, as you've no doubt noticed with all the civilians aboard this ship whom you've seen working alongside the ship's crew…" Dempsey went on. "This task force itself, has been hit extremely hard as well."

"Yes, sir." I replied starting to grow worried at Dempsey's words as I began to see my dreams of rejoining RED Troop beginning to float away as visions of myself being stuck aboard ship in a support role began to fill my head.

And I shivered at the horrible thought of watching the rest of the lads in RED Troop sauntering past me on their way to another high risk mission, whilst I was forced to stay behind aboard the ship yelling at the civilians in my limited Japanese while I oversaw them carrying out whatever duties the swabbies wanted done, as the "aura" that I had felt upon donning my uniform again, immediately began to disappear.

For those of you who don't know, there's not an active operator in any branch of the service in any military force in the world who would willingly volunteer to be taken out of the field in order to become a "support puke".

And if being reassigned as a translator/supervisor for a bunch of Japanese civilians was indeed what Dempsey had wanted to talk about, I decided right then and there that without even uttering so much as a "f_ck you", I would immediately rush out of Dempsey's cabin and make my way up to the flight deck of the "Bonnie Dick" and fling myself overboard.

"And because of the current situation here in this region of the Pacific…"Dempsey continued as I listened quietly and waited for him to tell me the worst. "…every one of the Special Operations units aboard this ship has been flooded with requests by JSDF and NATO forces to assist in the evacuation of all high-profile assets known to still be alive on the Mainland."

"However, because most of the elite units aboard this ship are engaged in the rescue operation currently underway…" Dempsey said with a tired sigh as my hopes of being an operator again began to rise slightly. "We have very few teams completely intact and readily available to respond to everyone's requests."

"But…" Dempsey said with a hint of a smile on his face. "With the arrival of you and your SAT friends aboard this ship, an opportunity has presented itself that I strongly feel, cannot be ignored."

"An opportunity?" I said with guarded enthusiasm since I was relieved to know that I was more than likely going to be re-instated as an operator again after all, although now I was hoping that it didn't mean that I was now going to be transferred temporarily to another unit somewhere to fill in their ranks, especially to one of the SEAL or Spetznaz teams I knew were on board.

I gotta hand it to the SEALs and the Spetznaz guys, they know their shit and they're aggressive as hell, but those psychotic assholes are absolutely f_cking nuts.

"Yes…" Dempsey replied nodding his head. "After all my boy, you did train some of the SAT members that came with you at Hereford years ago, and since you have also seen them in action these past four days, no doubt you're familiar with their combat capabilities."

"Yes, Boss….they are good troop." I said nodding my head in agreement and secretly breathing a sigh of relief at his words as I realized that whatever it was he wanted, it didn't sound like it would involve me ending up having to fight the "frogs" from trying to jump into every body of water we came across, or worse, be forced to fight the "russkies" over the last bottle of vodka.

"So I'm guessing that the JSDF wants to form the SAT into a commando unit to help aid the other teams in any rescue missions, Colonel?" I asked hoping that if that were indeed the case, then perhaps I would still have a chance to see some action and not spend the entire duration of my time in Japan as a "consultant".

"Actually, the JSDF had originally wanted to place your SAT friends in a support role at the airport…" Dempsey said with a chuckle as my hopes of being an operator or even a friggin' consultant were suddenly dashed all over again.

"A support role?" I said the disappointment in my voice palpable. "Colonel, there's only a handful of them left, what the hell kind of support role could the SAT possibly provide?!"

"What JSDF Command had conceived lad, when I asked them the same question, was that their plan was for the SAT to assist the Americans as interpreters or perhaps, as a security force..." Dempsey said with a smirk obviously having already realized as I did, the ridiculousness of trying to place the few remaining members of the SAT in any type of "support" role.

"However…" Dempsey said suddenly growing serious. "In my explanation to the powers that be at the JSDF, that to use the SAT in such a way would be a terrible waste of such an extremely valuable asset in my humble opinion, and given the present situation with most of our operatives engaged in this current rescue mission, I've come to my own conclusion concerning the future of the SAT."

"Therefore…" Dempsey said looking at me seriously. "As of one hour ago, four members of the SAT have been temporarily attached to the 22nd Regiment, under my command."

"Come again?!" I said in disbelief as Dempsey chuckled at the shocked expression on my face.

"And as soon as the lads return from the airport…" Dempsey said as I continued to gaze at him wide-eyed in shock at his words. "They will all be briefed on what I'm about to tell you, and then all of you and your SAT comrades will be reorganized into two separate teams, with Henry, Pete, Ricky, Jamie, and a couple of your SAT friends making up one team."

"You on the other hand…" Dempsey said with a straight face. "Will be given command of the other team which will be made up of you, Jem, and Alex, and your choice of the remaining SAT operatives."

"Wha…wha….WHAT?!" I finally managed to stammer with disbelief as Dempsey then broke out in laughter.

"That's right lad…" Dempsey said with a chuckle as he held out his hand to me. "You are now the team leader of the newly formed GREEN Troop."

"Congratulations… Sergeant Poynton." Dempsey said grasping my weakly offered hand and pumping it hand up and down vigorously as his referring to me as "Sergeant Poynton" hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt like I was going to fall out of my chair.

And then when Dempsey told me what my first assignment would be as the team leader of the newly formed GREEN Troop,… I almost did.

Location: Several Kilometers South of Takagi Manor

Time: Late Afternoon

Z-Day Plus Four

"It" was starving.

And with each step that "It" took as it headed towards the direction of the faint sounds that "It" and the others following closely behind "It'' had detected earlier in the day, the ever present hunger that was the driving force for all of the Infected was now becoming intolerable as "It" shuffled ever onward in the direction of the cacophony of strange, repetitive, mechanical sounds that had attracted "It" earlier that day.

For some time now the unusual sounds that had attracted "It" and all "It's Infected brethren following closely behind had long since gone silent, and now the only thing driving "It" and all the other Infected forward was the insatiable hunger that had grown to the point of becoming overpowering, as all of the Infected continued to struggle in vain to locate their quarry.

Making detecting their prey even harder now however, was the overpowering roar of the rushing river flowing underneath the long stretch of highway that had been constructed over the three mile wide expanse from which "It" and the other Infected following behind "It", were now traveling across.

