StarDestroyer.Net BBS

28 October 2007
The 42nd day.

I am having my first real food in several weeks. I'm in clean clothes and have been able to enjoy a long hot shower. We were picked up by an Air Cav unit that was sweeping our area. They apparently liked our temporary home so much that they decided turned it into a local OP.

We're all in a hotel here, a fairly nice one too. All the rooms are sealed and guards are in the corridors - if we want anything we can call on our military room service. Its a prison of sorts, but I don't mind. I'm warm. Happy. I'm watching Married With Children re-runs on cable. And to top it all off I can look out my window and see rings or razor wire, machine gun and mortar emplacements and circling gunships.

We got here about eight hours ago. We were escorted at gunpoint off the helicopter which had picked us up and into temporary holding cages that they had built into the drained roof-top pool. From there it was the expected mix of medical reviews and a bit of a debrief. Apparently all the scaremongering and panic of the early days had been unjustified. I'd thought as much. Still, the world is about 30% less populated than it was about two months ago.

But somehow, out of all of this shit, I've survived. And humanities survived. Hell - Michael Bay survived and apparently announced Bad Boys 3 two weeks ago. I guess that means Martin Lawrence is still alive.

It sounds like it was Africa, Eastern Europe and South East Asia that really suffered - along with a few parts of South America. The rest of the world just battened down the hatches and weathered the storm. The soldiers who picked us up said that they'd been going pretty much non-stop for the past six weeks. They've been all up and down the Eastern seaboard and had just been redeployed to the interior after the forces from Iraq had arrived home - and gone to work keeping Eastern states under martial law. Some homecoming.

But, here I am now. Safe and sound in some four star tower in downtown St Louis. This will probably be the last entry in my diary. Sgt Panzyk asked me if I'd mind handing it over to them to be used as a basis for future debriefs with me and my fellow survivors. Apparently our area is to be the next focus of a sweep, so they want any info we had. I'm more than happy to help. And I want this book behind me. I can remember some of the things that I've written about in here and wish to god I couldn't. Anything that will help me forget one day is fine by me.

-=-=-=-=-=-


Transcripts of meeting between CDC, USAMRIID and JCS representatives.

Timestamp: 0215Z - 29 August 2007

Dr August Keller - CDC Virology specialist [AK]: We have so far identified the pathogen as being related to the previously known strains which were recovered in Sudan and Bosnia. This is a more virulent strain however - shorter incubation time of between three and eight days, with a median length of six days and a far greater neurological effect than the previously identified strains. We have designated this strain the Valencia Strain.

MajGen Pete Norton - USMC JCS [PN]: Greater how? Is this still showing the enhanced aggression and reduced functional capacity?

AK: Yes. Far greater aggression than previous strains - in fact, verging on uncontrollable in the early stages and rapidly becoming uncontrollable once the nervous system is overwhelmed.

Dr Phillipa Gregory - CDC morbidity specialist [PG]: We should bear in mind people, that this particular pathogen has shown very minimal rates of morbidity directly attributable to the virus and its symptoms. Only in those with existing nervous system dysfunctions, have been at any real risk, along with the usual mix of eldery and very young. This virus seems to be well balanced in that once it has overcome the immune system there is little ongoing damage being done - and from our albeit limited observations it seems that the greatest morbidity threat here may be the same faced by most homeless - exposure, malnutrition and possibly secondary infections, especially given the fact that the immune system is so heavily compromised.

Thomas Belcher - Unspecified agency [TB]: So, there is no definate timeline for the infected to be killed by the virus?

PG: No. The virus will rarely kill. As I stated, the main morbidity factors have been secondary.

TB: So this could become a multi-generational issue?

PG: Possibly, but work is being undertaken to develop vaccines and to look at possible treatments, but you are reminded that this is a virus and reliable treatment is still elusive for the common cold.

Staff-Sgt Norman Webster - US Army Intelligence [NW]: Apologies for interrupting, but we are receiving footage from a UAV over Ethiopia.

[FOOTAGE PLAYING IN BACKGROUND]

NW: This is a regional fishermans market - we can see that there has been some military action and we are seeking out any ongoing action.

Dr Montgomerty Chalmers - USAMRIID biowarfare specialist [MC]: Looks like a fairly standard hotzone sweep - the troops seem to have limited NBC protection.

