Chapter 26: Vengeance 4; An Eye for an Eye,

Ted watched the Chinook helicopter, flying due north, disappear behind some nearby mountains.

"Rita, where the hell is that damn lander that I asked for?" Ted said as he scanned the sky.

"It will be above us in forty-five seconds. I suggest you come to a stop so it can pick us up."

Ted brought the fifty-ton Mech to a stop, and scanned for the lander. The two hundred thousand ton ship came out of the clouds and hovered directly above him. The iris opened in the bottom of the ship. A tractor beam latched onto him, and lifted the Mech up three hundred feet, into the cargo hold and placed him on the cargo deck. After he was set down, he walked the Mech into a repair gantry. Twenty medium spiders flowed over the Mech, and started the repairs as an ensign walked out onto the repair deck. Ted took a drink of water from one of his canteens and opened the hatch.

Carlos walked up to the flight deck of the smuggler's chopper and said, "Captain Hernandez? Land near the highway, I will get off there."

Pulling a packet of bills out of his jacket, he continued, "Here's ten thousand. Fly to Cartagena, and land where I was originally going to get off."

"You're the boss, Sir."

Adjusting the pitch of the helicopter, he set the transport chopper down in a field next to the highway. As the ramp descended, the cargo master released the cables holding the Hummer in place.

Carlos walked back to his SUV, and climbed in, and backed it down the ramp. Putting it in gear, he gunned the engine, and headed for the road and back to the highway. The big V8 engine roared as he floored the gas pedal, and he grinned as he watched the helicopter lift off.

"Suckers!"

Coming up to an intersection, he took the left road heading for port city of Turbo, and his yacht. Checking the mileage as he went by the sign he saw that he should be there in two hours. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number.

"You know who this is! Get some men along the Medellin road. There is a target coming. I want the pilot. The reward is five hundred thousand if he or she is alive. Prepare the wall for a visitor. Use Ana as the counter ... if she is still alive, that is." Carlos listened to the voice, and continued, "Good. I will have some more fun with her before our surprise arrives. Contact Major Rivera. I want four of his birds in the air, to disable the target. Pay is another five hundred thousand, but only if the package is alive."

Hanging up the phone, he grinned as his plans were set in motion.

Ted stood up in the Mech's cockpit and opened the hatch. Climbing down, he looked at his battered Mech and shook his head.

"Damn! I took some damage."

Ensign Anthony Howl looked at the Mech's damage and replied to his captain. "You sure did, Captain. Did you get them all?"

"No! One got away. Speaking of which, I need to talk with your captain." Activating his com, he asked, "Who is the pilot up there?"

"Sir, Captain Jim Woo. What can I do for you?"

Ted listened to the com, and said, "Captain Woo, there's a Chinook heading north, get me to it."

"Yes, Sir. I have it on sensors, its heading for Cartagena. Do you wish me to follow her?" replied Captain Woo. Then his com unit went off and he said, "Just a second, Sir," and the intercom clicked off. A few seconds later the ship's com came back on and she said, "Sorry, Sir, I..."

Impatiently Ted waited and when the pilot came back on, he continued what he was going to say, "Yes, track the Chinook. When you close to it, I want you to force the son of a bitch down."

Capitan Woo was in a dilemma, with the new orders he has received. "But, Sir, I've orders to deliver..."

"Do not tell me about orders! I just gave you some! Now follow them, or I will come up there and you will not like the consequences. Once it's down I will disembark, and deal with the son of a bitch who killed my wife."

"But, Sir, I must tell you about your wife, she..."

Ted felt his anger starting to boil and his temper was in his voice, as he said, "Shut up about my wife, and follow the orders I gave you."

Ensign Howl reached out to the Captain and started to set his hand on his arm.

"Sir, it's not like..."

Ted slapped the hand away, "Get up on your flight deck, have Captain Woo contact me when we have the chopper down. I will disembark and then kill the son of a bitch." Looking at the confused ensign, he shouted, "Get up there." Ted turned and climbed back up into his Mech, sitting down he closed the hatch.

Pulling the picture of his wife off the dash, he looked at it. "Jenny, my sweet love, when this bastard is dead, I don't know..."

Rita came on and started to try to talk to her captain, "Sir, we will be landing on the Oregon in five minutes, Captain Woo has decided to..."

"What!" Flipping on his com, he contacted the cockpit. "Captain Woo, I gave you direct orders to chase that Chinook down! You have five seconds to turn around, or else."

"Sir, I'm sorry but I've been ordered to return you to the ship."

"Fuck you."

Powering up his Mech he forced his Mech through the repair gantry, and walked to the jet packs. Turning the Mech around he leaned into a pack and felt it lock in place, as he said, "Rita, get those spiders in the storage compartment."

"Yes, Sir, but sir I should tell you I've been ordered to shut down."

Ted listened to the AI and snapped out new orders, "You will disregard all outside orders. You were assigned to me, and you will obey my orders. What's the damage report?"

"Sir, I will obey them under protest. Everything but weapons and the shield emitter have been repaired. The shield emitter needs a new crystal, which is up on the ship, the replicator pads can make one but the spiders cannot. You have a full load of gun ammo and both plasma cannons on your right arm."