And as "It" continued to shuffle forward towards the last known sounds of the prey "It" seeked, the overwhelming hunger in the infected woman's belly that would not allow "It" to deviate from "It's" present course began to affect "It's" behavior in a way none of the Infected had ever displayed before, as "It" began to utter a guttural sound from time to time in response to the increasing hunger in "It's" belly.

A sound which if there had been anyone still human observing from a safe distance, would have described the sound as being akin to the sound of someone in pain.

Hours later, after the small group of Infected had finally crossed over to the other side of the river and had left the drowning roar of the river now far behind them, the lack of any sounds at all continued to frustrate "It's" efforts to located the source of the sounds "It" had heard earlier as "It" continued to shuffle blindly forward.

Finally, after shuffling aimlessly down the abandoned streets of the once bustling neighborhood that had already been ravaged by swarms of Infected days earlier for hours without locating any new sounds, "It's" ravenous hunger finally overwhelmed "It".

And then "It" stopped in "It's" tracks and made a sound in reaction to the insatiable hunger in "It's" belly that was unlike anything ever heard from any of the Infected, as "It" threw back "It's" head.….

And roared.

The roar that came out of the Infected woman was unlike anything ever heard before on earth as the animal-like sound bellowing from "It's" lungs drowned out all other sound around "It" and even intensified as it reverberated off the abandoned buildings all around and echoed for miles as all Infected located within a five-mile radius immediately froze in place in response to the unearthly sound.

And then as one, the thousands of Infected whom had been wandering aimlessly in their constant search for prey slowly began to shuffle towards the source of the roar, as others, whose hunger was far greater than their slower moving brethren, immediately sprinted towards the source of the sound.

Time: Evening – Evening - Hours Later

Z-Day Plus Four

Location: International Waters

Several Hundred Miles North of the Island of Japan

Like an angry leviathan it rose out of the sea, its enormous bulk displacing hundreds of tons of seawater in a huge cloud of spray and foam as it launched its massive bulk clear of the churning sea before its main boosters ignited and hurtled it into the sky, a huge smoke contrail marking its flight path.

And then one by one, eleven more submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles identical to the first erupted from the sea in like manner, all of them rising into the sky like birds taking flight, as their complex guidance systems guided them all in the direction of the small island nation of Japan.

Time: Evening – Present Time

Z-Day Plus Four

Current Location: Ready Room of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 (HSC-25) "Island Knights"

Deck Two of the U.S.S Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) - "The Bonnie Dick"

"Ah, there he is…..Oyyyyy, Andrew-san!" I heard a familiar voice yell out from the other end of the narrow passageway as I looked up and saw Tajima, Colonel Dempsey, and Caroline standing near the doorway leading into the ready room of one of the helicopter squadrons stationed aboard the "Bonnie Dick" that we were temporarily using as our briefing room, as I waved back in response to Tajima's call.

And as I made my way up the passageway towards them, I tried to suppress the shit-eating grin threatening to form on my face as I noticed Rika suddenly pop her head out the door and then stare at me with mouth dropped open in absolute shock at my clean-cut appearance along with my crisp, new uniform as the gears in her head began to click and her look of surprise quickly melted into a warm smile.

"Oh, knock it off…" I growled at Rika as she began to laugh at my visible discomfort from her staring at me as I approached. "Don't be getting all misty on me now, either."

"I can't help it…"Rika said pretending that she was wiping away tears from her eyes. "You just look so dashing in that new uniform you're wearing, I never knew you could be so handsome."

"F_ck you…" I grumbled flipping Rika off as I noticed Caroline, out of the corner of my eye, actually cracking a smile at our little exchange.

"Andrew, my boy…..come in, come in!" Dempsey said clapping me on the back as the four of us then entered the empty ready room that was filled with the delicious aroma of freshly-brewed coffee and assorted pastries that had obviously just been delivered fresh from the oven by one of the mess cooks before I had arrived.

"Care for some coffee, lad?" Dempsey asked me as he gestured towards a large, stainless steel coffee urn mounted on the opposite wall of the wardroom next to a rack holding dozens of clean ceramic cups as I noticed Tajima sitting in one of the large metal chairs reserved for the flight crews, already drinking a large mug of coffee and munching on a donut.

"No thanks, Boss…." I said politely declining his offer as I chuckled at the thought of what would have happened if Jim had been in this room with that huge urn of freshly-brewed coffee and fresh pastries so close by.

Knowing Jim and his extreme fondness for coffee and sweets, I had no doubt in my mind that he would have practically bowled over everyone in a desperate attempt to grab himself a cup of navy coffee, which like the food served below in the galley, was reputed to be the best in the American Military.

"I thought as much…" Dempsey said with a smirk as he reached for one of the ceramic cups on the rack as Caroline and Rika moved past him and then helped themselves to a pastry before Rika then walked over to the row of chairs normally reserved for the flight crews, and sat next to Tajima while Caroline remained standing next to Dempsey.

"I would imagine you would prefer something even stronger after your ordeal, am I right lad?" Dempsey said as he grabbed a cup and turned towards the coffee urn.

"A couple bottles of Jameson's would definitely cure my current ills, yes sir…." I replied as I noticed Rika shoot me a dirty look, no doubt still pretty pissed off at me for getting shit-faced the other day.

"Quite understandable after all you've been through, lad, but I'm afraid this is the strongest the Yanks have to offer us for now..." Dempsey said with a chuckle as he began to pour himself a cup of coffee, the rich aroma filling my nostrils as I chuckled again at the image of Jim sitting there in the room with us with a large mug of coffee in one hand, a donut in the other, and a silly look of contentment plastered all over his face.

"I'm fine, Colonel…thank you." I replied flipping Rika off again as Dempsey grunted in response, completely oblivious to the exchange going on between Rika and I as Caroline gazed at our antics with raised eyebrows, no doubt probably wondering whether the playful banter going on between Rika and I was more than just two friends nit-picking at each other.

"Just before you arrived, Andrew….." Dempsey began his back still turned towards us as he dropped two cubes of sugar into his cup and began to stir the contents, "Caroline and I had a rather pleasant and enlightening conversation with our young representative here from the Japanese Prefectural Police…."

"Oh?" I said discreetly giving Rika the bird again as Rika flipped me off in return and then stuck out her tongue as Caroline rolled her eyes in response, probably realizing that there was absolutely nothing romantic going on between Rika and I, and that we were just a couple of immature idiots screwing around after all.