NW: Gas masks only, some have been sighted wearing long-sleeved poncho type clothing.

MC: Are those burning areas - are they structures, or are those funeral pyres?

[unintelligible]

NW: Mainly structures, though we have seen at least four mass graves being constructed.

Lt-Gen Zach Albright - USAF JCS [ZA]: Do we know what kind of temperature is required to eliminate the virus?

AK: Its not especially temperature tolerant, which is another indicator that this is a naturally occuring rather than engineered virus - boiling water will kill it, which means that basic purification techniques can help in negating that vector - as for pure heat tolerance, around 80 centigrade is its threshold. Between 50 and 70 its forced into a dormant state, but at 80 degrees centigrade we have observed 98% decomposition of the virus samples. Increase this temperature to 150 and we can see that 100% of the virus has been eliminated - only basic proteins remain, no active components of the virus are persistant at that point.

ZA: So, traditional countermeasures will work.

MC: If by traditional you mean saturation fire-bombing. Yes. Do we have additional information on UV resistance and airborne persistance at this time?

AK: Limited. Both the Bosnian and Sudanese samples have shown minimal tolerance for UV exposure - as well as other limiting factors meaning that airborne persistance is at most a few seconds, and this is under ideal conditions - high humidity, dark and warm. The Valencia strain seems to have developed a much better airborne persistance, but intense UV exposure will still kill the virus.

TB: Intense?

AK: Standard disinfectant lamp arrays should destroy the virus on exposed materials. It is persistant in room temperature air for up to two minutes. This increases to up to five minutes in air at forty degrees centigrade. Low humidity decreases the persistance, higher levels will assist persistance. This means that airborne infection scenarios are usually only likely in cases where there is prolonged contact in confined areas. However - it also means that fluid transfer infection is now an even more reliable vector due to increased persistance outside of a host.

[Assorted outcries]

TB: What the hell is going on?

NW: It looks like the sweeping team was ambushed -

AK: This is an unprecedented level of aggression being displayed.

MC: More importantly, this is beyond the usual rash, aggressive actions. This appears to be a planned ambush by infected individuals.

PN: Looks like fairly primitive tactics, but they all appear to be armed - a variety of knives and clubs.

MC: And some throwing stones..

TB: And here we see that anomalous behaviour emerging again - lacking a direct threat, most infected have been nothing but increasingly territorial and occassionally psychotic. However, with the new strain it appears that less of the higher cerebral functions remain - this is almost regressive behaviour.

AK: We need copies of this footage for study - can it be authorised for release to some psychologists and anthropologists?


-=-=-=-=-=-


*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Johannesburg Bureau
Date: 02 September 2007
_Heavy Rioting in shanty town areas
_Police response has been brutal at this time
_Current information indicates that this may be related to recent outbreaks in other areas of Africa
-additional to follow-

*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Paris Bureau
Date: 05 September 2007
_First case reported in France
_Recently returned business man confirmed as infected
_Returned from conference in Shanghai
_Police are enforcing quarantine of his apartment building and office
-additional to follow-

*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Beijing Bureau
Date: 06 September 2007
_Prem. firmly denies all reports of Val infection in China
_Denies that Shanghai conference centre has been confirmed as a source of more than 350 infections
_Stated that China intends to supply USD2.5bn in aid to affected African nations
-additional to follow-

*****AP Wire*****
Orig: London Bureau
Date: 10 September 2007
_PM Brown declared quarantine in effect from 0000 GMT
_Exclusion zone will include all UK territorial waters and airspace
_Internal travel to be restricted
_Citizens advised to remain in their own homes
_RN and RAF have free-fire orders for all breaches after this time
_Statement: "Britain will weather this storm, there is no threat here, except that to which we allow ourselves to succumb."
-additional to follow-


-=-=-=-=-=-


11 September 2007
Talk-back radio program, New York City, NY, USA

Host: So, what's the feeling about this "Val" threat anyway? Is Europe just over-reacting? I mean, look at us here - six years on from 9/11 and now they want us to be scared of something that makes people angry? Hell, we live in New York. Everyone here is angry anyway - hate to think what this might do in Jersey! Caller, you're on the air.

Caller: Things are far worse than are being reported! We've already got tens of cases in all major US cities - and we know that number is only going to sky rocket. How long until this gets out of hand?

Host: You don't think that we can deal with it?

