Chapter 31B

Things Happen on the Way Back to the Nichols Residence

They had to stop and wait for some traffic before turning onto the street leading up to the Nichols' residence. Dan looked ahead and began experiencing bad vibes as he saw two darkened Suburbans situated just up the street. He slipped the assault vest across his shoulders and pulled both of his weapons out of their padded bags as Darryl's car finished the turn.

He spoke clearly and earnestly to his younger half-brother and the other federal agent. "Darryl, Paul. We're about to be attacked. Get ready for more of those goons from the program's enforcement arm. That looks like two more loads of them just up ahead of us."

Darryl muttered a profanity as their progress along the street was blocked by the two vehicles that had converged to shine all eight of their headlights upon the FBI Agent's car. Paul Tobler was drawing his service weapon as Darryl had brought the car to a halt.

It was at this moment that Dan went tactical. He had the door opening just as the car was coming to a stop. It snapped forward as he bailed and rolled over the pavement in a tight bundle of arms protecting his two weapons. The pressure pads activating the laser pointers of each weapon were bifurcated, ambidextrous attachments. One was on each side of the grip assembly for each of the two assault rifles. So, he had a laser designator available for activation by simple thumb pressure from either hand. Two red laser dots speared outwards from near the muzzles of an AC-556K and a CAR-15.

He kept his eyes lidded as he squinted against the glare of the converging headlights. He could manage to see the tires of the two vehicles as he detected the doors of them opening. His first act was simple. He triggered a three-round burst into each of the inward tires. Firing pins impinged upon primers. Primers exploded into powders and charges combusted. Brass cartridge cases heated up and softened as their powder charges were converted to hot gases. Copper-clad projectiles exited muzzles at speeds between two and three times the speed of sound. Actions cycled emptied brass and ejected them into the warm evening air. Bolts traveled forward and picked up fresh cartridges to seat in the chamber of each weapon. In less than a third of a second six emptied brass cases were lofted to float about through the air of that September evening.

The result was two tires exploding and the aim of headlights canting slightly inwards and downwards upon the target car. With this result Dan raised his aim and brought the laser designators to where he believed the inward headlights had to be located. He triggered off another set of three-round bursts. Suddenly, half of the glaring illumination that he had been facing was gone in a shattering orgy of flying glass. Then, one of the vehicles appeared to suffer an electrical failure and its other headlights dimmed to nothing. As this occurred Dan shifted the aim of the short Ruger assault carbine and blew out the remaining illumination of two headlights.

And as he finished that action he rolled another eight to ten feet until he bumped up against the concrete curbing of the street. He had released his hold on the laser pointer activation pads as he began his roll and hoped that his adversaries were now blind to his position.

It was at this point that he heard Darryl shout in a truly impressive voice. It was loud even after the blasts of his weapons. "F.B.I.! Federal Agents! Drop all weapons!"

Dan couldn't see Darryl as he was on the opposite side of the car. However, he could see Paul Tobler and he had his service automatic braced against the door frame pillar behind which he was crouching. Dan assumed that Darryl was positioned in a similar fashion on the driver's side of the vehicle.

He also began hearing approaching sirens. It sounded as though several law enforcement responders were coming right down the street from the direction of the Nichols' home. Dan grinned tightly as he thought of armored SWAT officers' responses to what they were about to find.

Dan caught some movement from someone stepping away from one of the two disabled vehicles and he quickly played a spot of laser light across the eyes of that opponent. It was only a fraction of a second, but he expected that would gain the full and whole attention of whoever thought that he could move so freely.

Paul Tobler had noticed what had just happened. He now shouted to cover Dan's action. "Don't move! If you try anything against us our weapons team will open fire!"

Dan heard that and just smiled for a moment. While the BATF agent might have been a bit overwhelmed about all of the computer and video systems he'd been exposed to that evening, he still had no problem when dealing with force and threats. He'd long been engaged in forceful entries and confrontations. And it appeared as though he was adept at dealing with fluid situations, what with his having caught on to what Dan was doing. And also with having made up the whopper of a lie about them having a weapons team with them.

There was a shouted order from beyond one of the two SUVs. "NO! You drop your weapons! We're taking into custody that kid you have with you! He's wanted for questioning and our orders are to take him into custody. Back down and let us do our job and no one will get hurt!"