"Quite…." Dempsey continued as he stopped stirring his cup and then turned to face us. "…and she gave me a rather interesting report about your actions under fire these past few days."

"And I do believe that I agree with Sgt. Minami's recommendation that a commendation would most definitely be in order for your actions in assisting the Japanese Police to secure the civilians trapped on the island…." Dempsey said with unmistakable pride in his voice as he took a sip of the coffee in his cup and then made a sour face.

"Bloody Yanks…!" Dempsey said with disgust as he reached for a small stainless steel pitcher of cream and poured a generous amount of it into his mug as Rika and the others gazed at him with alarm, all of them probably wondering what had set him off so suddenly.

"I admit the food in the American Navy is first-rate…" Dempsey muttered to himself as he took another sip of his mug and then proceeded to pour in even more cream into his coffee mug.

"But I'll never understand their preference for coffee over a nice cup of tea…" Dempsey said as he took another sip and then grunted with distaste as Caroline and I rolled our eyes in response, both of us knowing from experience what had really upset him.

There were very few things in this world that ever bothered Colonel Aidan Dempsey enough to the point that he would ever display any signs of emotion, especially anything extreme like grief or anger, or hell,…even agitation.

But deny him his regular cup of tea, however…

'Anyway, where was I….?" Dempsey said almost absent-mindedly as I tried to keep from laughing at the irony of Dempsey's distaste for coffee while stuck aboard an American naval vessel where coffee was the lifeblood of most of the crew, whereas Jim who had been practically crawling up the walls of the hangar for a cup of coffee, was marooned in a region of the world where a cup of coffee barely existed at all.

"Oh yes…." Dempsey said taking another sip and making another sour face. "As I was saying, Officer Minami here was filling me in with exact details about your contributions in assisting the SAT in securing the civilians, prior to our arrival..."

"And she was also quite detailed in her report as regards your saving the little girl who had become separated from her parents…" Dempsey said with an amused look on his face as I felt my face beginning to burn from embarrassment.

"Just doing what anyone else would have done, boss." I replied with a shrug attempting to appear nonchalant as I flashed Rika a dirty look.

"Yes well, not just anyone would be willing to sacrifice themselves for a single individual when the odds are so highly stacked against any chances for success, lad…" Dempsey added with a chuckle as I noticed Caroline trying to cover the smile on her face with her hand, obviously enjoying the look of discomfort on my face at all the praise I was getting,. "…and Officer Minami also went into further detail about some of the other risky missions you took part in with her and Sgt. Hirakawa, as well."

"And I must say that I especially enjoyed listening to her account about the way you disposed of a large number of the Infected, by blowing up a few of the airport's petrol tankers." Dempsey added with a chuckle as I flashed an angry look at Rika who was giggling her head off as Caroline quickly turned around so that her back was facing us as I noticed her shoulders visibly shaking as she was apparently trying to keep herself from laughing out loud.

"Oh, you know me boss…." I replied as I heard Rika and Tajima chuckling behind me as I moved my arm behind my back so no one could see me flipping them off. "I've always loved blowing shit up whenever the opportunity presents itself, like that mission back in Iraq…remember?

"Quite fondly, as a matter of fact…." Dempsey replied with a smirk as Caroline turned around, her face visibly red from trying to stifle her laughter as I realized then what a terrible mistake I had made in bringing up that particular incident.

"If that mission isn't classified…would you mind telling us what happened on that mission exactly?" Tajima piped up eagerly from his chair as I sucked in my breath realizing that I had just put my foot in my mouth and now my back was against the wall with no visible way out.

"Uhmmmm…it's really not worth mentioning." I said trying to discreetly back pedal my way out of the conversation, as I heard Caroline suddenly make a choking noise and then began to cough repeatedly.

"Sorry…" Caroline said as she tried to compose herself and fooling absolutely no one from the fact that her coughing was a weak attempt to keep herself from laughing out loud as I gave her a dirty look, all the while knowing this was all my own fault for not keeping my mouth shut.

"Are you alright, Caroline..?" Dempsey said with a grin teasingly as Caroline glanced up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Quite…*cough*… alright…*cough*… sir…" Caroline said between coughs as she fanned herself with her hand. "Just my…*cough*… allergies bothering me…*cough*… again."

"Right…" Dempsey said with a knowing twinkle in his eyes as he then glanced over at me with a big shit-eating grin. "Go ahead Andy, I'm sure our SAT comrades would love to hear the details of that particular operation."

"Yes, Andy…*cough*…please do…*cough*…go on…." Caroline said with a thin smile trying to catch her breath as I noticed Rika and Tajima exchanging looks with each other and wondering what the hell was so funny that would even Caroline "Ice Queen" Walshe could barely control herself.

"It all happened back in 2006, when I was on a recon mission with RED Troop….." I began, wishing even more that I had kept my mouth shut as I began to feel my face beginning to burn with embarrassment as Tajima and Rika listened intently.

"It was late afternoon, and we had just come up over a hill near the main road leading into Baghdad when we happened to spot a fuel tanker that was stranded on the side of the highway..." I continued as Rika and Tajima leaned over in their chairs.

"And as we observed the goings on from our concealed position, we then began to realize that the tanker had not accidentally run off the road, but had actually been ambushed…. "I said feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way Rika and Tajima were hanging on to my every word like two kids listening to a ghost story by the campfire.

"And the reason we came to that conclusion was because we saw that the people milling around the tanker were not locals, but were actually a group of Al-Qaeda bastards trying to siphon off the gas from the tanker to use for their explosives and other IED's as such."

"Well naturally we couldn't just let them carry on with their task…." I continued wishing that I could be somewhere else and vowing to make Caroline and Dempsey pay dearly for my embarrassment someday. "But the problem was, the two *LAWs we had carried for the mission had already been expended."

"So what did you do?" Rika said her eyes shining with anticipation.

"Well, basically I took aim with my M203 and plopped an *HE round down right on top of the tanker blowing them all up in the process." I replied flatly, hoping that I wouldn't be pressed into revealing any more details.

*(LAW- Light Anti-Tank Weapon- A shoulder-fired rocket housed in a disposable, Fiberglas tube)

*(HE Round- High Explosive Round)

"And nearly blew yourself and the rest of the lads in RED Troop along with it, lad…." Dempsey said with a chuckle, obviously not going to let me get off that easy as Rika and Tajima immediately burst into laughter as I sat there quietly trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Ah yes, and according to RED Troop's after-action report…" Dempsey continued after the laughter had died down a bit as I felt what dignity I had left beginning to drain away at Dempsey's words.