Caller: Oh - I have no doubts that we /could/ deal with it, but do you think most people have the ability to kill a loved one who is infected? Because, we've seen the reports - no cure! No hope of a cure any time soon. And in the mean time, you've got the equivalent of a PCP raging maniac on your hands. How many parents do you think are going to be able to take care of their kid if the kid turns into a "Val" case?

Host: That's a bit of an extreme view?

Caller: Extreme? What the [deleted] are you talking about! This kind of [deleted] is going to be an every day occurance for the majority of the population. My only recommendation - get lots of fresh water, tinned food and make sure that your house can lock down tight. [hangs up]

Host: One of the more paranoid members of our community there. Joining me now is NYPD spokesman Daniel Fitzgerald, now Daniel - tell me what precautions we should be taking.

Spokesman: We'd ask that people be more careful with hygiene - this is critical for public and personal health at this time. Be very mindful of your own security, should you feel threatened, do NOT attempt to engage the attacker on your own, instead call for police assistance immediately and find a populated, safe venue to await a response.

Host: So, the usual nights business in New York?

Spokesman: With a few exceptions - all off-duty, reserve and auxilliary personnel have been recalled to duty. From tonight all NYPD units will be given the option to wear full protective equipment.

Host: Protective equipment?

Spokesman: Officers are being encouraged to wear riot armour and helmets with face-shields while on duty. Respirators are also being encouraged. The appearance may be different, but the NYPD will still be providing a courteous and timely service to the community throughout this situation.


-=-=-=-=-=-


*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Moscow Bureau
Date: 13 September 2007
_Fighter bomber aircraft have targeted outlying sections of Moscow
_3 apartment blocks have been bombed
_Multiple army units have been deployed to isolate the area
_FSB troops are massing near press outlets and foreign embassies


*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Seoul Bureau
Date: 14 September 2007
_Reports of massed executions are reaching the South Korean capital
_Border forces report seeing multiple civilians being shot while attempting to flee the North
_Military spokesmen refuse to confirm reports of artillery fire being heard by listening posts


*****AP Wire*****
Orig: Manilla Bureau
Date: 15 September 2007
_No confirmation yet received on the reports of intensive aerial bombardment of towns in Mindano area
_President Arroyo has declined to comment on the use of military force in containing the Valencia-strain cases
_Opposition figures have labelled the actions "premature" and "excessive"


-=-=-=-=-=-


White House Press Briefing
16 September 2007, 1042Z

Speech transcript for distribution

"This crisis is one which the United States will not be effected by. Our nation is strong. Our nation is secure. Our nation is safe. We will not over-react. But we should not mistake this for a lack of action.

Our nation is now, more than ever, reliant on its people. It will be on the strength of will of the average citizen that this crisis is resolved.

Our borders have been strengthened in the past years. Our nation is as secure as it has ever been. I can see no reason why we should close our skies, blockade our ports and empty our streets.

This nation is strong enough to survive. We will make it through this dark time. Our friends abroad will always see America as a beacon, burning as a hope to all mankind.

So, people of America - be strong. Hold your loved ones close and know that you will be safe. Be strong . . . Be strong and work together to make sure that our proud nation continues to stand at the pinnacle of the world."


-=-=-=-=-=-


Underground press release
16 September 2007, 1400Z

09152007WhiteHouse.mov - 12.54mb

Uploaded to anonymous file server - link mass posted to thousands of BBS sites.

*movie starts*
Card - white text on black:
This is the true account of the events at the White House today.

*fade in - camera is positioned to rear of the room, no watermarks or other logos present, quality would indicate a mobile phone or other small camera with direct broadcast capacity*

[background noise, chattering]

Reporter 1: [shouted] Do you have no answer to the reported 1000 percent increase in assaults in the past three days?

Press Sec: There is no evidence to back that up. The president has made his -

Reporter 1: [shouted] This report came directly from the desks of five police chiefs!

Press Sec: Each of whom rescinded their statements at a later time.

Reporter 2: [shouted] After they had been specifically requested to by your office!

Press Sec: The President's statement is complete. There are no further questions at this time.

[general uproar]

Reporter 3: [shouted] What about the El Paso incident?

Press Sec: No comment.

Reporter 4: [shouted] So you have no comment on the killing of 72 civilians by a local militia?

Press Sec: No comment.

