A New World: Conspiracy by John O'Brien Read Free Book Online Page A

times in her life since losing her
parents, Gav feels worried about an outcome. Although she has
control over the satellite network, the only ground resources she
has amount to a battalion of soldiers and several teams of special
operators. This is nothing compared to the equipment that the camp
currently possesses. Whereas the stalemate between the camps would
eventually swing in her favor as aviation fuels fail, the nuclear
propulsion capability of the sub far outweighs anything she can
bring to the table. Gav doesn’t have the latest load out of the sub
but knows they carry Tomahawk missiles and could be carrying bunker
busters which have the capability of causing harm to her facility.
She immediately has the camp upgraded to a category “A” status.
    Finding herself summoned and sitting in the
same plush conference room with the same men, Gav updates them on
the status of now, camp A-US-1. Her own facility is differently
named to avoid confusion: A–CC-1. After her briefing, the men ask
her to leave for a moment while they discuss the situation.
    Upon returning, one of them asks, “We can’t
allow another group to exist that can compete with us, let alone
outclass us. What do you intend to do about it?”
    Ready for their question and having already
thought over the possibilities, Gav answers, “We have only one
solution. We need to take out their leadership, specifically Jack
Walker. It’s our only hope. That will set them back and allow us an
opportunity to contact them while they are in a state of confusion
and fear. I believe that if we contact them, without alluding to
the fact that we were responsible, that they may be amenable to
joining us. We approach them with a saving situation and fold them
within our group. I know what you said about this, but it’s our
only choice. We need them to join forces with us…assimilate them.
And for that to happen, he needs to go.”
    The men sit in silence, contemplating. Three
of them lean forward with their elbows resting on the polished
surface, chins poised on interlaced fingers. The other two are
reclining with their hands folded behind their heads. One man
finally lifts his head from his hands.
    “See to it,” he states.
    Fear and excitement envelop her. Finally,
they are going to do something other than maintaining the status
quo. She has never done well with that and always felt that if you
weren’t moving forward, you were going backward. She meets with one
of her special operations teams and gives them their mission. They
leave to ready their gear and begin the drive to the Northwest to
eliminate the leader of the specified camp. They will have
satellite feeds and communication at their beck and call. They pour
over maps to familiarize themselves with the area. They will
observe video feeds sent by the control center to establish the
movements of their target and orchestrate a plan upon their
arrival.
    Gav feels a renewed energy as plans are set
in motion…her plans. The game has started. Pieces on the board are
moving, and this is where she thrives. There is the fear
that things could go wrong, as they sometimes do, but that only
adds to the challenge. She cannot underestimate this Captain
Walker.
    Later, the control room notifies her that
the camp and the LA class submarine, now identified as the Santa
Fe , are using satellite communications to stay in contact. She
looks at the supervisor briefing her, this time in the control room
itself.
    “Shut it down,” she says.
     

A Bird in the Hand
    I feel a pressure of air and hear an all too
familiar ‘zip’ pass over my head. Warm liquid splashes on the back
of my neck and in my hair. A sharp report follows.
    “Sniper!” I yell, instinct taking over.
    A moment of panic seizes me. A projectile
traveling at high speed just passed over my head, close enough that
I felt the air being displaced by its passage. I know what the
sound and feel of warm liquid on my neck means. I also know that
Robert, Bri, and