"The resulting explosion from Andrew's little stunt leveled everything within a 500 meter radius…" Dempsey added as Caroline made another strangling noise again and grabbed a cloth napkin from off the table and covered her mouth."

"And the resulting flash of heat from the burning fuel resulted in several members of RED Troop having to be immediately extracted for treatment at the base hospital for first and second degree burns, including Andrew." Dempsey added as I noticed Rika suddenly start shaking her head in disgust.

"That comes as no surprise…." Rika said sarcastically as she felt the back of her head with her right hand. "My hair has been a casualty of Andrew-san's "enthusiasm" twice, since he's been with us."

"Hey, I apologized for all that!" I snapped at Rika as she flipped me off in response.

"Consider yourself lucky, lass…." Dempsey said with a laugh as he turned back towards the counter and helped himself to a raisin muffin and patted Caroline on the shoulder as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Before Andrew came to RED Troop, Sgt. Garvie used to have a full head of hair."

"That was an accident…!" I said testily as I glanced over at Rika and Tajima who were shaking their heads as Caroline covered her mouth with her napkin again, to muffle her laughter.

"We were in the middle of a nasty firefight and we were about to be overrun, and I distinctly remember yelling "CLEAR BEHIND" before I fired that LAW, and Henno should have known better than to stand so damn close to me at the time." I said trying desperately to redeem myself as Rika merely rolled her eyes at me in response.

"I'm afraid when it comes to explosives, Andrew just can't help himself, my dear." Dempsey said with a smirk as he reached over and patted Rika sympathetically on the shoulder. "Best you mind your hair, and your hide whenever Andrew gets his hands on anything high-explosive if you wish to keep either one, lass."

"I'll certainly keep that in mind, Colonel." Rika said as she turned and gave me the stink-eye.

"Anyway, before we go any further off topic…" Dempsey said as he motioned for me to sit as Caroline finally managed to compose herself and then reached for a leather case filled with manila folders. "I'm sure all three of you are quite aware after your debrief earlier with Military Intelligence, of just how dire the situation has become around the world?"

"Yes, sir..." Rika and Tajima replied as I took a seat next to them.

"Good…then I'm sure that all of you are also aware that because of the resulting decimation of much of the world's military resources in attempts to control this "Contagion"…" Dempsey continued as Caroline began to separate three folders from the case and then waited for Dempsey to finish. "…that NATO has been hard-pressed to use whatever resources it has available to help its allies in this disaster, including the pressing of civilians into military service as you've no doubt already observed."

"Yes sir, we did notice the rather large number of refugees working amongst the crew aboard this ship." Tajima replied nodding his head. "I imagine the American's ability to properly continue routine operations aboard ship cannot be easy given the civilians lack of experience aboard a naval vessel, not to mention the language barrier problem."

"Lad,… that would be an understatement." Dempsey said with a chuckle as he glanced over at me. "Which brings me to the reason as to why I have asked for the two of you here, as well as Andy."

"When I spoke to JSDF Command regarding you and your fellow officers…" Dempsey continued gesturing towards Rika and Tajima. "The Commander I spoke to said that as of this time, any and all surviving members of the Japanese Police Force who are found, were to be advised that they are being placed on standby until a representative from the Prefectural Police can be found to decide what will be your next assignment."

"Standby…?" Tajima said as he and Rika looked at Dempsey with puzzled expressions on their faces. "If things are as bad as you've said Colonel, and most of our Police Force is now missing or dead, just what the hell good does it do anyone if we just sit on our asses and wait for someone to assume command over us while the world falls apart?!"

"My thoughts exactly…" Dempsey replied nodding his head. "And I as much said so when I spoke to the Commander."

"And…?" Tajima asked inquisitively as he and Rika leaned closer in their seats.

"And, he suggested that perhaps we could use all of you to help control the civilians onboard this ship in the meantime, until all of you can be transferred off this ship to your next assignment…." Dempsey said flatly.

"And then after I explained to him that all of you were members of the SAT, he then became very irritable for some reason and then offered the suggestion that all of you could then perhaps be assigned to aid with ship's security before he then stated that he had other more important matters to attend to, and then broke off all communication."

"What an asshole…" Rika said bitterly as Dempsey smirked in response.

"Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing after our little exchange, Sgt. Minami…" Dempsey said matter-of-factly as he took another sip of coffee and made a face. "Although given the enormous difficulties the Americans are having with trying to maintain normal ship operations and still try to maintain security with so many civilians onboard, I would have to admit, he did have a very valid point."

"So based on the Commander's suggestion, I'm guessing that you want us to assist the Americans by acting as interpreters for them then, Colonel…?" Rika said crestfallen as Tajima sank in his seat with disappointment.

"I must say that after all you and your colleagues have been through defending all those survivors alone on that island for the past few days, that merely tossing you both off to work as interpreters would be an enormous waste of such a highly-trained group of operators… wouldn't you agree, Sergeant Minami?" Dempsey said with a wink as Rika's eyebrows rose as her curiosity suddenly piqued.

"Which now brings us to the two of you…" Dempsey said with a smile forming on his face as Tajima and Rika both suddenly straightened up in their chairs upon realizing that perhaps purgatory aboard the "Bonnie Dick" as interpreters was not going to be their fate, after all.

"As of this moment in time…" Dempsey continued. "Red Troop, along with operators from Delta Force and SEAL Team Two are currently still on station at the airport assisting the remaining Marine contingent, in keeping the survivors secure."

"And they will continue to stay there on station at the airport until this task force can launch their landing craft so that the remaining Marine Expeditionary Force can make a clean sweep of the entire island…" Dempsey added. "…and when that is done, they will then assist the demolition teams to seal off what service tunnels leading to the Mainland are left, so that the island is sealed off from the Mainland altogether."

"In the meantime…" Dempsey said as he gestured towards me. "The remaining Special Operations teams still aboard this ship are being held in reserve for a series of rescue missions that are to take place once the airport has been secured, and flight operations can once again be resumed there."

