Chapter 158
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Distant Bridge, Alameda (5)
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Orca Black was the CIA's San Francisco branch. Therefore, Nathan Chadwick should normally have been called the branch chief. But he insisted on the ambiguous title of team leader.
"It's an effort for harmony, Lieutenant. Special forces guys like Delta Force or Navy SEALs don't like CIA agents much. It's self-inflicted, so what can you do?"
He had to look good. Chadwick said this with a silly smile.
While speaking, he was clicking some buttons. It was a wired remote control, connected on the other end to a box of unknown contents. The box jolted every time he pressed the buttons. And a muffled sound came from it. Winter felt like he knew what was inside the box.
This had happened on the first night of April.
Ahead of the Tan Guosheng escort mission, Winter had gone to bed early to stay in top condition. But the time acceleration was quickly interrupted. Chadwick had summoned the boy officer. The team leader, whom he met in the control room, said he had a favor to ask. He led Winter to the Black Site Deck.
"What do you mean by 'self-inflicted'?"
At Winter's question, Chadwick pressed a button hard and replied.
"It's inevitable when bad intel makes them come up empty. We're not gods, after all. But some less-than-human elements acted pretty arrogantly. Even if it's just some, it ends up representing the whole CIA. We've taken a lot of flak since the Libya massacre."
He let out a hearty laugh.
He added to his words. The Libya massacre referred to the terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy that happened in '12. Winter had vaguely heard of it. The CIA's inadequate response had worsened the situation.
"Lieutenant, have you heard of GRS?"
"I've heard the name."
GRS, along with SAD, was one of the CIA's two major armed groups.
"We treated them like consumables. Official missions or unofficial ones, it didn't matter. But those guys were heroes who survived against all odds from all sorts of special forces units. So, naturally, the opinion among the juniors soured. Self-inflicted, you could say."
Click-click. Amid this, the playful sound of button-pressing. Winter frowned.
"Does Supervisor Gibson know what's going on here?"
"Well, yeah. This much is necessary for the operation, isn't it?"
The smiling team leader didn't look like an evil man. But the person inside the box would likely disagree. Assuming they were in any state to give an opinion.
The CIA San Francisco operations headquarters, codenamed "Pequod," had many secret areas. Even FBI supervisor Joanna Gibson couldn't wander all the decks. Access was granted only to zones directly related to the Jangjeong No. 9 pursuit operation, "Fair Strike."
So Winter's question was natural.
"Black Site Deck..."
From the accumulated apocalypse knowledge, Winter knew a black site was a secret CIA location for using "enhanced interrogation techniques." He'd heard such places existed even on U.S. soil. Meaning, they tortured their own citizens.
He'd expected one here too. But he couldn't guess why Chadwick had called him.
"What's the favor you want from me? I don't want to go into the mission with fatigue."
At Winter's words, the team leader looked surprised.
"Oh, hearing that makes our lieutenant seem human. You endured three days straight without sleep and now you're turning down rest."
He was referring to the first adaptation period. The week he was tested by Captain Fowler. The final three days allowed no sleep. It was a Marine tradition. Boot camp at least gave a few hours, but the captain had been one level harsher.
"I'd appreciate an answer to my question."
At the demand not to dodge, the team leader handed over the remote.
"Press it."
"...What does this mean."
"It's necessary."
Winter took the proffered remote and silently stared at him. Chadwick shrugged.
"I act crazy to look the part, but I'm not insane. It's just troublesome if I seem normal. Professionally and in good conscience."
Short words, long meaning. There were people like this. Ones who resolved to be killed themselves in order to kill others. But was it sincere? The inside was still invisible. Every time a mask came off, a new one appeared.
"I know, Lieutenant. That torture isn't right. But it's this era. You can't live as a human without shedding your humanity. Yeah, patriotism isn't justice. But it's essential for survival. Press it. That's how you'll get important info from me."
Chadwick gestured. Winter set the remote down.
"I don't understand why you're testing me like this now, Team Leader."
"..."
"The mere fact that I'm here means you've already judged me, doesn't it? I was a murderer in the refugee zone. You won't pretend you didn't know."
Pointing out that the CIA couldn't be that sloppy made Chadwick laugh.
"Oh, if it offended you, I apologize. I just needed certainty. In the critical moment, will you accept necessary evils for the greater good? Will it hinder the operation? You know the Afghan shepherd and Navy SEAL story. We can't have that here."
The team leader referenced the U.S. special forces in Afghanistan who encountered civilians during a covert op. They agonized. Kill the civilians for secrecy? There were kids among them.
The U.S. troops didn't pull the trigger. As a result, they suffered horrific losses.
Winter responded.
"I'll keep in mind that I'm not the only one with a guilty conscience. If that's not enough, please exclude me from the operation."
"Well, now."
Chadwick let out a playful sigh.
"Maybe Langley sending you here was a mistake. Who knows what those desk jockeys do. Can't believe they were ever in the field. That's why I don't go there. Afraid I'd become the same relic."
Langley was the CIA headquarters location.
In the end, Chadwick didn't reveal his true purpose to Winter. Nor did he exclude him from the operation as Winter suggested. Mulling over that night's conversation, Winter felt a bad premonition.
"What necessary evil is he planning?"
If his hunch was right, it wouldn't be ordinary.
"Li, what are you thinking so deeply? You're not hurting anywhere, are you?"
Tan Guosheng's voice. Winter looked at him. He'd been worried about Winter's long silence.
"I'm fine physically. I was thinking about how to get out of here."
