Brose at The Center

by Jennifer Sue

Part 4

Because of the carnage at the airport, Captain Johnson decided to keep the locals out and let the fires burn out on their own. The hostage team of the rescue unit consisted of trained medics and counselors, as well as an eraser and an empath. They assumed oversight of the freed hostages. The hostages had seen little as they had been quickly rounded up and that's the way it was to be kept. The empath and eraser made sure of that.

Counselors of the team called each family of the men who had been held prisoner by the terrorists. The counselor explained to the family their loved one was okay and was not being arrested but was being held for questioning and debriefing. They gave the family a DHS phone number they could call if an emergency occurred before their loved one was released. At that point the counselor told the family they would be briefly allowed to speak to their loved one, but no details of the event were to be discussed or the call would be ended. Once the counselor had explained everything, each of the men was allowed to speak with his family to assure them he was indeed unharmed.

The prisoners were secured in the rescue jet. Then Brose and her team boarded with most of the medics and a few guards. With her arm in a sling, Brose sat with her team and chatted away seemingly like any normal teenage girl. Seeing her now and remembering her cool calculating fighting skill, the prisoners had trouble believing this one teenage girl had singlehandedly annihilated their unit. They had been an experienced, well trained, cohesive unit. Most had been under enemy fire. The knowledge that one girl had decimated them chilled them to the bone. Even more bewildering was how she changed once the relief units arrived. During the fight she had been as wily as any of the emerged they'd ever seen and tougher than any man they had ever known. An air of total self-assurance had engulfed her during the fight, not a swaggering, dismissive attitude like most of the emerged they'd met. Their opponent had been one who was utterly confident in her abilities. Once relieved by the soldiers, the hard, efficient killing machine disappeared. In her place was a teenage girl concerned for her friends and team. What really puzzled them was how she had handled being wounded. She reacted as if it was the most common thing to be shot. She made sure they were secured, switched to a more easily handled weapon, and stuffed gauze into the wound to stop the bleeding. No once had she winced or hesitated. It seemed as if she was immune to the pain.

Of course Brose had felt the pain. Stuffing the gauze into the wound had hurt like hell. But she was so pumped up on adrenalin, she was able to power through it virtually unfazed, just as she'd done crawling through the sewers back on the farm. Nothing would be gained by complaining and bemoaning about what had happened. For Brose doing what had to be done was simply the way she lived.

Most of the rescue force would stay on site as security until the clean up units arrived. As they were preparing to take off, several helicopters arrived with investigators. At least one helicopter would remain airborne over the site to keep other aircraft away and to act as aerial surveillance for any journalists who might try to sneak in closer.

*****

When the jet with the SOS Squad, Michael and the prisoners landed at The Center, armed guards were everywhere. The prisoners were whisked away to the lock-up for processing. Brose and crew were taken to the infirmary. Everyone had bumps and bruises from the crash and, except for Brose, headaches from the Zenon. Liz used her Reikikinetic talent to repair the damage the bullet had caused in Brose's arm. Michael was introduced to Dani who explained what was about to happen as she took him to a secure bunker for his metamorphosis.

The SOS Squad was individually debriefed. Then as a unit they listened to the recordings made from Brose's com link. Shadow and Snow again sat by Brose hugging her as she cried. Thankfully, she had learned reliving the events rather than suppressing them was therapeutic. They had all missed lunch and supper but Brose felt the need for the squad to stay together for a late meal. She requested the three soldiers be allowed to join them for a late supper in the student cafeteria.

Because of the lock-down, the entire staff and students had heard of the kidnaping. Few were surprised to learn Brose had taken out the terrorists and saved the squad. The few students in the cafeteria when they arrived respected their need for space and bonding time. The soldiers were delighted with the after hours fare available round the clock for the students. They thanked Brose for inviting them to join in the meal as anything they would have gotten from the soldiers mess would not have been nearly as tasty and the selection quite limited. They quietly discussed what went wrong on the mission and berated themselves for blindly walking into the trap. They all voiced pride in being on the SOS Squad under Brose's well proven combat experience and leadership.

Brose didn't argue about her combat experience but tried to demur about her leadership. They wouldn't hear of it, telling her she'd done a fine job at the school and they had all walked into the trap. Besides, she had saved them. By the time they headed off for some well deserved sack time, their bond as a unit was unbreakable. Everyone slept the sleep of physical and mental exhaustion.

*****

As soon as the kidnaping had begun, Ms. Fine set out to find the traitors who had to have sabotaged the Black Hawk. The in-house traitors were quickly tracked to the ground crew at The Center airfield. As soon as The Center staff had learned of the pending emergence and need to dispatch the SOS Squad, they promptly notified the Airfield commander to scramble the plane for the emergency combat jump. A clerk in the office used a cell phone to contact the mechanic. The mechanic had in turn stepped outside the hanger to call his contact. That call set the terrorists in motion. When the clerk learned the destination, he called the mechanic who passed on the info and received the instructions to sabotage the Blackhawk pick-up unit. Both men had been apprehended as they tried to slip off base during the lock-down.

Of course they initially denied everything, but the empaths quickly revealed their lies. When confronted with the evidence that their treachery had enabled a terrorist unit to destroy a school and kill five students and that as part of a terrorist organization they had forfeited all rights, they knew they were in deep shit. They were given a choice to cooperate fully and spend the rest of their lives in a military prison or to be placed in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives, they confessed all they knew, which wasn’t much. An examination of their cell phones revealed their contact phone number but it was to a pre-paid cell phone that proved untraceable.