Dan was getting pissed. He rotated the selector switch on the CAR-15 to full-auto and contemplated offing some of these bastards who were so keen on grabbing him. Even as he did this he began to see the strobing lights of approaching law enforcement vehicles. The wails of their sirens grew loud before their short portion of the street was filled with the roar of engines and squeals of tires as brakes were used to swing the vehicles into blocking positions beyond the two stopped SUVs.

Spotlights were suddenly turned upon the two Suburbans and Dan got a look at what appeared to be eight uniformed figures huddled back away from his direction. The light from the spotlights was spilling around the uniformed program enforcers and illuminating his position. Even before the arriving SWAT team could deploy and call out for the opposing enforcers to surrender there was a shout from within the huddled group. "There he is! Let's grab him before they can stop us!"

And with that five of the huddle broke loose and started rushing towards the young Don Nichols. The arriving officers and deputies could not engage the group as their fire would have been directed at the teenaged boy and two federal agents. None of them had had time to spread out into a position to provide enfilade fire upon Don's attackers. Conversely, Dan could not simply fire at the attacking enforcers without exposing the local officers and deputies to his own fire.

A not so young Dan Rhoderick felt the tingling as several stun weapons were turned upon him and discharged repeatedly. He simply hopped up and decided to use the CAR-15 to end the incident. He was simultaneously wondering what the approaching mob must be thinking as he had rose up and brought the automatic weapon to bear upon them. In his boots he stood just over six feet in height. The shortened weapon was like a toy in his hands as he'd allowed the AC-556K to drop to a carry position when he rose up on his feet.

Darryl Hanks was shouting "HALT! Stop! Halt or you'll be fired on!" He was maneuvering backwards towards the rear of the car to try and cover the young Don Nichols.

Paul Tobler was closer and was checking his four o'clock for Don's response as he too shouted for the running enforcers to check their charge upon the teenager. The BATF agent was steeling himself for having to fire upon the charging enforcers.

Dan came up with a solution to the problem. He didn't kill any of the attacking enforcers. He didn't even shoot them. But he did fire the chopped assault rifle.

Dan pointed the muzzle of the weapon downwards. He used the laser to paint the asphalt as he was being attacked. He began a left to right pass of the muzzle as he depressed the trigger. He had let the attacking group run almost to his point of aim on the asphalt. Flame leapt from the 5 & 1/2 inch long flash hider of the shortened weapon. He sprayed 14 rounds of 5.56 SS109 rounds into the asphalt just in front of his attackers.

The result could almost be considered predictable. A linear pattern of fourteen points of spalled damage appeared on the hard road surface. Portions of the hardened asphalt and embedded gravel of the tarmacadem surface joined bullet fragments in a spray of shrapnel flailing the legs of the attacking enforcers.

Screams and howls wailed out of the throats of five individuals and joined the wailing of sirens as their legs were peppered with the mix of shrapnel. The five attacking enforcers crashed down onto the hard road surface as they no longer found themselves capable of running, much less standing.

Dan dropped the empty CAR-15 across his chest and brought up the AC-556K to a ready position just in case it was needed. He looked beyond the five in front of him to the other three. Seeing them, he found that they had their hands in the air and were faced about as several armed SWAT and patrol officers & deputies approached them.

His thoughts went back and forth between the unreality of having armed enforcement personnel trying to take his fifteen year old persona into custody versus what he'd just been forced to do. He paused at those thoughts. Were they really armed? Did he really have to shoot? Even though his body was still humming to the adrenaline that had flooded his bloodstream, he was beginning to feel a letdown from the whole crazy situation. With the letdown came the beginning of worry.

Coming through the assembled officers was Captain Lester Thomas. He had a grim, hard expression on his face as walked around the five writhing enforcers. He was speaking on his radio as he approached Dan. As he came forward Dan noticed that Darryl and Paul appeared torn between dealing with the wounded enforcers or staying by him. Darryl especially seemed hyper-vigilant. He was scanning around them as if he next expected a whole platoon of blue-garbed enforcers to suddenly appear in a further effort to grab Don Nichols.

Lester stepped up before Dan and laid a hand on Don's shoulder. He spoke loudly enough to be heard over the moaning and sobbing of the wounded enforcers. "Are you alright, Don?" Lester looked worried.