Reporter 1: [shouted] So the position of the administration is that nothing is wrong and we should all go on with our lives?

Press Sec: No comment.

[Press Sec leaves room]

*fade to map of US with reported Valencia Strain cases marked*

Voice Over: There is no justice or truth in this nation anymore. Only lies and deception. The Valencia Strain is a serious issue. Not one to be treated with flippancy, brutality and cover-ups. Listen to the voices of the silenced - make sure that your family and yourself are safe. This is no time for executive complacency and ineptitude. We have seen the effects on other nations so far. What makes you think that ours will be spared?

*end of video*

-=-=-=-=-=-


BBC World Service Report
16 September 2007 2309GMT

Today saw an explosion the number of cases of the Valencia Strain worldwide. WHO and CDC officials admit that their predictions had fallen well short of the actual number infected. Civil disturbances and unrest have made this day all the more horrific, as we continue to receive reports of atrocities committed by both the infected and those seeking to stall the spread of the virus. We go now to one of our correspondants in Australia, where the government today ordered further measures. With the borders already closed, Prime Minister John Howard has ordered the country under martial law, suspending the Constitution and, to the dismay of many - the scheduled elections, until the crisis has passed.


-=-=-=-=-=-

So, that was part one of what I intend to be a collaborative fic - I'll post the setting details later. Effectively its a 28 Days Later type scenario, but with more intelligent "infected". They are about neolithic level in terms of intelligence (will pick up and use basic weapons) and share the amazing bloody-mindedness and relentlessness of infected (but are still fucking mortal - goddamn you 28WL). The basic concept is that all the characters who are the focus of anyone's writings will end up in the hotel featured here.

You keep this going, you hear? Because it seems quite awesome.

There are no hotels like that in downtown.
-Token StLouisian

I know - but hey, a little S.o.D thanks!

Looks good so far; I look forward to the rest.

Background has started to be posted...

Goddammit! He suspended the elections!

I know! That scumbag!

NEW SECTION:

18 September 2007

Not sure why I'm writing all this down. Some attempt at catharthis probably. Its been years since I wrote any kind of journal. Last time I did was when I was about 13 and was hooked on Naomi from down the street. Why do I need to write all this down to try and cleanse myself of the stress and emotions which have been almost overwhelming?

Valencia. The Valencia Strain has been wreaking havoc. Just a few days after the President told everyone to be calm - we are now a fractured society. Its a horrific sight in some of the cities - or at least the news crews which are venturing out are only showing the worst stuff. Some reports say it isn't that bad. Some that it's the apocalypse.

I'm not taking any chances. I had a mob of Valencia cases attack my car. I only just got out of there alive - got a nasty set of bruises from the rocks that they were throwing. Then, as soon as the windows were broken they started trying to get to me with anything that they had. I think that I must have killed six or seven people already - I just hit the gas and ran straight through the melee in front of me. An American V8 and wide tires are good for one thing.

But I don't even know if all of the people I hit were infected. I may have killed uninfected innocents. But, the police are too busy dealing with everything else right now. If its not the violence caused by the Val's, then its the looting, the general mob disorders or worse - the aftermath of an over-reaction. Radio this morning was talking about some guy in Michigan who'd lost it. He'd come into the office, same time as any other morning, shaved, in his suit and ready to work, but today he had a gas mask and a bag full of guns. Then had just shot and killed everyone. When the police captured him he was still ranting about making sure the place was safe and clean.

The President was dead wrong with some of his ideas too. Domestic air travel is still going - but some states and cities are now starting to enforce their own quarantines. Hell - a few are finally calling up the guard as well. But there aren't many to call - too busy on other deployments overseas.

I'm heading out towards my grandparents farm. They died last year when grandpa fell asleep at the wheel of the truck and they went straight into a tree at 10pm one night. The farm's been looked after by a neighbour though - so its still in good condition and I visit there regularly. It's a great location to hide out from all this. Fairly isolated, the house sits on the top of a hill across a river from the main road and the only crossing point is a solid, concrete bridge that my grandpa had built after he got back from the Korea.

Right now, I'm in a line at a service station, waiting to get in and fill my tank. Might be my last chance for a while. That's if I get there. The owner has posted a bunch of his buddies around the concrete apron of the place with shotguns and rifles. And inflated the prices a few hundred percent. I'm not keen to be anywhere near this place if it gets ugly, but at the same time, even if I have to blow $100 just to top up the tank and get a jerry can, then that's good enough for me.