*****

Michael underwent his transition the night he was brought in. Fortunately it wasn’t terrible but if not for being confined to a bunker there would have been a great deal of damage. Dani had told him that they had some success of influencing the outcome of the transition if the person going into the second emergence pictured what they wanted to look like and tried to keep that image in their mind as long as possible. It worked for Michael as he focused on the February 8, 2010 cover of Sports Illustrated as he began to transition. Now he was a sixteen year old version of Linsdey Vonn, the world champion skier. The name he chose was Lindsey Kildow, Vonn’s maidenname. Quite naturally, Lindsey was in superb physical condition.

*****

Brose guessed there was more to the ‘Damn Nazis’ the chopper pilot had muttered. She knew enough about the cruel single mindedness of the Nazis to know that stopping them had not been a choice, it had been a necessity. Before emerging, Brose, then Dave, grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on his aunt and uncle’s farm. They were surrounded by Amish farmers and his guardians deeply respected them for their devotion to their faith. They had a lot of interaction with the Amish, especially after they began the hog manure fertilizer side business. Dave had easily picked up the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and the Amish enjoyed talking to the intelligent lad. Since they worked the land and only bathed once a week, they didn’t mind the pig stench. When Dave needed a foreign language in school, he signed up for German. There were differences between the Low Dutch of the Amish and the High Dutch of Germany, but the two were quite similar. Dave excelled in German, acing the courses. He could read, write, and speak German fluently. What stayed with him was reading “Mein Kampf” in Greman. Hitler’s rhetoric frightened him.

*****

An ‘anonymous’ source within the DHS later leaked that the terrorists battled and eliminated at the airport were the ones who had bombed the school. The terrorists had planned to bomb several other sites from their temporary base at the airport but the DHS had found out and while they hadn't been able to stop the bombing of the school, they had managed to get it evacuated. Five boys were missing and pieces of bodies had been found in the boys lavatory, the very room the bomb had been planted. They didn't know if any of the boys had been involved or even if all five had been there. It would take DNA testing of the scattered remains to determine who had perished. They would make sure “DNA evidence” of Michael’s body was found among the other four.

The nation was rocked by the this latest terrorist attack coming only weeks after the attack in New Jersey. The number of civilian casualties in all three had been kept low but the size of the terrorist units was scary. So far at least officially, they had not made a firm connection between the two events but it was being investigated. Even scarier was that the unit involved in the day's action was made up of mostly US citizens, fifty eight versus sixteen. Of the seventy four mercenaries, four were Arab Muslims illegally in the country, but there were fifteen American Muslims of Arab heritage. Then there were three Black American Muslims affiliated with the Nation of Islam. Four other Black Americans had Black Panther affiliations. Four were Germans, one French, and One Italian, all with European neo-Nazi affiliations. Then there were four Latino non-citizens and five American Latinos, all with drug cartel connections. The nationality of the Dominator and the Unit Commander could not be determined although both were clearly Aryan. The remaining thirty one were US citizens of White, Black and Latino Heritage.

While The Center, under DHS auspices, held and questioned the two traitors and the eleven prisoners, the FBI was brought in to investigate the off base lives and connections of the two traitors. The FBI turned up no evidence trail although they did see cash deposits equal to their pay checks every pay period. Each cash deposit had been made into their accounts from a different branch of a nationwide bank. The transactions were simple deposits and always below the threshold for setting off alarms. It would take weeks to trace each transaction back and then review the surveillance tapes to see if they could identify the depositor. As well organized as the group was, the depositors were most likely different for each drop.

The prisoners knew little about their organization except they were extremely well paid. Of the US citizens, all were ex-military. They had been recruited by former buddies. To a man all were disillusioned vets who thought the war on terror was contrived. Most were from low economic backgrounds with little hope of achieving the American Dream. For them joining the military had been seen as a way out of their life of poverty. All the prisoners believed the US government had staged the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to attack Iraq and Afghanistan. None of the men, dead or alive, had been able to pick up their private lives or return to meaningful jobs after their discharge. They were well trained experienced soldiers who lost their pre-war lives when they went off to fight, were unable to successfully return to civilian life, felt utterly betrayed by the nation, and desired to get back at ‘the man’. It was a tragic end for men who fought for their nation.

The common theme that developed from the questioning was that all had been recruited as mercenaries without being told who hired them or for what reason. In groups of twelve they had been taken to a mountainous jungle base for training and orientation, given plenty of alcohol, marijuana and women. They trained hard for two weeks getting back their fighters edge, partied hard in their free time and had little sleep. At the end of the two week refresher basic training course, they went on a twenty four hour training mission with little rations. Immediately upon the conclusion of the exercise, they were brought in for a debriefing and evaluation. Alcohol and marijuana were passed out and once they had imbibed, the exhausted strung out men were given amphetamines to keep them awake. In their much diminished mental state, they were easily brainwashed into the unwavering loyalty to the employers and their anti-Semitic goals, infused with the false ideas about US responsibility for 9/11 until they could see nothing else. Their indoctrination and brainwashing was quite similar to the methods used by many fanatical religious cults. Unfortunately, the deluded men had no clues as to where the training base was located or who ran the operation other than they had flown north afterwards.

The Hummers were ex-military but the serial numbers had been removed with plasma cutters. The Blackhawk and the C-17A Globemaster were conglomerate reconstructions of crashed or otherwise damaged planes that had come from numerous sources but had been resurrected in lawless Somalia.

The FBI, CIA, and DHS were searching for the connections between the origin of the aircraft and their flight paths to their final destinations. The concern that large groups of well funded terrorists, many of them US citizens, had struck twice with no warning left the DHS, FBI, and the CIA scared and panicky. The fact that both incidents had used large jets and helicopters on seemingly innocent flight plans also concerned the FAA and the US Air Force. In both cases, it seemed the crew of the jets were simply innocents who hired on to do a short term flying the provided aircraft. The crew filed legitimate flight plans and seemed to be following the listed route. Not much else could be learned as the flight crews died. The helicopters were another matter. Both had been flown by ex-US military personnel who had been involved in the mission. Again it wasn't known if the flight crews were aware of the terrorist bent of the organization but it seemed evident they knew they were engaged in illegal activities.

