UNSCDF Chapter 25- The Infiltration

Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Scavengers’ Holdout

July 25, 1999

2100 Local Time

            Charlie peeked over a fence and saw a massive base. There were soldiers patrolling the perimeter and men chopping firewood in the distance. Charlie studied the base and concluded that the Scavengers were similar to the UNSC. There were women and children farming the yards of the houses. This was not what Charlie had seen the Scavengers as. They were civilized people and living in harmony. He wondered why the UNSC and the Scavengers couldn’t work together. Charlie thought for a second and decided to not call for backup to Stewart. He could only see bloodshed if the UNSC came to rescue his marines, but he was putting the live of his men at risk as well.

            “This is difficult.” Charlie thought about the decision he made.

            Charlie decided to find some plain clothes to disguise himself to infiltrate the base. He went inside a nearby house and went to a bedroom. He looked around the room and saw family portraits.

            “This was someone’s home. A happy family before the apocalypse.” Charlie studied a photo as he sifted through the drawers.

            Charlie found black trousers and a grey t-shirt. He took off his armor and uniform and put on the clothes. He removed his helmet and placed it on the bed. He had to go without communications in order to blend in. He took out his USP and slid it under his shirt. He reached into his backpack and took out two extra magazines. He took one glance at his gear and uniform laying on the bed and walked out the door. Charlie exited the house and watched as a group of men enter the entrance. He saw the men waved a thumbs up sign and the gates opened allowing them to pass. Charlie studied for a good half an hour and concluded that the thumbs up sign was the access signal.

            “You can do this Charlie.” Charlie reassured himself as he got onto the streets.

            Charlie walked calmly towards the gate and looked at a guard. He stuck a thumbs up sign and watched the guard nod at him. In a few seconds, the gates opened and Charlie was inside.

            “Hey!” a guard called out to Charlie.

            Charlie pretended he didn’t hear and continued to walk into a crowd of people.

            “Hey.” the guard ran up to Charlie and grabbed his shoulder.

            “Oh, hi.” Charlie tensed up.

            “You forgot to sign in.” the guard pointed at an outpost beside the entrance.

            “Oh, silly me. I forgot.” Charlie laughed nervously as he walked back with the guard.

            Charlie looked around as he walked into the outpost with the guard and looked at a clipboard. He had no clue what to do and he knew the guard was getting suspicious.

            “What are you? New here?” the guard questioned.

            “Yeah, I am.” Charlie replied and quickly punched the guard in the face.

            The guard wobbled for a bit as he tried to ready his gun, but Charlie was quicker and placed a hard blow to the side of his head. The guard fell on the ground and was unconscious. Charlie dragged the body into the storage room and decided to wear the guard’s uniform. It was a tight fit, but it was the only way to access restricted areas. Charlie tied the guard up and then locked the storage room. He adjusted his beret and looked at his reflection in a mirror. He was now a Corporal Jenkins for the Scavengers and he hoped that Jenkins wouldn’t be a popular guy or he would be caught. He exited the outpost and decided to look around for his men.

*          *          *

            Hawkes sat on the ground as he studied the room. It was a windowless room with one door. Casey closed his eyes to rest while Taylor looked at his watch.

            “We need a plan to escape.” Hawkes suggested.

            “What do you propose?” Casey replied with his eyes closed.

            “Ask for food? Washroom? I don’t know. Any way for the guards to open the door.” Hawkes pointed at the door.

            “After that?” How do we leave the base without being shot halfway?” Casey challenged.

            “I have no clue. We’ll improvise along the way. I just don’t want to be stuck here doing nothing.” Hawkes hit the wall with his fist.

            “You’re going to get us all killed man.” Taylor pitched in.

            “He’s right Hawkes. It’s best to be patient right now.” Casey took a deep breath.

            “Waiting for death. I’d rather die with a fight and with honor.” Hawkes gritted his teeth.

            “Take it easy Hawkes.” Taylor tried to calm Hawkes with a light smile.

            “No, you’re too relaxed. We’re stuck in a room. God knows how long…” Hawkes raised his voice.