-=-=-=-=-=-

19 September 2007

So here I am at the farm. It looks pretty nice at the moment, no sign of the neighbours though - and the driveway doesn't look like it's been driven down for a few days at least. From the house I can see the landscape nearly 360 degrees, most of the time out to at least ten or fifteen miles. Except for the north east, where about a mile away there's a big hill that falls just inside an old bit of woodland reserve. Parks service have a fire spotting tower up there - I'm going to check it out tomorrow, because if there is a better position to run to in this area, I'll be damned if I know it.

TV and radio are both talking about LA and New York. As usual. New York is having a pretty bad run at the moment. So much so that New Jersey order the bridges and tunnels blocked. LA apparently is heading towards anarchy, but hey - what's new? The big news there was that a bunch of the "private military companies" which have been so prominent in Iraq are pulling out from there. They've chartered jets and bribed officials in all the key places to fly guys back to pick up even more lucrative assignments protecting Hollywood celebrities from any harm. Blackwater had some guy on talking about how they'd never encountered such a demand for their services before.

Its getting pretty crazy in the old US of A. Now, I just have to thank God, and more importantly - the 2nd Amendment. My grandpa was nothing if not a collector. And though his Garand might be a little outdated, he'd kept it as his working rifle for the farm ever since he'd smuggled it back home (hell - he'd had it through Africa and Italy and then Korea, why did he have to smuggle it back). But there were newer pieces too - lots of shotguns and hunting rifles. This was where I'd learned to shoot as a kid. Tin cans mainly, but I'd learnt my lessons well. Now I just haveto remember them.

The neighbours are still nowhere to be seen - no lights on at their place night or day. I get the feeling they didn't go on holiday.

-=-=-=-=-=-

22 September 2007

Checked the fire-tower. No one there. Radios and antennae in place. Powered with solar now. Good to know. Could see a few pillars of smoke way off in the distance. Some traffic on the interstate visible through the spotting scopes up there. Great signal reception on the radio.

Still no sign of the neighbours - though from the tower I could see that their vehicles are all there.


-=-=-=-=-=-

23 September 2007

America - home of McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Wendy's and one of the most obese populations in the world. Hallelujah. I went foraging today - heading southwest towards a small town. Took my SUV and loaded it up with empty jerry cans, boxes and bags. I knew the town had several places I wanted to visit - a small grocers, a service station and most importantly a surplus/hunting/hobby store.

The place was a goddamn ghost town when I arrived. No blood on the streets or broken windows or anything that ominous. No sign of the locals, but it was all still locked up fairly tight from what I could see. I got most of what I wanted from the surplus store and grocer and was trying to figure out the pumps at the station when I heard the bastard. He'd stepped on something and given away his position. And I'd been overconfident and left the shotgun in the jeep. I took off at a sprint. I'd seen these bastards go after someone before and knew that they wouldn't stop.

But this was a big bastard - fat as a motherfucker - he started running after me as fast as he could. Then after about a dozen steps he just dropped. Purple in the face I watched him just fall. Bastard had a heart attack. That's all I can think of - got so worked up and angry from the Val blowing his system away and then when it kicked in to try and chase me, his body had no more to give. I didn't check his pulse. I was going to shoot him, but I didn't want to risk any blood or shit getting on me or near me. At least until I had my kit ready.

The town at that point though - it fucking came alive. I'd heard that the Val's were smarter than most people had given them credit for, but this only proved it to me. The bastard who'd given chase to me had obviously blown their ambush and they were spilling out from the long grass on the road side. I made it to the jeep, jumped in and fucking floored it out of there (leaving the engine running mightn't be fuel efficient, but goddamn its a good idea in this kind of situation). The whole crowd of them came after me, some throwing bricks, others holding branches or any other weapon the could find. I waited until I was well clear of them before doubling back a little way and taking a roundabout way back to the farm.