The mixture of Islamic Terrorists, neo-Nazi fanatics, Black Panther expatriates and now some Hispanics with drug smuggling connections and disaffected Nation of Islam people was scary. In both cases, the prisoners taken had been heavily indoctrinated. Many signs pointed to AZIF. The deceased leader, the colonel, with the German accent had tattoos with AZIF incorporated into the tat in such a way that the casual onlooker would not see the letters. But anyone 'in the know' could easily spot it. The fact the emerged had spoken with a German accent as well was even more incriminating. AZIF was still a mystery group. Someone or some group with deep pockets had managed to bring the diverse elements in the group together. Anti-Semitism and hatred for American Imperialism were the obvious commonalities.

Examining the remains of the C-17A provided a possible clue. There were traces of cocaine and marijuana inside the pallet tie downs and in the floor rollers. Investigators went back to the wreckage of the plane from New Jersey and checking the cargo hold revealed traces of cocaine and marijuana.

Re-examining the flight histories of both craft revealed they had made dozens of flights between Mexico and Canada. Calgary International Airport was the Canadian destination, specifically a hanger in the southwest corner of the airport, about as far from the terminal as was possible yet was within half a mile of the main highways and within blocks of the Deerfield Outlet Mall. There was always traffic in the area so moving illicit contraband would be easy if the vehicles blended into the crowd.

The Mexican Airport was at Tuxtla Gutiérrez, The Tuxtla - Francisco Sarabia - Angel Albino Corzo Airport, elevation one thousand four hundred eighty nine feet above sea level, with a runway eight thousand two hundred two feet long. The flight distance between Tuxtla and Calgary is two thousand four hundred miles. Tuxtla Gutiérrez is located eighty miles north of one border section and eighty miles east of another border section of the Mexican border with Guatemala. Located forty miles east of the pacific ocean and eighty miles south of the Carribean in the mountainous spine that winds through Mexico and Central America, the site is ideal for smuggling contraband and terrorists. From Tuxtla Gutiérrez it was two thousand five hundred miles to Bolivia, another destination both planes visited. The possibility of an illicit narcotics connection seemed quite high.

*****

Security at all Center locations was greatly increased since the mini fiasco during the SOS squad’s mission. Everyone at each Center base and it’s environs was screened by an empath at least once a week. The scans were non-invasive, merely checking for what had been discovered to be a distinctive emotional combination that indicated betrayal. If the indicator was discovered during the brief scan, further investigation was conducted. The weekly tests were mandatory for all. For the non-emerged the tests became a condition of employment. The only flaw in the test was that it picked up any betrayal, even cheating on one’s steady partner. Any such personal betrayal was guaranteed to be kept discreet.

*****

Brose re-examined her combat kit in light of her recent experiences, adding the M4A1 to her normal weapon compliment. The last battle had demonstrated that despite her unerring accuracy with a semi-automatic pistol, under some circumstances a full automatic weapon was needed. She also realized that having smaller pistols available was a good option so she added two SIG Sauer P226 nine millimeters with twenty round magazines to her growing arsenal. Again her uniform and vest were modified to accommodate her new weapons.

Brose had them start with Duluth Trading Company Work Cargo Pants. The pants are made of rugged-yet-soft oil and water repellent Fire Hose cotton canvas. Factory made with eight pockets, the normal two front and two back with two bellowed cargo pockets and double-chap knee pad pockets. In these she could carry enough rations for a week and her med-kit. In addition she had the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS: a grid of webbing invented and patented by United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center used to attach smaller equipment onto load bearing platforms, such as vests and backpacks) added to the pants. The pants and rations weighed in at sixteen pounds.

Brose also attached a hydration carrier and bladder with a two and a half liter reservoir with insulated delivery hose to the outside of each leg below the knee. Filled, each weighed seven pounds for fourteen pounds total.

Multiple magazine pouches each holding six - twenty round 9mm magazines were placed above the knee on the outside of each leg. On each thigh just above the knee she hung a pouch with three pockets. The largest pocket held one nine millimeter SIG Sauer P226, the next largest held a twenty round 9mm mag, and the smallest was user's choice. Counting the mags in the pistols, she had sixteen mags with three hundred twenty rounds. The nine millimeter kit weighed twelve pounds.

Then she modified her customized Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV). Fully equipped complete with all its components (soft armor panel inserts, four ballistic plate inserts for front, back and two side plates, collar, and groin protectors) the vest weighed thirty pounds. The functionality of the enhanced side ballistic inserts, which provide coverage under the arms and down the sides of the torso is built-in. There is also a back pad in the lower back area of the vest which is designed to defeat fragmentation impacts to the lower back/kidney areas. The back pad does not provide ballistic protection however. With the E-SAPI plates the vest would protect against armor piercing rounds. The entire armor system was able to be released with the pull of a hidden lanyard. The IOTV is designed to take the weight of the vest off the shoulders and move it to the lower torso. The vest is also equipped with a mesh inner cover that is designed to improve airflow inside of the armor. It also featured a grid of PALS webbing on the front, back and sides for the attachment of modular pouches and accessories.

Attached to the left back of the IOTV was a gun case that easily held the M4A1. Three removable pouches each held nine - thirty round M4 mags inside internal dividers. This gave her twenty seven mags on the outside of the case. The main compartment had padded sides for added protection and Velcro straps securely held the weapon in place. A second inside compartment held twelve mags. The case could also be carried by an adjustable shoulder strap or carry handles. The case could be removed and opened in seconds. Including the mag loaded into the M4A1 she had forty - thirty round mags for one thousand two hundred rounds. This kit weighed thirty two pounds.

