2016 August

Act I - The Early Days

California

"Aye, sir." David said, mimicking the general Federation accent as best he could.

David had already dropped 3 Federation soldiers since emerging from the violent river. He'd gotten out of it luckily - the raging waters had nearly killed him. But David was determined; he wouldn't die until he got some real payback against the Federation. Right now, he was in a strong position to do just that - kill all of these soldiers he'd snuck his way into working with.

That wouldn't prove fruitful. It would jump amp up Federation presence, and he would probably never find Logan.

His 'squad' had encountered a Federation sergeant who was in pursuit of Logan, and for the time being, David needed the man's help. As soon as they found Logan, David would put an end to this charade and shake himself free of this uniform.

David hadn't exactly enlisted into the military, but he knew a good deal of small-based infantry tactics from what Dad had taught him. The Federation sergeant was the only one who seemed to have some skill, from what David could tell. The rest of their soldiers seemed like more of a militia force rather than a professionally trained military. It was a mistake that'd cost at least one of them dearly, according to the radio chatter in David's headset.

They emerged from a path running through a denser part of the mini-jungle into moonlight. Grass was much taller in this area, but there weren't as many trees or bushes. It was like a circular open area, making anyone foolish enough to walk into it a sitting duck. The sergeant signaled for everyone to hunker down.

"We need to split up here," he said. "You three," the sergeant said, pointing at everyone except for David. "Scan the far right and then proceed forward. Go."

The three Federation troops did as they were told, briskly merging into the shadows, following their orders to the point. That left David alone with the sergeant. He turned to face David, and David was thankful for the darkness that hid his features.

"Stay behind me and do what I say." David nodded in response rather than open his mouth.

Together, they broke off to the left, and David felt a noticeable shift in their speed. The sergeant was much faster without the weight of a squad holding him back, and it made David wonder just who he was. They crept just on the outside of the massive circular clearing, sticking to the shadows and ducking from tree to tree. For a moment, the sergeant held up his fist; only to put it down a few seconds later.

After approximately 10 minutes of dipping around in the dark, David was beginning to feel the first strains of fatigue. It wasn't much, but it was there, and David wished he had a canteen to take a sip of water. Creeping around at such a fast pace made your legs get tired, not to mention the gear and weapon David was packing.

The sergeant stopped suddenly and turned to face David. Even though the moon was full and bright, the trees overhead blocked off much of its light and David couldn't make out the expression on the sergeant's face.

"What unit are you with?" He asked.

David came up with a quick response, trying his best to sound natural. "I was assigned to the prison guard, sir. My CO ordered me and others to aid in the capture of the escaped prisoners."

David couldn't tell if the sergeant bought it. They stared at each other in the darkness for a few more moments, and David tightened his grip on his rifle. He wouldn't hesitate to open up if he needed to.

"I didn't know they trained you prison guards any good - especially seeing how you all let a small riot turn into a full-scale uprising."

"That is why I have orders to shoot on sight." David said.

"Your orders are to do what I say, when I say it," came the response. Without saying anything else, the sergeant pressed onward and David followed.

Roughly 25 minutes later, they hit jackpot.

After tracking and tracking for what'd felt like forever, they'd finally caught up to Logan. Except it wasn't just Logan, which caused David to hesitate. Hidden within a large shrub next to the sergeant, David could just make out the outline of someone carrying someone else over their shoulder. Was that Logan? Was Logan dead? David nearly unloaded his entire magazine, but restrained himself. Logan wasn't dead - no one would carry dead weight unnecessarily. It was still strange. What made it even stranger was that the person doing the carrying was wearing the uniform of a Federation officer. When the pair got out of earshot, the sergeant leaned over to David.

"That is the Russian. Do not open fire unless I say so."

David considered killing the sergeant right then and solving this situation himself - but he had no idea who this Russian was, and so he decided to play along, figuring that he could use any help he could get to neutralize the guy.

They crept along some more, struggling to keep pace with the pair without making sound. On the comm channel, there was a report of another dead body being found that was stripped of its uniform. The Federation soldier reporting it advised caution, as there was strong reason to believe there maybe someone impersonating the soldier. He also reported the rank of the dead soldier, and David had to resist the urge to maneuver so that the sergeant couldn't see the rank stenciled on his stolen uniform.

For a brief moment, David almost thought the sergeant would've pieced it together and turned on David. It didn't seem like the sergeant had cared, though, and so David kept up his charade for even longer.