I couldn't wait to check out my haul from the day and hoped that I'd be able to make something of it. You see - I'd been raised by my dad after my mother died young of cancer. And my dad had always been pretty busy - he'd had about a dozen jobs in my lifetime, he'd never been able to settle down after leaving the Marines. The farm was from my mother's side and my grandparents had always been good to me. From a young age though, I'd learnt responsibility. I'd done well in Scouts, done well in school and college and was, up until this shit started - doing well as a researcher for a local lobbyist. But all my life I'd been taught to be prepared, plan for the long term and always have a backup. Experience had taught all my family that. Too often the hard way.

I knew that if I wanted to go anywhere built up again, I'd want some protection. In the mean time this had just been a dust mask. Now, I had charcoal filter gas mask (of dubious protection agaisnt a virus), a selection of BDUs and a wide variety of electronics. Not to mention as much tinned and freeze-dried food and bottled water as I'd been able to find. I'd also picked up a veritable Aladdin's Cave of survival gear. I seem to have missed some bits from my list, but I don't care - I found more than enough extra.

What scares me most though was being alone. One man can easily be overwhelmed. I need support, but I also don't want to be swamped. Gotta think about that. But I'm going to visit the neighbours tomorrow. Now that I'm ready for it.

-=-=-=-=-=-

24 September 2007

I must have been vomiting all afternoon. I left before dawn to get up to the neighbour's place. Drove until I was about a half mile away and then started to walk in, didn't want to raise too much attention. I was wearing camo, gloves, big camo over-boots (like waders) had the gas mask on and the old Garand in my hands and a nice Taurus 9mm in a thigh holster. Thankfully it was a nice cool morning - I don't think I'd like that get-up much in the heat of the day.

As I got closer I could tell that this wasn't going to be good. The dogs had been stoned to death while tied up. I couldn't see any movement in the windows, so I slung the rifle and went in with the pistol in one hand and a big maglite in the other.

It was a fucking horror movie come to life. Blood all over the walls. Dry and days old. I'm thankful that all I could smell was the horrible rubber stench of the mask too because I don't want to think about what it may have smelt like. I found the daughter, Virginia - she was face down on the lounge room floor. One of her arms half-cut off by something. Her stomach must have been cut too - there was a lot of blood down that way. And her head had been caved in at the back by something.

I don't know how I held it together there, but I couldn't once I reached the kitchen. From the hallway I could hear some noise, a crying, whimpering noise with an occasional muffled scream. I hoped to find someone alive. Too bad I did.

Her mother was sitting naked on the floor, blood streaming down her chin and onto her chest. She was trying to eat a can of creamed corn. I could see that her teeth were shattered - each time she bit down on the can she whimpered in pain. Somewhere in her Val-ridden mind there must have been an association between that can and food, but the single-mindedness of her actions obviously showed that was as far as the logic had ever gone. She may have been a Val case, she may have just been mad. I couldn't take the chance. She hadn't heard me coming. Didn't see me come in. Between her tear soaked eyes, the crying and the pain, she had missed my approach entirely. A single shot to the temple ended it.

I finished the rest of the house. Found out what had cut the daughter - the big cleaver stuck at an angle into dad's kidneys as he was asleep in bed. Obviously that wasn't the first place he'd been hit - his back had been hacked to pieces - his wife had just left the cleaver there when she was done. Who knows when she'd killed the dogs, or what she'd been doing for the past few days since killing her family.

Shock is a hell of a thing. I walked out of the house feeling fine. Then about halfway through the field on the way back to the jeep I lost it. Just doubled over and started emptying my stomach. Then, I just sat there in a pool of my own vomit and started crying. Only stopped when I heard another car. Never did see them though. I poured a jerry can of water over my head when I got to the car, the followed that up with a liberal dousing of dettol. I cleaned up properly when I got back here, but I hadn't wanted to contaminate the car with blood.

I came straight back here and finished tidying up. Been into a bottle ever since. Got a plan for getting attention and help though. I'll just have to see if I'm in any state to drive tomorrow.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

ooh, a Zombie fic.

Well written zombie fic

Very well written. That last entry was positively chilling.

I'm curious. When's this story heading to Valencia?

It's not - the Valencia Strain (as detailed in the fluff) is the virus that is causing this...

Very nice, very haunting look at the rural town.

25 September 2007

My plan worked. Well, the first part of it did. Now I have to see if I get any response. I drove down to the local main road (which I've got a good view of from the farmhouse) and found a big highway sign that I could see. Then I just whitewashed it with paint from the farm (it might have been a farm, but my grandma had always loved a white picket fence). Front and back I did this, before leaving it to dry. Then I spray painted a message onto it: "Need Help?" I strapped a milk crate onto one of the signs legs. Put a few flares in it with some more directions - use a green flare if you are in need of non-urgent assistance, use a red flare if you are in need of urgent help.