A second, slightly longer gun case was mounted on the center back of the IOTV vest, This one held the disassembled M107 .50 caliber semi-automatic sniper rifle in the padded main compartment. The second padded compartment had the regular and night vision scopes as well as five mags. Three pouches on the outside of this case each held two - nine round mags for a total of twelve mags including one in the weapon for a total of one hundred eight rounds. The kit weighed in at a whopping eighty four pounds.

On the right back of the IOTV she carried a shotgun scabbard for the M26. Attached to the scabbard were five pouches each holding two - five shell box mags. With the mag in the shotgun she had eleven mags for fifty five twelve gauge shotgun shells. This kit weighed in at thirty pounds.

On the left front of the IOTV she carried her Desert Eagle. With the two P226s, she decided to leave the conversion kits off and went with the .50 caliber with ten inch barrel. The holster safely held the fifteen inch behemoth along with the laser scope, the night vision scope and the silencer/ muzzle flash suppressor. Nine mag pouches each holding three - seven round magazines were clipped at the belt line beneath the holster from under her left arm to the middle to under her right arm for a total of twenty eight mags including the one in the pistol for one hundred ninety six rounds. This kit weighed twenty pounds.

Three pouches each holding two frag grenades were attached to the top right front of the vest. Two larger pouches each held two grenades, one of flash bangs and the other of smoke. These weighed in at sixteen pounds.

A Modular Integrated Communications Helmet rounded out her protective gear. The MICH weighs three pounds and uses a new, more advanced type of Kevlar to provide increased protection against handgun rounds. A pad system and four-point retention system, similar to the cushions and straps found on bicycle helmets provide greater impact protection and comfort for the wearer. It was fitted with a mounting bracket for an AN/PVS-14 monocular night vision device (MNVD) on the front and fitted with a pair of straps on the rear to keep protective eyewear in place. Cloth helmet covers in varying camouflage patterns were available. The helmet weighed four pounds.

If Brose carried the entire kit with rations stuffed in the pockets of the pants the entire outfit with combat boots weighed a stunning two hundred twenty pounds on her one hundred and thirty pound body. Fortunately, the way everything was designed the weight was equally distributed about her tough lean body with much of the weight resting on her hips, pelvis and lower torso. Since Brose was able to bench press two hundred seventy five pounds, wearing the outfit was easily within her capabilities. To the shock of the outfitters and staff, she was able to run with the full kit. Her speed was cut down, but that only meant she now ran as fast as normal people ran. With her phenomenal endurance she was able to jog for four hours on the track or two hours cross country before needing a break.

*****

Utilizing the apparent dead end information the CIA and FBI deigned to provide to DHS, the infokinetics at The Center began using their talents digging, stepping around firewalls and other obstacles, breaking into computers and other systems without regard for laws but always being careful to leave no trace of their having been there. The relationships and trails they found were astonishing.

After World War II, South America became a crossroad for Nazi fugitives. Some Nazi war criminals sold their intelligence skills. Other Nazis trafficked in narcotics. The two lines often crossed. Powerful local drug lords forged strong ties to South America's military leaders. Right-wing anti-Castro Cubans in Miami eagerly filled the drug void caused by the destruction of the French Connection in the early seventies with heroin from the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia. During this period, the CIA actively collaborated with right-wing army officers throughout South America to oust left-leaning governments.

In coca-producing Bolivia, Klaus Barbie drew up plans for a putsch that would add that central nation to the region's "stable axis" of right-wing regimes. As the Bolivian coup took shape, European neo-fascist terrorists who had been working with Argentine death squads were recruited. The Bolivian leader of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL), coordinated the arrival of these paramilitary operatives from Argentina and Europe.

While the CIA was encouraging this aggressive anti-communism on one level, DEA field agents were moving against some of the conspirators for drug crimes. In May 1980, the DEA in Miami seized over eight hundred pounds of cocaine base and arrested two top Bolivian. But the bust was double-crossed for geo-political reasons. One suspect was almost immediately released from custody by the Miami U.S. attorney's office while the other defendant saw his bail lowered, letting him flee the United States.

On July 17, 1980 the Cocaine Coup, as it became known, began. Spearheaded by Barbie and his neo-fascist goon squad dubbed Fiances of Death. The masked thugs were not Bolivians; they spoke Spanish with German, French and Italian accents. Their uniforms bore neither national identification nor any markings, although many of them wore Nazi swastika armbands and insignias. The slaughter was fierce. When the putschists stormed the national labor headquarters, they wounded labor leader Marcelo Quiroga and after hours of torture killed him.

It was soon clear that the primary goal of the revolution was the protection and control of Bolivia's cocaine industry. All major drug traffickers in prison were released, after which they joined the neo-Nazis in their rampage. Government buildings were invaded and trafficker files were either carried off or burned. Government employees were tortured and shot, the women tied and repeatedly raped by the paramilitaries and the freed traffickers. The fascists celebrated with swastikas and shouts of Heil Hitler. Col. Arce-Gomez, the stereotypical image of a be-medaled, pot-bellied Latin dictator, grabbed broad powers as Interior Minister. Gen. Luis Garcia Meza was installed as Bolivia's new president.

After the coup, Arce-Gomez went into partnership with big narco-traffickers, including Trafficante's Cuban-American smugglers. Klaus Barbie and his neo-fascists got a new assignment: protecting Bolivia's major cocaine barons and transporting drugs to the border. The paramilitary units conceived by Barbie as a new type of SS sold themselves to the cocaine barons. The attraction of fast money in the cocaine trade was stronger than the idea of a national socialist revolution in Latin America. Bolivia soon became the principal supplier of cocaine base to the then fledgling Colombian cartels, making themselves the main suppliers of cocaine to the United States.