"Unfortunately, with our limited manpower situation, there are presently not enough Special Operations personnel available on board to take part in all the missions we've been asked to undertake…" Dempsey said gazing at Rika and Tajima with a tired look. "And as you can see, Andrew Caroline and I, are the only representatives of British Special Operations left aboard this ship."

"Andrew, as I'm sure both of you have already noticed…" Dempsey said as he gestured to me and then winked. "Has been reinstated back into the SAS under my command, and has also been promoted to the rank of Sergeant, with all privileges and benefits entitled to someone of his rank."

"Really?" Tajima said with a mischievous grin. "And here I thought he had just stolen a uniform out of someone's locker."

"Yeah, right here buddy…right here." I said sourly to Tajima as I gave him the bird.

"Ah, I'm just kidding, Andrew-san …" Tajima said with a grin as he held out his hand to me. "Congratulations….Sergeant Poynton-san."

"Yeah…all kidding aside, congratulations Andrew-san…." Rika said holding out her hand as I shook Tajima's and then Rika's hand as the both of them then began acting as if I had just won the lottery, which I had to admit, felt about right.

"Yes, and as Andy's first assignment as Sergeant…" Dempsey interrupted as Rika and Tajima then quieted down. "Andrew has been assigned to put a team together to assist in the evacuation of a certain high-profile asset and his family whom your government believes may still be alive on the Mainland."

"Which is where the two of you now come in…" Dempsey added gazing at Rika and Tajima with a serious look as I watched with glee as their eyes suddenly widened upon realizing what he was implying.

"I've already spoken to Commander Nanahara regarding the two of you…." Dempsey continued unable to hide the large smirk on his face at the stunned looks on Rika and Tajima's faces. "And he seemed to be very enthusiastic when I requested for the both of you to be temporarily attached to my Command."

"Actually, overjoyed would have been the word I'd have used to describe his reaction, Boss…" I chimed in with no small amount of sarcasm as Rika and Tajima flashed me a dirty look, all of us knowing just how eagerly Nanahara had been trying to get them out of his hair, especially after the whole "Mr. Cuddles" fiasco.

"Quite…" Dempsey replied chuckling under his breath upon noticing the dirty looks being tossed at me.

"Be that as it may…" Dempsey continued. "The fact of the matter is, I currently find myself in desperate need of "shooters", and based upon my own observation of your performance when the two of you were training with us at Hereford, I have agreed with Andy's recommendation of having the both of you temporarily assigned to "22nd Reg" for the time being."

"Sergeant Minami, Sergeant Hirakawa…Welcome to the Regiment." Dempsey said offering his hand to Rika and Tajima, as both of them sat in stunned silence for a moment before finally shaking his hand as I then offered my hand to them as well.

"Yeah, welcome aboard, you two…" I said shaking both of their hands as I then leaned up closer to both of them until I was inches away from their faces.

"But don't start getting any ideas that just because I asked for the two of you to be on my team that I'm gonna take it easy on your sorry asses, though…" I said with a growl. "From now on your skinny butts belong to me."

"Ah yes…now that you've tasted the honey…" Dempsey said with a grin as he observed Rika and Tajima exchange uneasy glances with each other as my words began to sink in. "Now comes the vinegar."

"Unfortunately, due to the seriousness of our current situation and our present lack of experienced "shooters"…" Dempsey began as Rika and Tajima continued to listen quietly from their seats. "We really have very little time to spend on bringing the both of you up to speed on the way we operate, so as the Americans say, you'll need to "hit the ground running."

"Understood, sir…" Rika and Tajima replied as Dempsey nodded in acknowledgement as he then motioned to Caroline who then walked over and handed the manila folders she had been carrying to Rika, Tajima, and I.

"I've already briefed Andy about this mission that all of you are about to participate in…" Dempsey continued as Rika and Tajima immediately flipped their folders open and began to leaf through the small collection of type-written files and copies of photographs lying within. "So this briefing will be strictly for your benefit."

"As you were all informed in your debriefing earlier today… Dempsey said as Rika and Tajima looked up from their information packets. "Currently this task force and several other *JMSDF ships patrolling just north of here, are the only NATO presence in this region of the Pacific, with the majority of the American Seventh Fleet still currently steaming towards the Hawaiian Islands, enroute to their base at Pearl Harbor."

*(JMSDF) – Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces)

"Before they left however, they did assist the JSDF and the JMSDF in evacuating the Imperial family as well as most of Japan's political officials to a secure location at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa …" Dempsey went on. "However, as you can see from your information packets, there are still some high-profile political assets and their families still stranded in this region of the Mainland which your government has requested that we extract, immediately."

"Of course…" Dempsey said waving his hand in the air. "With all of our air and sea assets currently engaged in re-taking the airport, my first response to your government officials was to inquire as to just how exactly did they expect us to accomplish that?"

"Colonel, are you saying that our top priority right now is to extract politicians who were too stupid to evacuate when things started getting bad four days ago?" Tajima said in disbelief as I noticed a visible look of disgust forming on Rika's face as well. "The mission we're being given is to rescue them, and not help in the rescue of any civilians who may still be trapped in the city?"

"Believe me when I tell you that we understand your feelings on this matter, lad…" Dempsey replied with sympathy as he glanced over at me, both of us completely sympathetic to Tajima's frustration with his government's wasteful use of valuable military resources to aid only a privileged few, when literally thousands of helpless victims were in need of aid which was a situation we had experienced many times before.

"But rest assured, as soon as is humanly possible, this task force will assist the JSDF in locating any survivors still trapped in the city, and we will be extracting them to a more secure location if any are found." Dempsey replied as Rika and Tajima silently fumed in their seats.

"As you can see on this map, we already have dozens of reports of several sites located throughout this city alone that currently are rumored to hold dozens, if not hundreds, of survivors at each location…" Dempsey said as he pointed to a large map of Tokonosu City that had been taped to the large chalkboard mounted on the front of the ready room, where several areas in different parts of the city were marked with red circles.

"Unfortunately as I mentioned before, with most of our sea and air assets currently engaged in re-claiming the airport, any rescue efforts to extract survivors at any of these locations will have to wait until the airport is secured for us to use as our base of operations before we can hope to execute any large-scale rescue missions." Dempsey said with a sigh as I noticed Rika and Tajima appearing as if they were about to explode.