Whatever Chadwick was scheming, if the operation itself went smoothly, there'd be no need to care.
The Beidou satellite key held by Tan Guosheng's mother, Navy Lieutenant General Xie Lu. Securing that alone could dramatically reduce the nuclear threat to the U.S. mainland.
"It won't be as good as catching Jangjeong No. 9, but..."
Beidou was China's GPS equivalent. Still inferior to GPS. It was being built with a 2020 completion goal. At the "Day after Apocalypse" start, it provided coordinates limited to Northeast Asia, Oceania, and India.
But per CIA intel, for military use, it was different. It was involved in the final guidance of nuclear ballistic missiles anywhere in the world. If coordinates could be skewed as the missile fell? The warhead would miss the target by a wide margin. At least tens of kilometers off.
The U.S. had considered destroying the satellites. But if remaining Chinese forces detected it, it could provoke extreme actions. No satellites didn't mean no missiles.
Boom, thud.
A loud noise came from the direction of the vent.
"Hmm, looks like they're trying to come up. Won't do them any good, though."
The officer said this, but his voice trembled with anxiety. Winter nodded.
"We crammed them in tight, so they won't break through easily. At least not until we leave."
They'd stuffed corpses into the vent. Stacked and folded electrocuted variants and jammed them into the vertical passage. It wasn't a wide duct to begin with. In a space where limbs couldn't even extend properly, how could they clear obstacles at jumping height? It would take a long time to climb up.
"About the way out."
The officer pointed east toward the cityscape.
"See those abandoned U.S. military vehicles? We could use one. Take a look."
He offered binoculars. Winter declined. It was close enough for the naked eye. Several vehicles abandoned at the intersection. Including a tank. A fuel tanker was stopped nearby.
"The fuel hose is still plugged in. Looks like they were refueling when attacked."
Otherwise, no reason for the tank to fall to variants. San Francisco's fall happened before grumbles appeared. A moving tank was invincible against variants. But that firepower only worked with intact logistics. In citywide chaos, how efficient was a gas-guzzling monster?
"We could strip the mounted weapons and use them. Maybe even fuel up that tank (tank) and drive it. Somehow get two kilometers south. Then we get fire support from the sea. Isn't that the perfect ending?"
As he said, Alameda Island was long east-west and narrow north-south. Their position was near the north shore, but the south shore was just two kilometers away. Even a heavy tank could cross it in moments. Not even a beta grumble could stop 60 tons of steel charging.
But it was impossible.
"Major. We don't know the tank's activation code."
They could probably start it mechanically. But a modern tank without electronics was a blind coffin. Nor could they drive with heads exposed.
"Code... right, yeah. Forgot it's enemy equipment. Damn. Those Lao Mei (old Americans). Modernization is fine, but they didn't consider full-scale war? What if other soldiers rode after the tankers died?"
"The roads are a mess to begin with. Unknown obstacles. And with tank noise? It's practically suicide."
From above, the asphalt was shattered everywhere. Traces of multiple floods. Smashed houses in the middle of roads too. Winds had pushed them. Clear water channels carved between. Still many puddles.
Riding vehicles was out.
At least the undersea tunnels were flooded. Webster Tunnel and Posey Tunnel to Oakland both submerged in red water.
"Then what should we do?"
"I agree up to securing weapons and ammo. We're too exposed now."
"And after?"
"I think heading to the north waterway is better. Shorter distance, and four hounds died here."
"There'll be other hounds."
"It was a new type we hadn't seen before. Unlikely many already."
"Still..."
To the worried officer, Winter pointed west of the cityscape. The view was fading. Due to sunset fog rolling in from the sea. It looked like it'd reach here soon.
"Luckily, today's fog seems thick. Good enough to bet on. No swimming variants yet. Even if remaining hounds catch our scent, what can they do if we're in the middle of the river? Grumbles' throws have low accuracy."
Even when detected during bridge demolition, grumbles were the issue. San Francisco's fickle fog that day fell way short of expectations. Dogs scented them, and giants hurled small monsters. Projectiles flailing limbs wildly, unafraid of drowning.
"And this is just my thought, but going where there's no bridge should lower encounter odds a lot."
"Don't get it."
"Means they understand the bridge's importance."
"No way."
Tan Guosheng frowned. But to Winter's judgment, it fit a trickster. It didn't use basic tactics or strategy, did it?
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Q&A
Q. Ronap-nim: @While rereading, it suddenly hit me. Was it Asteroso? When going to the health bureau isolation ward, there was a description that the Chinese refugees' last meal wasn't military rations. What did that mean? Still can't guess even rereading.
A. At that time, Winter thought it wasn't the missing people but variants that ate them. Chapter title was probably Signs? Winter's guess turned out right.
Q. Saramnamu-nim: Wow... @Author-nim, if a physical book comes out, should I buy? Worried about product reliability. How many ramen bowls can it withstand? Oden soup okay?
A. It can probably stop 9mm pistol rounds?
Q. Sudal7-nim: @For the work's ending or future major plot parts with bigger roles, is it more reality side or virtual side?
A. Theme leans more toward reality. But feel like the reality story couldn't stand without the virtual reality one.
Q. Lolica-nim: Author-nim, STEM major?
A. Humanities. Specifically, Korean Lit, the farthest from STEM.
Q. Bulgomkeukwang-nim: @Any platform serializing with per-chapter payment like vol 1?
A. Serializing on Naver Enstore. Originally supposed to start on Ridibooks and others last month, but Naver asked to hold off for one more month.