But by late 1981, the obvious cocaine taint was straining U.S.-Bolivian relations. The Cocaine Coup leaders soon found themselves on the run. Arce-Gomez was extradited to Miami and is serving a thirty year sentence. Roberto Suarez got a fifteen year prison sentence. Gen. Garcia Meza is a fugitive from a 30-year sentence. Barbie was returned to France to face a life sentence for war crimes where he died in 1992.

The Center infokinetics discovered the remnants of the Bolivian Cocaine Coup were still in business but well underground. The upshot was that the worlds richest and most powerful far right wing organizations were involved in the narcotics trade. The profits, while making some rich, also financed the goals of the far right wing organizations which were anti-Semitic and anti-socialist. The infokinetics uncovered a lot of circumstantial evidence these groups were connected to AZIF. The election of Obama and his leftist appointees frightened these powerful people. Now, just as had been done in South America, they seemed to be using the 9/11 terrorist threat to force the US citizenry to demand tighter security and reject the leftist/socialist agenda in Washington.

The more they uncovered, the more it appeared AZIF was an independent but lower echelon Latin American neo-Nazi organization. They utilized the neo-Nazis in Europe but never allowed them inside the top level of the organization. AZIF didn’t hide their affiliation with Islamic extremists, disaffected Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam and other groups bent on crushing the dominance of the Zionist inspired US. AZIF was the umbrella group coordinating the attacks, leaving a sketchy evidence trail away from the top tier.

Whoever was running AZIF had pulled together diverse interests. They had also discovered the emerged. Obviously they were seeking out the emerged to add to their budding neo-Nazi army. These would be true supermen and with brainwashing and indoctrination, could form the core of a new and more powerful SS. A neo-Nazi SS built around a core of Aryan emerged could be extremely dangerous. Dominators could even be used in brainwashing recruits. The emerged killed in the two terrorists attack had been very Aryan.

The flights of the two downed AZIF aircraft had already revealed they had previously landed in various parts of the US. The infokinetics discovered that within twenty four hours of each landing and near that area, a sixteen year old teenager whose mother had died in childbirth went missing. Reviewing recent teenage John/Jane Doe deaths across the nation that coincided with the numerous landings revealed the victims were of non-Aryan race. It appeared as if AZIF was waiting for the emerged to emerge, then either kill them or kidnap them depending upon whether they changed into suitable Aryan stock.

Of course, to accomplish their missions, AZIF seemed to have no issues with utilizing non-Aryans as cannon fodder. In fact, close to seventy five percent of those killed in the two incidents were non-Aryan with a third of those being Islamic. There were black ex-military who had converted to Islam in prison. Malcom X’s teachings to The Nation of Islam about hating Whites and Jews easily drew them in. So in addition to alienated Black Panthers there were disaffected Nation of Islam members. The leadership of the attacks were entirely Aryan. To the world it appeared the two attacks were Islamic inspired terror attacks using disenchanted US ex-military mercenaries. The neo-Nazis involved came from radical groups in Europe, mostly German. Not surprisingly, it appeared a lot of the CIA provided information was misleading or false. Since they had been involved in the Cocaine Coup and it's aftermath, perhaps they were protecting their own. By keeping the US and the rest of the world centered on Islamic extremist terrorism, AZIF was able to achieve their results and remain off the public radar. The infokinetics were slowly able to piece the bizarre puzzle together.

During the last years of WWII the Nazis formed a Waffen SS division utilizing the Hitler youth. Strongly indoctrinated into Aryan superiority, they were amongst the fiercest fighters and the last to surrender. Many of those twelve to sixteen year old boys were appalled to lose the war. The Nazi flight to South America included hundreds of these Hitler Youth/Waffen SS troops. Men like Klaus Barbie and Adolf Eichmann were among the adults who coordinated the continued training and indoctrination of these teens into Nazi ideology. They grew up and appeared to lead fairly normal ex-patriot lives, but they kept training and in turn indoctrinated and trained their children and grandchildren in the Nazi ways. It appeared that the children of the former Hitler Youth had formed AZIF.

*****

A week after Lindsey transitioned, Brendan Quinn and Ailisa Doyle had their first emergence while undergoing their daily evaluation in a lab. Brendan began feeling weird, than the entire room began to vibrate. All he could think of was a mine cave-in, something he’d experienced in the family coal mine. All though it had been a minor roof cave-in, to a twelve year old severely bruised and half buried in rock it had been terrifying Fear gripped him as the room trembled. Almost instantly the room began shaking. The walls, floor and ceiling cracked, wiring threw sparks as it was torn apart, water sprayed from snapped pipes at the sink and the overhead pipes of the sprinkler system broke and water gushed into the room. Ailisa was just as frightened as Brendan. While she hadn’t been hurt by the cave-in, she had helped the family clean out the fallen debris to reach Brendan. Then the fire hose like spray of water from the broken sprinkler system hit her. As she was deluged, blown into the cracked wall and pinned their, it triggered her first emergence. The water seemed to hit an invisible wall and sprayed in all directions.

The entire Center shook and numerous cracks appeared in scattered locations. Alarms went off throughout the complex. Fortunately no one was seriously injured but everyone in The Center was literally shook up. Brendan was a geokinetic while Ailisa was a hydrokinetic. It would take the repair crew three weeks to repair the cracks throughout the facility. The lab as well as the halls and rooms around, above and below had to be rebuilt. Brendan was placed in a sphere mounted on springs and rubber similar to those used to quake-proof skyscrapers.