Ten frowned. He could have used the shield, but would have to live without it. He replied as he pressed a button on the pad before him, "Good. Now shut down."

"Yes, Sir."

Ted put the Mech in gear and walked to the drop hole. Typing commands it refused to open so activating the com he said, "Open the damn iris, or I will blow it open."

"Sir, I can't..."

"Fine, have it your way."

Aiming the plasma cannon at the iris, he blew the doors off and stepped up to the edge as the ship shivered from the sudden displacement of ten tons. Stepping out over the lip, he tumbled out of the ship and continued to tumble as he fell. The Mech flipped repeatedly. As he came around again, he fired the jetpack, and the Mech straightened out and slowed as he fell through the upper atmosphere.

Up in the cockpit Jim turned on his com unit and said, "This is Captain Woo. Commodore Thompson, your son-in-law has lost it. I don't know what he is planning to do, but I would suggest you contact..." The ship lurched as an explosion registered on the sensor board. Looking at the damage control board, he saw the iris sensors were off line.

"That son of a bitch! He just blew the iris out of the ships hold."

"Captain, use your tractor beams on the Mech. Bring it back onboard."

Captain Woo flipped the scanners on, and saw the Captain's Mech falling through the air.

"Yes, sir. I will do that now."

Turning the ship around, he headed back to the Mech, praying he could lock onto it before it slammed into the ground. As he watched, the jetpacks on the Mech fired, and he exhaled the breath he was holding.

"I will be in range in less than one minute."

Lisa stood on the bridge watching her sister-in-law's father issuing orders to the lander when a message came in from Rita.

'Lisa, Ted has gone out of control he wants to kill this man. Ted is not acting sane.'

Lisa thought of her sister in law who was possibly dying right now. If she did, Ted will do something drastic. 'Rita, do as he says, do not worry I will take the blame. Keep him alive.'

'I will try my best. Rita out.'

Stepping up to the Commodore she said, "John, let him go. If you do not and this bastard gets away, I do not know what Ted would do. He will not let us tell him his wife, your daughter's condition. Why, I do not know, but I beg you to let him go. He will be back when the anger is burned out of him."

John could not believe what he was hearing.

"Lisa, we cannot allow him to do this. Jenny is alive. He needs to come back to her. He needs to come back and take command of his ship."

"Yes, Jenny is alive but it's not a sure thing she will live. I will deal with Ted. Just take care of his command for him."

Lisa disappeared in a sparking mist.

Surprised by Lisa's hasty departure he shouted, "Damn it, Lisa, you come back here."

Ted watched as his Mech descended to the Earth, and wondered how much ground he had lost.

"I will kill the pilot if that bastard gets away."

As the Mech hit the ground, he saw a sparkling out of the corner of his eye, and he snapped out, "Lisa what do you want?"

"Ted, I had to come. You're not listing to any reports. Now shut up and listen."

"Sis, I'm..."

"I said shut up!" Watching as her brother's jaw snapped shut, she continued, "Now, Jenny is alive, but her condition is grave. I had to put her in an unattached capsule, I'm using the..."

Ted whirled on his sister, and snapped out, "You put her in one of those damn coffins."

"Theodore White shut the fuck up, and listen to me for once in your life!" Lisa snapped back at him and looked at Ted daring him to say one word before she continued to speak, "Now I said the capsule is unattached I've using the liquid nannites to try to save her life. Jenny will never be connected to any ship, or used as an AI/Interface. I put her in the capsule for the nannites. It raised her chance of living from forty percent to fifty-five percent. Now I'm breaking many rules for you. Kill that bastard and then come home. He left the helicopter or I think he did, it landed just before they picked you up. I've highlighted the area on your HUD where I think he disembarked. That is all I can do for now. When you need a pick up, you call me, and we will come get you." Leaning over, she kissed Ted on the lips, since that was all she can see through the helmet. "I love you." and she disappeared in front of him.

Ted sat there thinking of Jenny, and what his sister has just told him about her. It was as though the heavy weight on his chest has suddenly been lifted, and a new purpose now lay close at hand.

"Rita, activate the HUD."

The HUD came up and he saw the flashing spot, and turned his Mech and started running. The Mech picked up speed and soon it was traveling at ninety miles an hour down the road. Behind it, on the pavement, it left six-inch deep craters from its weight.

Ted got to the field where the helicopter had set down and he saw tire tracks coming out of the field and heading down the road.

"Got you now you son of a bitch. Rita, scan for his emissions," Ted said.

"Scanning, I have several trace elements of diesel fuel from several vehicles. I suggest you start moving now."

Ted put the lancer back in gear and started following the clues. The jungle closed in on him as he ran down the road, smashing through the overhangs as he went through the jungle. Coming out of the jungle, he ran through a small village, scattering the inhabitants as he ran through it. Behind him, he left downed power and phone lines that he had not meant to destroy.

Sergeant Edmundo Gutierrez sat at his desk writing up the day's reports. He was writing out a report on the recent FARC activity in the area, and the kidnapping of two American tourists. On the radio, they were talking about the explosion at the hospital in Bogotá. Then the radio started talking about an alien invasion from a giant space ship. He looked up at his companion, Agustín Rios.