            “God damn it Hawkes. Cool your jets, that’s an order.” Casey opened his eyes and spoke loudly at him.

            “Sir, but…” Hawkes calmed down.

            “Don’t talk about it. For now, we all rest while we can.” Casey cut him off.

            “Understood.” Hawkes nodded and kept his mouth shut.

            “Because we’re going to need all the energy we got when help arrives.” Casey looked at Taylor as he was walking around the room.

            Taylor heard Casey and quickly sat down. Casey smiled at Taylor and then closed his eyes.

            “Help will be here guys. Zyrok is still out there.” Casey grinned at his thought.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Camp Galileo

July 27, 1999

2250 Local Time

            Cookson opened his eyes and found himself on a bed. His left arm was slung to his chest and both of his legs were in a cast.

            “You’re lucky to be alive.” Patrick spoke as he sat beside Cookson.

            “Did you guys find Az?” Cookson looked at Patrick with concerned eyes.

            “A team went out to look for him, but didn’t find him.” Patrick spoke softly.

            “He could still be out there.” Cookson widened his eyes with hope.

            “He’s presumed MIA now.” Patrick sighed.

            “There’s still hope.” Cookson looked out the window.

            “Look son, in a couple of hours, the UNSC is going to transfer you back to Bankstown to recover. This is ground zero and they need every hospital room vacant in case of an emergency. I’ve got to regroup with my squadron and complete our tasks.” Patrick got up from his seat.

            “Patrick.” Cookson called out.

            “Yeah?” Patrick turned his head.

            “It was nice meeting you. Thanks for everything.” Cookson stuck out his hand.

            “Yeah, no problem. Good luck mate.” Patrick shook his hand.

            “Stay safe man.” Cookson wished.

            “You take good care of yourself.” Patrick waved and walked out the door.

            Cookson wondered for a minute about Sarah and how she would react when she saw him in his current condition. He also thought about what to say to Sarah about Az. No matter how hard the truth hurts, he had to tell what exactly happened to Az. The least he could do was to honor Az’s sacrifice for him to be with Sarah. Cookson nodded his head as he planned out what he should do once he got back to Bankstown. For now, Cookson need his rest.

Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Scavengers’ Holdout

July 26, 1999

0300 Local Time

            Casey heard the door open and opened his eyes as he watched a guard enter the room alone. He got up quickly and jumped onto the guard. Hawkes woke up from his sleep and tackled the guard to the ground.

            “Freeze!” Casey pulled the guard’s sidearm and pointed at him.

            “Guys! It’s me.” Charlie coughed.

            “Damn. Sorry sir. Boy am I glad to see you.” Casey lifted Charlie to his feet.

            “Let’s get out of here. I took out a few guards along the way. Sooner or later, we’ll be discovered.” Charlie pointed at a guard lying unconscious on the ground outside the room.

            “Take their uniforms. It will be out best bet out of here.” Charlie pointed at the guard.

        Casey and Hawkes got dressed while Taylor watched Charlie look around for another set of uniform.

            “No more.” Charlie concluded.

            “We can make it look like a prisoner transfer.” Hawkes suggested as he scratched his head.

            “Not a bad idea, we don’t have any choice either.” Charlie looked at his watch.

            “Let’s do it.” Taylor nodded.

        Charlie led his men out the building and walked past a couple of guards smoking next to a washroom.

            “We still need to recover our asset.” Casey whispered.

            “There’s no way we can do that. I don’t even know where it is.” Charlie looked for nearby guards.

            The marines approached a house when suddenly an alarm blared loudly. A ton of guards rushed out from their stations and ran towards them.

            “Freeze!” a guard called out.

            Charlie looked as they were circled and had nowhere to run.

            “Put it down guys.” Charlie dropped his pistol to the ground.

            “We were so close.” Hawkes raised his hands to surrender.

            “We were.” Casey agreed.

            “Does the UNSC know we’re captured?” Taylor asked as the guards approached them.

            “Nope, I didn’t want them to bring a battalion to rescue us while killing innocent women and children in the process.” Charlie shook his head.

            “Great…just great.” Hawkes sighed.