Unlike other transitioned, the wily cousins had several weeks to discuss what they wanted to attempt to look like. They saw many possibilities in those around them. They tapped into their Irish hertiage and passion for two WWE wrestlers. Brendan became a sixteen year old copy of WWE Diva Michelle McCool. Beautiful, athletic, and supple, she took the name of Giana McGuire. Ailisa emerged as a sixteen year old copy of John Cena. Powerful muscles and chiseled physique, he took the name of River McGuire. They chose the last name in honor of the Molly McGuires.

Unfortunately little was learned from the studied transitions. The data would be reviewed, but there was nothing that stood out.

Since the McGuires had already grown accustomed to the routine and expectations of The Center, they simply slipped into in the Center life in their new bodies. Their talent training went quickly as any preconceived notions that might have limited their ability to master their talents had already been vanquished by their experience with the other students. In fact, they believed anything was possible.

Holding her hand palm out like you would to signal someone to stop, Giana was able to chop her palm into objects creating powerful seismic events. She was able to punch holes through concrete walls. A cement block wall would simply crumble. A six inch thick concrete wall with half inch rebar would have a hole about six feet round. A foot of concrete wall would yield a four foot hole. Two feet thick would be a two foot hole. For thicker walls, it would take repeated blows to punch through. The concrete would pulverize and crumble before each blow. It took her ten blows to go through five feet of concrete creating a cone shaped hole with an opening of about five feet where she started down to a foot round hole where she broke through. It was fairly easy to enlarge the hole to allow passage. She could also create mild earthquakes by striking the ground. Stomping her foot would create a directional wave that could topple trees and fences, crack foundations and walls, and even on soft earth or sand create a wave up to three feet high traveling out about fifty meters.

River learned to move any liquid nearly any way he wanted. Streams could be made to run backwards, standing water could be made to 'splash' in any direction he desired, large quantities up to fifty meters including vertically. Pipes with liquid inside could be made to burst by increasing the liquid pressure at a single point to create a pinhole or a full rupture. Rain could be diverted like an invisible umbrella. Waves on the ocean could be split, neutralized, or created. With practice he could burst the fuel line on a vehicle as it drove nearby, usually igniting the hot engine. Coolant hoses and radiators were other items he could burst. Most unusual was his ability to increase or decrease the pressure of a liquid without it being in a closed container. By concentrating on a cup of water, he could increase the pressure until it boiled or decrease it until it froze.

Both had excellent control of their abilities out to fifty meterss. Between there and two hundred meters their abilities faded into non-existence.

Since both had been raised in the mountains they were already familiar with rifles and pistols. They knew how to hunt and could kill and field dress a deer. They already had great skills in stealth and woodcraft. Like many families in the rural areas of the Pennsylvania coal regions, deer was a staple of their diet. The hunting regulations limited the take, but out of season hunting was not unusual and the game wardens went all out to nail lawbreakers. To get around the tell-tale report of a rifle shot, the Quinn family became excellent archers. River and Giana proved to be marksmen with a thirty two inch parallel limb compound bow. They could hit a bull’s-eye at ninety meters with a compound bow, but that was on a target range where there was plenty of time and no distractions against a stationary target. On the move in a forested environment they could unerringly hit a moving target at fifty meterss.

The McGuire cousins asked to be assigned to the SOS squad. Brose supported their request as their talents could be quite useful. Kris decided to add two more soldiers to the SOS squad along with the McGuire cousins. Pfc. Carlos Molina and Cpl. Kalif Habaz were both decorated Ranger interpreter/translators. When out of uniform Carlos looked like an Hispanic thug while Kalif looked like an Arab extremist. Although natural born US citizens they were third generation immigrants, for both, English was their second language. While quite fluent in English, Carlos spoke with a Spanish accent and Kalif spoke with an Arabic accent. Their loyalty was beyond question and both had served as interpreters for their former units. Both could read and write as well as speak their historic language.

At twelve, the SOS squad was one of the largest The Center would field. The five soldiers meshed well with the seven transitioned. It didn't take long for the two men to realize the scuttlebutt about Brose was not an exaggeration. She was tireless and her marksmanship with any firearm was nearly beyond belief. They also learned she was not a prima donna but appreciated and utilized the skills of her squad.

One of the areas Brose insisted on improving was the hand to hand combat skills of the entire squad. Mixed martial arts as well as hand held weapons were stressed. Ka-Bar knives and the Battle Hawk Tactical Tomahawk became part of their equipment.

*****

As the enlarged SOS squad trained, the infokinetics continued to dig through the layers of deceit and deceptions that was AZIF. It took thinking outside the box to connect the dots. Hitler's minions had stirred up the Arabs against the capitalist nations of the free world during WWII and the Latin American neo-Nazis did the same, fanning the fires of Islamic Jihad against the Christian infidels who raped and pillaged their lands for a thousand years. While they had initially supported Al Qaeda, they quickly abandoned them as soon as they saw the reckless behavior of Bin Laden. They saw, like much of the Arab world, that extremist violence against civilians would mean harsh countermeasures. The Arab nations couldn't publicly disavow Bin Laden because much of the ignorant population sympathized with him. Behind the scene, the Arab nations tried to walk the fence to keep the anti-west sentiments alive without outright violence.

This is where the neo-Nazis used AZIF. They recruited Islamic fighters who were willing to fight and die without blowing themselves up. They also recruited the hot headed impatient neo-Nazis in Europe including some disaffected Irish Republican Army terrorists. Highly trained ex-military mercenaries were also hired who then recruited fellow ex-military who had become alienated from the American Dream. The task of blending these diverse recruits and focusing them on the AZIF goals was monumental.