"In the meantime…" Dempsey added noticing the visible frustration on Rika and Tajima's faces. "At the request of the Prime Minister and the Emperor himself, I have been given the go ahead to assemble a team together to extract a certain high-profile asset and his family, whose identity you'll find in the mission packet you've been given."

"Soichiro Takagi?" Rika said aloud as she pulled out the bio-sheet on Soichiro Takagi and then spread out the profile photographs taken of him, his wife Yuriko, and their daughter Saya, as she and Tajima began to study the background info on the entire family.

"Yes…" Dempsey said nodding his head as Rika and Tajima kept on reading. "And based upon the conversation I just had with the Prime Minister, extracting Mr. Takagi and his family is of the utmost importance, which is why his extraction is being expedited as soon as all of you are ready."

"Forgive me for asking Colonel…" Tajima said raising a finger in the air. "But if this man is so high-profile, why not send any of the other teams to extract him and his family since we're obviously not ready for deployment yet?"

"That subject was brought up in a briefing I had with Andrew earlier while all of you were still asleep…" Dempsey replied. "And Andrew shared your concern in sending all of you out on such a possibly high-risk mission, before all of you were ready."

"The fact of the matter is, every team aboard this ship, including the GSG-9 and Spetznaz teams are currently committed to the rescue missions that they've already been assigned to…" Dempsey continued. "Which left only GREEN Troop and the Japanese Special Forces team available at this time."

"However, the Japanese SF team aboard this ship is currently preparing for a mission at this location over here…" Dempsey replied as he turned to face the map taped to the chalkboard and then tapped on one of the many red circles drawn on it. "And the reason they have been assigned this particular mission is because they have been tasked with helping over thirty members of the Prefectural Police to secure a rather large amount of survivors who sought shelter in a public school there and became trapped."

"How large?" Rika asked frowning as she looked up from reading her files.

"The JSDF has been maintaining regular contact with the police lieutenant located there…" Dempsey replied. "And based on his last report there are currently over three thousand men, women, and children stranded there presently, with survivors trickling in daily."

"Three thousand?!" Rika replied in disbelief as Tajima let out a low whistle.

"At last count…yes." Dempsey replied grimly as Rika settled back in her chair, no doubt wondering why the hell were we risking our asses over Soichiro Takagi and his family, when over three thousand *civies were in desperate need of help.

*(Civies- Slang for civilians)

"Obviously the successful evacuation of those survivors will take considerable resources not unlike our current operation at Tokonosu Airport…" Dempsey added. "And that being the case, the Japanese team requested that they be allowed to deploy to that location in order to spearhead rescue efforts there."

"And since they, like us, are waiting for air assets to transport them there…" Dempsey continued. "They will be leaving for their mission immediately, which is one of the reasons why Andy's team is being tasked with extracting Mr. Takagi and his family."

"But the main reason for GREEN Troop's being given this assignment is Andy's previous experience as a member of Mr. Takagi's Security team…" Dempsey added as Rika and Tajima's heads snapped up as they gazed at me with unmistakable curiosity about my past involvement with our so-called *"package".

*(Package- Special Forces term for VIP)

"And since Andy is so intimately familiar with your "package"…" Dempsey continued. "Sending his team out on this mission seemed to be the most logical choice."

"How many of us will be going in, Colonel?" Tajima asked. "Is it just going to be the three of us, or will the rest of your men be arriving before we depart, to support us?"

"RED Troop will be given another assignment as soon as they've returned to the ship and have had a chance to rest and refit from their current mission." Dempsey replied glancing down at his watch.

"And once they've returned, two members of RED Troop along with the three of you will make up the team assigned to extract Mr. Takagi and his family from their dwelling located on the map that has been included in your packet." Dempsey added as he pointed to another red circle on the map behind him.

"What about back-up?" Rika asked still scanning through the papers in her packet. "Will we have any ground support at all?"

"Your support will consist of whatever Marines we can find available who will be traveling aboard the transport helicopters, as well as whatever air support we can manage to scramble together to serve as your escort." Dempsey said as I noticed a frown suddenly appear on Rika's face.

"Colonel, it says here that he has over thirty people working on his staff at the mansion…" Rika said as she held up a sheet of paper she had been reading. "Is there going to be any provision made to extract these people as well?"

"Mr. Takagi and his family are our top priority, Sergeant Minami…" I said interrupting as Rika glanced ever at me in response. "Anyone and anything else, is secondary."

"Andrew is quite correct…" Dempsey said as Rika and Tajima then gazed over at him in disbelief. "As far as your government is concerned, the extraction of Mr. Takagi and his family take precedence over anything, or anyone else on this mission."

"But…!" Rika began in protest as Dempsey held up his hand.

"I understand your frustration, Sergeant Minami…" Dempsey said with visible sympathy. "And believe me when I tell you that I don't agree with your Government's decision on this myself."

"But, sir…!" Rika said in exasperation as I suddenly snapped my fingers at her, which completely caught her by surprise.

"That's the job, kiddies…" I said in a cold voice as Rika and Tajima both looked at me visibly stunned by the implications of what Dempsey and I were saying. "Opinions, ethics, and any sense of morality you might have, don't mean jack shit on this mission."

"Your job is to follow the orders given you, do them to the best of your ability, and keep any moral objections you might have to your f_cking selves." I growled as they gazed at me, tight-lipped.

"You guys want to be part of my team, you better start getting used to that…" I said gazing back at them coldly as the looks of enthusiasm that had been present on their faces earlier about working with the SAS completely disappeared as Rika and Tajima sank back in their seats, looking completely dejected.

"This is bullshit…" Rika said her anger beginning to surface. "How can we be expected to take part in a mission to save one man and his family and do nothing to help anyone else who might be trapped there?!"

"Ours is not to question why, Minami-san…" Tajima replied sourly as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Ours is to do or die."

"Indeed…" Dempsey said as he gazed upon the dejected faces of the two SAT officers and then winked over at me, as I nodded in response and then grinned at Rika and Tajima.

"Yeah, we thought it was bullshit too, Rika…" I said trying hard to keep from bursting out in laughter at the look of hate on Rika's face.

"Which is why the Colonel went over the heads of those assholes at JSDF Command and requested the Marine Commander aboard this ship that we would require at least two of his Sea Knight transport helicopters in order for us to extract everyone that might be still located at the mansion." I said as Rika and Tajima then both gazed at me with looks of utter confusion on their faces as Caroline, Dempsey, and I could no longer control ourselves and burst into laughter.