The Russian took a brief moment of rest, putting Logan on the ground next to a tree before reloading a handgun.

The sergeant tapped David on the shoulder and did a series of hand signals. David knew a lot on infantry tactics from his Dad, but hand signals tended to vary depending on who you were dealing with. The only thing that David recognized from that whole series was a clockwise sweeping of his hand - and David hoped it meant what he thought it meant.

David rolled over to his left one full time and then got up to his knee as quietly as possible. The sergeant did the same thing in the opposite direction and moved in on the Russian. David swept a wide arc to the left, closing in on the Russian, and the sergeant moved in on the right. The closer they got, the harder David's heart beat.

Leonid had been known they were following him - there would arguably never be a day when someone caught him off guard. To top it off, the other boy was imitating a Federation soldier, helping out the sergeant. Leonid had figured all of this early on in their little game of cat and mouse - way back before the Federation soldiers had split up at the clearing.

They'd walked right into his trap.

Before they got any closer, Leonid suddenly collapsed to the ground and rolled out of sight into a large collection of bushes and grass, disappearing in an instant. He heard the shuffling of grass as the two reacted to his move. Instead of staying put, Leonid continued to roll deeper into the darkness, catching grass and twigs and chips of wood in his clothing, but he ignored it.

David nearly cursed out loud, falling to one knee and aiming his weapon around, trying to figure out what'd just happened. The Russian had disappeared seemingly out of nowhere. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that he and the sergeant had walked right into a trap. David gritted and bared his teeth in anger, ready to start shooting at the drop of a pin.

Off to his right, the sergeant signaled for David to move forward.

In this position, it would be nothing for David to swivel and put two into the sergeant. It would happen in less than a second. But he couldn't afford to now - not with the Russian running loose. He really did need the sergeant's help now. Which meant he had to play along and risk catching a round in his head.

He moved forward cautiously, ready to fire at a moment's notice. It was dark but that didn't bother David. He would see if anything moved. With his weapon raised, he crept forward until he reached the tree where Logan was. This was the spot where the Russian had simply vanished. David could see nothing but more vegetation, and he heard no movement at all.

David took a quick moment to check Logan's pulse. It was there; he was unconscious. There were a few scars and cuts on his face, but nothing serious. Blood was on his hands but it wasn't Logan's. The last time David had seen him, Logan had managed to catch hold of a large rock in the river, keeping himself from flowing to his death. David hadn't been so lucky.

He turned to face the sergeant.

What he saw made him raise his rifle, ready to shoot. The Russian had a pistol up to the head of the sergeant, holding him in an unbreakable headlock. David held no love for the sergeant, but as it stood, the Russian was just as dangerous. He stood up and prepared to open fire, killing them both. It didn't matter how this situation played itself out to David, as long as he was gone with Logan.

"You can put down your pea-shooter, David." The Russian said.

Had the Russian not said his name, David would've unloaded on both of them until his magazine ran empty, but his interest was piqued now. He knew the sergeant had figured out that he wasn't a Federation soldier by this point.

"What is this!" David demanded.

"I don't have time to explain now. But you must follow me to your father's hideout. And he," the Russian said, giving the sergeant a rough shake. "Is coming with us."

"Why shouldn't I put a round into both of you right now and be on my way?"

"Don't try it, boy."

Alena stared at her computer in disbelief.

Had Leonid gone through these measures? She knew he often took unorthodox methods to achieve his goals, but she would've never guessed it would stretch this far. He was putting their entire operation in jeopardy - this would draw the Federation like a moth to a flame. Leonid had practically turned the entire prison into a warzone - it had to have been him.

She rubbed her eyes. Alena had gone a long while without any sleep, and it was starting to get to her.

She pulled up a program on the computer and typed in a message, then hit enter. A minute later came the reply.

Good.

Alena waited another moment and then typed up another message. This time, it took longer than a minute for the reply to come in. She'd nearly nodded off to sleep. She took a swig of water and read the reply.

We'll be back soon. Wait until we get there.

With that, Alena turned off the program and took one last look at the scene on her computer. Red flashing dots showed just how intense the situation at the prison had gotten. For a while, it'd looked as if it would die down, but there'd been something of a renewed effort amongst the inmates, and the entire uprising had escalated even more. The Federation Security Council would know that this wasn't some random public order problem, and would start looking deeper. Alena only hoped Leonid had covered his tracks.