The children of the ex-patriot Nazis learned from the past and were clever. They saw the way the Jews relentlessly searched for those responsible for the holocaust. They learned to keep a low profile and disguise their Nazi agendas under other banners with often benevolent actions. They kept their Nazi Aryan heritage and bloodline intact and taught their children to do likewise. From birth their children were steeped in Nazi lore and legend playing up the martyrdom of the Third Reich at the hands of the Communists and Zionists. Of course they stressed that the capitalist United States was merely a Zionist puppet who used their power to perpetuate Israel. The neo-Nazis lived in a world of intrigue and secrecy, unflinchingly believing in Aryan racial superiority and using the bastardized races to reach their goal of establishing the Fourth Reich.

Starting in the late nineteen fifties the Latin American based neo-Nazis sent the smartest of the children to universities in the US and Germany. At each school, they set up some type of boarding house where the house-parents could counteract the left wing agenda by supplying an oasis of Nazi ideals in the otherwise liberal campus environment.

The young, secretive and paranoia ridden students who attended universities left trails. Identity photos, course transcripts, and sometimes brushes with the law. The Nazi safe houses were identified. The DHS put the houses under surveillance. The infokinetics continued to mine the education related data. Many of the shadowy leaders of the Fourth Reich were graduates of these universities. Virtually all the students kept their heritage and disdained typical college life. Quite a few of the males sought out attractive Aryan women to marry and draw into the neo-Nazi gene pool. It was quite usual for the seduced women to be impregnated and at least in their seven month when they married. After the birth of the healthy child, they would return to their Bolivian estates. Still, despite having dug through the records and traced the graduates, virtually nothing illicit emerged from their school time or after.

Then the infokinetics hit paydirt. Seventeen years before, seven of the seduced U.S. Aryan women died immediately after childbirth. The bereaved fathers buried their wife with the maternal family, then took the baby and returned to the Bolivian estates that were plotting the rise of the Fourth Reich.

Investigations of the women's deaths revealed all fit the pattern of the tainted water. The neo-Nazis apparently had at least seven emerged raised in their ranks! Circumstantial evidence quickly coalesced to indicate the neo-Nazis had quickly grasped the phenomena of the emerged and set about searching for other Aryan emerged to induct into their cult. Any non-Aryan emerged they eliminated so they wouldn't have to face them. They were building their secret super army centered about the emerged. By inducing terrorism, they were tearing down the status quo. Terrorism coupled with the world-wide economic downturn and the deficit spending by most governments with their looming governmental bankruptcy would prove devastating. Already in the US and European nations there was growing frustration and anger with immigrants who didn't want to adapt to their new home. As the status quo collapsed, the world would be plunged into war, exhausting themselves and making them even more bitter towards those who were different. The neo-Nazis would be able to step forward to crush any and all opposition and reorganize the world under the Fourth Reich.

The scenario was quite chilling. Yet it seemed that AZIF was an up to now secret driving agent of terrorism as well as a dupe in recruiting emerged to the Nazi cause. As the puzzle slowly emerged from the murky shadows, the powers that be knew they had to take the Bolivian neo-Nazis down. The main issue was they were not sure exactly where they were. They assumed there were secret bases in the Bolivian Andes, hardened underground sites that held wealth and weapons. There were dozens of possible locations spread across the wealthy legitimate plantations of the neo-Nazis. There could be more than one base. Satellite surveillance looked at all the possibilities, mapping the traffic flow. Local natives were innocently questioned by field agents during casual conversations.

Agin the compiled data was examined and linked to what they had previously known. As the possible sites were narrowed down, the complexity of the organization became clear. Brainwashing/basic training bases were discovered in the jungles along the Bolivian/Peruvian/Brazilian border. These were quickly revealed to be AZIF bases. Other AZIF bases were found in Mexico and Canada. The Canadian bases were mainly holding ports where strike teams could be dispatched to the US on short notice. That's where the two units Brose fought had come from. Several bases in northern Mexico served as similar dispatch points. Sites in southern Mexico were advanced training bases.

The AZIF sites had to be eliminated, but if one went down, they had no doubts they'd simply open another. They probably had alternate sites already established but placed in mothballs until needed. AZIF was bad, but they were not the head. They were merely the tail that attracted attention drawing the spotlights away from the real goals of the neo-Nazis.

Finally a main site was pinpointed in the foothills of the Bolivian Andes. It was not hidden on an estate but in a nature preserve inside a Bolivian national park. An air strike would have to be followed up by ground forces. Such a military strike would bring world opinion of the US crashing. Attempting to coordinate a military strike with the local government would not work as it would take the locals too long to prepare plus word of the pending strike would leak.

*****

The only viable solution was a covert ground attack. Too large a force would be unwieldy and difficult to insert into Bolivia. Too small a force and it would be too weak to achieve it's goal. The obvious answer seemed to be the SOS squad, but the job was a bit too much for them. They needed to enlarge the unit to have a chance at success. Kris and Colonel Harris discussed the situation and decided the best option would have a unit consisting of ten emerged and ten soldiers. They also decided that the Unit should not be base specific. It should be an independent unit that functioned off the three base grid. The Center Alpha Site would remain their home, but areas would be set aside at the Beta and Gamma Sites for their use if their tasks led them there. To accomplish this, Brose needed a bit more authority to handle such a large unit and to commandeer support from military units outside the DHS contingent.

Brose was a bit nervous when she entered the conference room to find Kris, Max, Dan, Luce, Ms Fine, and Col. Harris there. Nervously she took the indicated seat facing all six across the table.

"Brose, you're not in trouble. We're pleased with your record," Kris began. "However, we are facing a nasty situation and we've all agreed you are the best person to handle it."

With input from the others they explained all the infokinetics had discovered about AZIF and the neo-Nazis. Brose was a bit overwhelmed that she'd twice faced such a large, well trained organization and severely kicked their butt both times.