"They seem to be a little slow to catch on, Andy…are you sure that you want them on your team, after all?" Dempsey said chuckling as Rika and Tajima finally began to realize they'd been had, as Rika tried to sputter something angrily in Japanese and then flipped me off, immediately making the three of us roar with laughter again.

"You assholes!…..I mean,…sorry Colonel…..I mean…Andrew you asshole!" Rika finally managed to say in English still extremely pissed off at the way Dempsey and I had tricked her and Tajima, although I could tell from the looks of relief present on both of their faces that they were both extremely relieved that we were not the cold-blooded pricks they thought we were.

"That wasn't funny, you dick!" Rika said as she and Tajima finally began to laugh as well at our prank. "I was really beginning to think you people were a bunch of cold-hearted bastards after all!"

"All joking aside Sergeant Minami, this is the SAS, lass…" Colonel Dempsey said with a thin smile as he gazed directly into Rika's eyes. "Not the SS."

"We carry out our orders in the most proficient manner possible…" Dempsey added tapping on the photo of Soichiro Takagi lying on the table. "But the manner in how we do it, is entirely up to us."

"However…." Dempsey added. "There are times when the mission, and most importantly, the other members of you team must take priority over everything else, which means there may be times you may be forced to do things you would not normally want to do, in order for the mission to succeed."

"And in those times, if Andrew or I give you a direct order on a mission there can be no hesitation or argument whatsoever on your part, is that understood?" Dempsey said with all seriousness. "You must have absolute trust in your team leader, your teammates, and me if you're going to work with us, otherwise I would highly suggest that you reconsider our offer for the both of you to be on Andy's team."

"Understood, Colonel…Tajima said after a long moment as he nodded over at Rika as they both then rose to their feet.

"Sgt. Minami and Sgt. Hirakawa reporting for duty, sir…!" Rika said smartly as she and Tajima snapped to attention and then snapped a salute to Dempsey as he rose to his feet and returned their salute and then gestured for them to sit back down.

"Happy to have you both on board…" Dempsey replied with a wink. "And by the way, no need to be so formal, we do insist on maintaining professionalism in the Regiment, but we prefer keeping things simple without any unnecessary gestures of military formality, or protocol."

"Understood, sir!" Rika and Tajima said crisply as I rolled my eyes in response, promising myself to smack either one of them on the head the first chance I got.

When I had been stuck on the island for the past three days, Rika, Tajima, and the rest of the police had seriously begun to get on my nerves with all that saluting and "Yes, sir…No, sir" crap they did all the time, and if these two didn't want to find themselves being flung out the open cabin door of our heli, they were damn well going to have to learn to unpucker their rectums and knock off that silly-ass, Military Academy drill squad bullshit, but quick.

"Well, what say we get down to business then, shall we?" Dempsey said clapping his hands together and rubbing them.

"Yes, sir…" Rika and Tajima replied in unison as I shook my head again in disgust.

"Since Andy is to be your team leader on this mission…" Dempsey said gesturing towards me. "I'll let him to explain the details of the mission plan for the extraction of Mr. Takagi and his party."

"All yours, lad…"Dempsey said as I nodded in response and then gazed over at Rika and Tajima and prepared to go over my *OP plan with them.

*(OP Plan- Operations Plan)

"Actually, before you start Andrew-san, I have another question…" Tajima said before I could even open my mouth. "You said there would be at least two transport helicopters for this mission?"

"Correct…" I replied slightly annoyed at Tajima for interrupting me before I could even begin explaining the details of the OP plan which would have answered his question eventually if he hadn't interrupted me in the first place. "…we'll be using the same type of heli that we flew aboard on the way over here, which is capable of transporting sixty people at a time."

"That's what I thought…" Tajima said with a frown. "And if that's the case, just exactly how many people are we expecting to find when we get there?"

"When I was Mr. Takagi's bodyguard, he had over thirty people in his staff, not including their families…" I replied trying my best to be patient knowing that it was Rika and Tajima's first official OP with the Regiment, and they were both a little over-enthusiastic about being selected for my team, which would have been okay with me at any other time, but seeing as how this was my first OP as the team leader of GREEN Troop and Colonel Dempsey and Caroline were sitting in the same room watching me, right now Tajima was really starting to piss me off with all his interruptions.

"And knowing Mr. and Mrs. Takagi the way I do, I have no doubt that when the Outbreak began, they immediately started making provision for the families of their staff to take shelter at the mansion as well." I added as I slowly counted from one to ten in my head as I resisted the urge to tell Tajima to shut the f_ck up so I begin with my discussion of the OP plan.

"But based upon the information we have at hand…" I continued patiently. "There's no way of knowing exactly how many may be there when we arrive, since the last report we were given by the Japanese Secret Service was that Soichiro Takagi and his family were not on the list of those who had been evacuated to Okinawa with the other officials, and it is presumed that he and his party are still there awaiting rescue."

"You mean he might not even be there?!" Rika said in disbelief. "Why risk sending a team out on a rescue mission if we're not even sure of his whereabouts?!"

"Because I know the man…" I said with a bit of a hard edge in my voice as my patience started to run out with all these interruptions, something I know Henno would have never tolerated if he had been the team leader on this OP.

Ah well, guess I'm getting soft in my old age.

"And believe me, that guy would sooner fight an entire city of Infected bare-handed, than risk his family's lives by attempting to move them from the security of his own home." I added as Rika and Tajima listened intently. "And if he is still alive, then he knows better than anyone that he's in the safest place there is in the city and that his best chance for survival is to dig in like a tick in that mansion of his, until help arrives."

"If that's true, then do you think there might be more than just his family and his staff there?" Rika asked leaning forward in her chair as I resisted the urge to smack her on the top of her head with the manila folder in my hand. "Are you sure two transports will be enough if we find that he has friends and neighbors locked in there with him, or perhaps other people seeking shelter?"

"Minami-san is right…" Tajima added the frown on his face deepening, although not nearly as much as the scowl on mine was. "Wouldn't it be better to try to establish communications first or do a fly-by over his mansion at least before committing ourselves to something like this?"

"No shit, Sherlock…!" I snapped in irritation as I then immediately tried to calm myself knowing that everything Rika and Tajima were just being thorough by asking the questions they did, but oh, sweet merciful crap, how f_cking stupid did they think we were not to have thought of those same things ourselves?