Dan shrugged and allowed his patented grim sorta grin to play across Don's face. "I'm OK, Lester. 'Though, I'm gittin' kinda tired of all these attempts to grab me. Next time, there won't be any survivors."

This was a cough from the direction of FBI agent Darryl Hanks. "Don, I really didn't need to hear that." He was frowning as he continued his watch of their surroundings. Dan noticed that Paul Tobler was doing much the same thing. Both agents still had their service weapons in-hand, ready for use.

Dan grunted. He decided he didn't care what his little brother thought at that particular moment. "Well, Agent Hanks. I'm purely fed up with being the target of these whacked-out crazies. I'm thinkin' that maybe it's time I started thinnin' out their ranks. You know, take no prisoners and all that fine stuff about lettin' God sort out the sinners from the saints once all of 'em are dead." He let out a sigh and his posture drooped a bit as he really felt the continuation of the letdown from the adrenaline that had been driving his response to the attack. "Damn! I'm tired of this shit!"

Another vehicle had followed in the path of already arriving responders and it contained an armed William Nichols accompanied by FBI agent Dara Jones. Both had their hands resting upon their sidearms as they initially surveyed the damage surrounding Dan and the two agents. William ran over to his nephew and slowed as he saw close-up the mayhem of damaged vehicles and injured enforcers. His expression was grim as he came up beside Lester and looked Don up and down in search of harm done to the boy. He found nothing amiss but for noting that his clothing was dirty and his shorty blaster was hanging loose across his chest with the bolt locked back by an empty magazine follower.

"What happened?"

Dan shrugged with the tired shoulders of Don. "Another, larger bunch tried to grab me again. I'm gittin' tired of this stupid shit. I took out their vehicles and then stopped a rush by five of 'em as they tried to grab me. They were all focused on me and shooting me with their stunners. I just had to stop them. So, I did — without killin' any of 'em." Dan struggled to not become irritated with the questions being directed at him. He was becoming very tired. Tuesday had been painful and trying. Wednesday was proving to be more trying if as yet less directly painful. He momentarily wondered about his sudden onset of lethargy.

Is this just a letdown from the adrenaline or something else? Could all of those repeated stunner shots I just took actually be cumulative?

He suddenly felt his curiosity perk up his whole demeanor. He realized that this would be a topic he'd have to learn more about as time passed by. He might not be wholly immune to the stunners.

William had turned to Lester and they were discussing what might need to be done since Don had been involved in an actual shooting incident. Dan looked around and found that Agent Jones had joined several officers in checking over the injured enforcers. They were also retrieving and bagging the stunners that had been dropped by the enforcers when Dan's reply to their charge had stopped them.

Huh. No one's tried to disarm me. That's strange. It's gotta be way out of form for law enforcement any damned where to allow a kid to keep automatic arms in hand. Is this something else that I've missed? Could it be possible that this world allows for armed kids?

Dan pondered this possibility as he watched things going on around him.

Darryl Hanks was slowly shaking his head as he pulled out his cell phone. He'd seen the reaction of this kid and continued watching as Don just stood by while calmly awaiting whatever next might be about to happen.

Dan noticed Darryl's actions. As the approaching sounds of ambulances were heard in the distance Dan figured that his little brother was about to have another discussion with his old friend the director.

Dan stepped over to Darryl's car and sat down on the rear fender panel as Lester called the Sheriff and conferred with him on this latest incident involving young Don Nichols. William seemed to be discussing what had happened with Paul Tobler. And Dan carefully attuned his listening to Darryl's conversation.

This newer call elicited an even more vociferous exchange of comments than had occurred following the second attempt at grabbing Don Nichols. Two appointed officials and their elected boss were sounding purely pissed off as they learned of another lunatic attempt by out-of-control program enforcers to grab a fifteen year old boy. Dan could actually hear the voices coming out of the earpiece of Darryl's cellphone. He couldn't understand what was coming out of the small speaker, as he was surrounded by the sounds of ambulances arriving to care for the injured enforcers.

Dan did allow a slight grin to form as he contemplated possible outcomes for someone in supposed control of the ever to be damned program. However, his grin was short-lived as he contemplated possible outcomes of his own actions. He might be about to lose his own freedom. He had fired upon what might have been considered a group of unarmed federal officers.