"We're going to form a strike unit to pro-actively fight this threat and others instead of just reacting to their moves," Ms Fine stated. "We want to use your SOS squad as a starting point to build this unit and we'd like you to be the commander."

Brose was clearly surprised. "How big will the unit be?"

"We figure twenty including yourself," Max replied. "Ten emerged and ten soldiers. Are you interested?"

"Yes, with some requests," Brose said. "First, it will be an all volunteer unit. Second, I get final say in selecting the members."

"Agreed," Kris smiled. "We'd been expecting that. Effective immediately, the SOS squad is disbanded. You'll need to tell them tonight the SOS is disbanded. Then you can tell them you're forming an all volunteer first strike combat unit. If you want all of them in the new outfit, tell them. If they agree, they'll be placed in the new unit immediately. Since this to be primarily a combat unit, all emerged in it will become enlisted personal in the Army."

"Yes ma'am," Brose nodded.

"With the increased size of the unit and it's mission," Kris continued. "The unit will be based at the Alpha Site but will have accommodations at the Beta and Gamma Sites. This means the unit will be an independent arm of The Center. You're hereby promoted to Warrant Officer One, WO1. You'll report directly to me but will coordinate your activities with the Base commanders. There will be missions outside the of the US borders."

Brose was surprised by the audacity of the plan yet felt excited at the prospect. Brose was flattered by their trust. She had proven her mettle in combat and had gotten past her PTSD. The fact she disliked killing was in her favor, the fact she killed so efficiently was also in her favor. She clearly understood why the new unit would be a first strike combat unit going on nasty missions. To her it would be like hunting rats. “Thank you for your trust," Brose acknowledged. "Since the new unit doesn't have an official designation, I'd like permission to select an appropriate name."

"Permission granted," Kris replied. "Although we have final approval."

Brose smiled and nodded..

Brose texted the SOS Squad as soon as she left the office asking them to assemble in one of the small work-out rooms in twenty minutes.

"I've just come from a meeting with the brass," Brose began once they'd all arrived. "The bad news is the SOS Squad is immediately disbanded."

The faces of everyone registered their shock as they looked at each other in disbelief.

"The good news is I've been promoted to WO1 and ordered to form a new unit," Brose added before they could get too riled up. "It will be unlike anything The Center has ever done. It will be an independent command made up entirely of volunteers, separate from the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Sites. I'll be reporting directly to Kris. I'd like all of you to join this new unit."

The smiles on the faces left her know they all wanted to volunteer.

"Before you say yes, you need to know the new unit will be a first strike combat outfit," Brose said. "This means we'll be attacking, not reacting. All emerged who join will become privates in the Army. We will be killing the opposition and they'll be trying to kill us. Some of us may be killed. Some of our missions will be outside of the United States. Simply put, our mission will be to destroy the enemy wherever he may be. Now I don't want an answer now. Think about it, talk it over, then text me by 0700 hours with your intent to or not to volunteer. Nothing will be held against you if you decide not to join me. This meeting is over. I'm leaving, you're welcome to stay and talk this over."

They stayed for about half an hour. The soldiers stated emphatically they were going to join Brose. They also fielded questions about how it felt to kill and to see buddies wounded or killed. They all understood the seriousness of joining Brose. The McGuire cousins and the Quads had to discuss the matter further in private.

By 0700 Brose had eleven volunteers.

When the regular military contingent was asked for volunteers to join the new unit, three times more than required signed up. Brose sat down with Sgt. McNeil and Captain Johnson, who had led the relief unit during the last mission, to sort through the candidates. They wanted people who could bring additional expertise to the unit.

First, Sgt. McNeil was promoted to Master Sergeant. They finally settled on five soldiers. Cpl. Jordan Michael was a Ranger Pathfinder. Cpl. Janet Hills was a Ranger Mountain Warfare Specialist. Sgt. Dwayne Lincoln was a Special Forces Engineer. Pfc. Mandy Patterson was a Ranger Small Weapons Specialist. Sgt. Kevin Hoyle was a Special Forces Weapons Specialist.

Brose, in consultation with , Max, and Luce, discussed what skills would add to and compliment the new unit. A level three empath, aerokinetic, and electrokinetic were the skills they decided to add to the unit. After that, Brose reviewed the records and psychological tests of the possible candidates. Quite a few were eliminated since Brose felt they couldn't handle the pressure or fighting. All her final candidates had been out on missions. Then she flew to the other sites to observe the candidates and if they looked suitable finally talk to them. Everything was done discreetly so no one would be intimidated or offended. In the end Brose made her selections.

Brose's exploits had made the rounds of all the emerged in The Center system. When she appeared sporting her new uniform and insignia, it was clear to everyone she was serious. They had little doubt what they heard about Brose was true and not exaggeration.

Tricia Dallas was a third level electrokinetic. Emilio Kirk, or as he preferred to be called, Emo, was a third level projecting empath. Windsor Sky, or as he preferred to be called, Windy, was a third level aerokinetic. All had been involved in messy pick-ups so they had seen death. All had small arms experience and basic hand to hand combat training.

Upon returning to the Alpha Site, Brose met with and Ms Fine, Max and Kris to report her selections and have them transferred to the new unit. Brose also presented the new name she'd selected for the unit. "I'd like to call us BATTLE UNIT, TACTICAL, KEY INTERDICTION, KWIK RESOLUTION."

"Well, the name certainly covers all the bases," Ms Fine said. "But don't you think it's a bit unwieldy?

"Certainly," Brose agreed with a cat who ate the bird grin. "But the acronym is perfect if we spell quick K-W-I-K. What we'd have is B-U-T-K-I-K-R... BUTT KICKER."

It took a lot of self control for Ms Fine to keep her austere composure but the others just laughed. The new name was approved.

*****