"Establishing communication with Mr. Takagi and his staff have been all but impossible at this point due to the crisis at hand…"Dempsey interjected noticing that I was about to lose my cool with Rika and Tajima as they turned to face him, while I tried desperately to calm myself.

"We have tried to contact Mr. Takagi's nearest relative whom just happens to be a General in the JSDF, but because of the devastating losses the JSDF has experienced, communication between the different elements within the JSDF has been difficult, if not impossible, and so unfortunately we currently do not know the whereabouts of General Isorhoku Ihara, at this present time." Dempsey added as I noticed Caroline looking on with amusement at my frustration.

"What about a fly-by?" Rika asked as I rolled my eyes in disgust. "Can't a military aircraft or even a drone make a pass over the mansion, just to be sure someone's even there?"

"Oh, thank you Rika….gee whiz, you are ever so f_cking helpful….wow, why didn't we f_cking think of that?!" I said sarcastically under my breath as daggers flew from my eyes at Rika.

"All aircraft and *UAV's are currently unavailable right now due to the present crisis, unfortunately, Sgt. Minami…" Dempsey said smirking at my visible irritation with Rika's stupid-ass question and all the other idiotic interruptions that had taken place.

"Currently all manned aircraft, UAV, and satellite imagery is currently concentrated on the movements of the Infected as well as any other strategic use the JSDF has in mind." Dempsey added. "And it is unknown at this time when we will be able to commandeer any UAV's for our own use."

*(UAV – Acronym for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle- Commonly referred to as a "drone")

"The truth is we don't have a f_cking clue if he's there or not…!" I snapped finally losing my patience. "But the fact of the matter is, he and his family are the mission, and their last known whereabouts are that they are still secure within the walls of their home, and so we are gonna go over there and get them whether you think they are there or not…got it?!"

"You don't gotta like it, you just gotta do it." I said absentmindedly quoting one of Jim's favorite quotes he had read about in the biography of one of his SEAL heroes Richard Marcinko, the founder and former Commander of SEAL Team Six.

"Now before the two of you decide to ask another stupid ass question again…" I growled just as Tajima and Rika were about to open their mouths again. "I would appreciate it if you can find it within yourselves to shut the f_ck up for a couple of minutes so I can at least tell you about how this OP is gonna go down first, before you two start complaining about how much you don't f_cking agree with it!"

"Sorry…" Tajima said raising his hands in surrender as I glared at him and Rika for a long moment before I opened up my manila folder and prepared to give my briefing.

"Wait, I have one more question…" Rika began holding her hand up like a little kid in grade school as I, without realizing it, began to roll the manila folder in my hands into a make-shift club to smack Rika with.

"Oh my, imagine that, Rika has another f_cking question…" I said with heavy sarcasm as I rolled my eyes, already knowing exactly what Rika was about to ask. "Pray tell, whatever could it be about?"

"Sorry…I just wanted to know what are we going to use for weapons on this operation since all of our weapons were confiscated when we came on board…?" Rika asked calmly despite my sarcasm. "I mean seriously, what do you expect us to use on this mission, Andrew-san…harsh language?"

"We'll f_cking get to that f_ucking part after I f_cking finish f_cking briefing you f_cking guys about the f_cking OP plan for the f_cking mission…!" I growled at Rika in annoyance, the eyelid of my one remaining eye beginning to twitch in irritation. "And then after I'm f_cking done with that, then we'll f_cking see what we can f_cking do about f_cking satisfying that f_cking gun fetish of yours, okay?!"

"Now will you two shut the f_ck up already, so I can get on with this…?!" I snapped, ignoring the dirty look Rika shot at me as I was about to try once more to lay out all the details of my OP Plan when suddenly the sound of the *1MC screaming out an alert followed by the sound of an electric gong blasting over the loudspeaker sent the entire ship into complete chaos.

*(1MC- 1 Main Circuit- The Ship's Public Address System)

Time: Evening – Moments earlier

Z-Day Plus Four

Current Location: Bridge of the U.S.S Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) - "The Bonnie Dick" (LHD-6)

"SIGNAL ALL SHIPS! CLEAR THE DECKS! SOUND GENERAL QUARTERS!" Captain Chandler roared his voice echoing loudly on the bridge as the *XO quickly reached for the handset of the 1MC as everyone within earshot began scrambling to carry out their battle station assignments that they had trained on dozens of times before as the roar of the XO's voice sounded through every loudspeaker on the ship.

*(XO- Executive Officer or Second-In-Command- In this case, Cmdr. Mike Slattery)

Time: Present Time

Z-Day Plus Four

Current Location: Ready Room of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 (HSC-25) "Island Knights"

Deck Two of the U.S.S Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) - "The Bonnie Dick"

"WHAT THE F_CK NOW?!" I swore in frustration at being interrupted again for the thousandth time already, my irritation at being interrupted while trying to give my very first OP plan as the new team leader of GREEN Troop finally overwhelming me as I threw the manila folder in the seat next to me in disgust as I sank in my chair.

While Rika and Tajima both had the same "deer in the headlight" look on their faces from the alarm going off, I on the other hand, viewed the repeated blaring of the alarm as merely an annoyance since I had heard that same call for the crew to go to battle stations before on previous voyages aboard the "Bonnie Dick", and at first I thought it was just another ship's drill in progress as we heard the ship's crew hurrying to their battle stations.

But it wasn't until what was said next over the 1MC, that I finally realized that what was taking place, was no drill.

"GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! CLEAR THE DECKS! ALL HANDS MAN YOU'RE BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! All HANDS MAN YOU'RE BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"SECURE ALL WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS! ALL DAMAGE CONTROL PARTIES, MAN YOU'RE STATIONS!"

But as alarming as it was to finally realize that what was happening was not a drill and was indeed an actual emergency taking place, it was the last thing the XO said over the 1MC that chilled me to my very bone.

"ALL HANDS PREPARE FOR INCOMING NUCLEAR MISSILE ATTACK!"

"Oh thunder f_ck." I muttered to myself as the horror of what was really happening outside finally hit me as well as everyone else in the room, as we then all gazed at each other with absolute terror in our eyes.

Author's Notes:

I was trying very hard to do the whole EMP portion in one last chapter, but considering how big it got, I had to split this chapter up…again.

The second half of this chapter will be finished and posted in August.

Sorry for the delay.