Darryl's call ended relatively quickly. He let out a gust of breath as he clipped his phone back on his belt. He moved around to his car's seat and picked up a device from it. He stepped back out and called on his partner Dara Jones to join him. He then caught the attention of Paul Tobler. As the two other federal agents came over to him he gestured that they should walk over to where Dan was resting against the fender panel at the rear of the car.

Darryl walked up and stopped in front of Dan. "Don, do you feel like making a statement for the record? The Attorney General wants a report from us over what just happened and I'd appreciate a statement from you. Agent Tobler and I will add our own statements to yours and Agent Jones will be able to witness the statements. This whole series of incidents has now been federalized. Too many of these federal officers have attempted to seize you. That cannot be overlooked. The President gave me a direct order to assume overall command of this investigation."

William Nichols and Lester Thomas had come over to overhear what Darryl had to say to Don. Dan glanced at them and they both seemed to be considering what the FBI agent had asked of young Don.

Dan spoke up. "I'm willing to make a statement as long as Captain Thomas and my Uncle William also witness the statement." He quirked up an eyebrow at the two of them.

The two men looked at him and then at what was obviously a digital recorder that Darryl Hanks was holding. Lester turned to William and gave a small nod. William took that in and again looked at his all too self-possessed nephew. He then nodded. "Alright, just as long as we're included on the recording and can caution Don against saying anything that might incriminate him."

Dan wondered about exactly what good that might do him if someone decided to use such a statement against him. Still, he knew he should say something. Otherwise he might be spending the whole night with Darryl and his fellow agents.

Darryl Hanks nodded at Lester Thomas. "That would be fine, Captain Thomas. I'm sure that we'll be liasing with you over this whole set of incidents." Darryl paused for a moment as he seemed to consider what to say to William Nichols.

"I don't know that I can accept you as an official witness to Don's statement, Mr. Nichols. You're not a law enforcement official and so it would perhaps cast some doubt on your involvement and the usefulness of the entire statement if we included you as a witness in this evenings statements."

William actually grunted before reaching for his wallet. He looked a bit pained as he went through an exercise of opening it and pulling out a pair of ID cards. Dan caught a glimpse of them and thought that both appeared to be familiar. William handed them to Darryl and Dan observed that his little brother seemed surprised by what Don's uncle had just handed him.

Darryl took a few moments to check both IDs and then nodded. "OK, I suppose that makes it suitable for you to be included in an official capacity. Why didn't you become involved last night when we started calling officialdom regarding this?"

William shrugged his shoulders. "Henry had that covered well enough. And Don is his son. I just tried to pay attention and then I put in a reminder to someone to pay attention to what was happening here."

Dan's curiosity was starting to twig towards alarm as he heard this exchange and thought about those two ID cards that he'd gotten a glance of. As Darryl extended them back towards William it was Dan's hand that took them.

William didn't seem surprised. "That's right. You wouldn't remember anything about what your father and I told you about my service."

Dan was examining the cards and saw that William held a reserve commission in the Navy. He was a Lt. Commander. The other card was from an organization that he knew well enough, having been debriefed by members of its staff after particular missions. And certain observations from several family get-togethers came to the fore as he considered that William was a Naval officer. In the pool he moved like a damned fish. William's own kids and the twins loved to have him toss them around in the water. He was muscled unlike most men in their latter 30s. And he had knowledge of the use of all sorts of weapons.

Damn. I've been blind. I thought it was all about Henry, alone.

Dan looked at Don's uncle. "You're a SEAL, aren't you."

Lester Thomas' eyebrows went up quicker than Dan would have thought possible. He checked the others and saw them shifting their gazes from him to William as they processed what he'd quickly surmised to be William's background.

William nodded. "Yeah. Well, I used to be one."

"And Delta Force, too. You've served with them. You still report to SOCOM, I bet."

William grinned as he nodded again.

Dan held up the second card. "How do you manage to retain this?"

William actually grinned. "I'm only semi-retired. My mix of knowledge regarding electronic intelligence gathering and direct action has me sometimes engaged in operational planning or review. I'd still be an operator if I hadn't broken my leg in two places. I no longer limp, but I can't be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes anymore. So, I still report to certain agencies upon occasion. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Dan jerked his head in a couple of nods. He was rapidly going over everything he'd ever done or said around William. He didn't think William had ever served with him. He suspected that he'd been out of Delta Force before William ever showed up to serve there. He suddenly remembered that he should speak. "Yeah, I think I understand. Are your communications monitored?"