I mightn't be able to see the road at all times, but I'm confident that a star-shell flare being fired would be fairly noticable anywhere around these parts. I'm thinking of doing a few more signs like this, but I'm not sure how much attention I really want to attract.

News today hasn't been good - the Middle East has gone completely off the rails. More sectarian violence, killings and mayhem than usual. The Sunnis are saying that Val is a divine punishment against the Shi'ites. The Shi'ites are saying the same thing about the Sunnis. Both are saying it about the Jews and the Pope has gone off the deep end calling it the end of days. Seems like everyone is being nice and rational about it.

Most countries are pulling all their peacekeeping forces and offshore resources home in an effort to keep the peace on their own streets. If we in the West thought we'd seen horrible sights during the fighting over there so far, then what they showed of the aftermath of a reprisal attack on a Shi'ite suburb for an attack by infected (allegedly) on a Sunni mosque made the rest of it look like a 1950s Disney flick.

The New Mexico state police have been ordered to close all interstate and intercity highways. Quite a few states have followed this example. They're locking down the cities, trying to keep each one seperate and manageable. Not a bad idea.

I'm packing a load of gear to take up to the fire-tower tomorrow. Going to start establishing some more redundancies.

-=-=-=-=-=-

26 September 2007

It didn't take that long for Val to spread. Apparently there were multiple infection vectors, so it moved quickly through vulnerable populations. Then those infected people spread it to their families. The police and paramedics were hit pretty hard early on. Its now only just being announced how big the problem is. Apparently in some cities the authorities are just gone. Wiped out by infection or desertion. Take your pick. It doesn't help those who need the support of those groups.

Mr "Undisclosed Location" himself announced that troops would be remaining in place overseas. Kept telling people that there was no lasting threat... Yeah, right.

Its a mess. A real mess. I just know that I have to stay safe. I set the firetower up as a back-up location. Got lots of food, water and other supplies up there now. Ended up taking the jeep most of the way, then carrying up the gear in several loads. I coudl see the interstate again. No traffic. But there was a lot of smoke coming from the horizon. Some city was well alight. You don't usually see that much smoke unless there's a massive forest fire. And there's no major forests out that way that I know of.

Thinking of opening a lot of the internal gates on the properties around here. Quite a few of the cattle are starting to look pretty hungry and I can't afford the time yet to arrange proper rotations. So I'm just going to let them roam free within the properties of their owners. Then if/when the owners return they can claim them.

-=-=-=-=-=-

27 September 2007

Not much happened today around here. I shifted some cattle around and they seemed happy at being in the long grass again. I've also been working on getting the two-way radio sets, police and mobile phone scanners which I got from the survival store working. Also decided to try some planning to fortify this place some more. I'm not that good at construction, but I'm starting to get a good shopping list of items that I'll need to do this properly. No sign of any other living souls in this area. No sounds of cars or gunshots or anything like that. So, like I said, pretty quiet. Can't say the same about the rest of the world.

Seems that Israel just firebombed the West Bank and Gaza and have been involved in some activities on the ground that though brutal, would certainly have dissuaded any other from trying to enter the country. But - goddamnit - bombing the huge refugee camps like that. It's not like they're the first though. But already there's reports of large scale ground and air clashes with its neighbours again. Just going to be more fodder for the maniacs who keep proclaiming this to be the end times.

Apparently most states are trying to keep infrastructure online - power stations and water plants. This isn't stopping most people from panicking still, buying up every torch, candle, battery and bottle of water they can find in stores and stealing and looting what they can't. Gotta wonder what the aftermath of this is going to be. Will people like me face murder charges? I hit a bunch of people who I assumed were infected in my jeep - vehicular manslaughter at least. Will there be some kind of general amnesty? How long will it take before the authorities can get a grip on the situation.

How long? Its a great question. The Val's are not some undead zombies from beyond the grave. They aren't superhuman. They aren't unstoppable. They don't have super-senses. They still have some basic brain functions, definitely enough to lay a trap, as too many people have found out.

There was a story on BBC World Service about how a group of Val's were fiercely defending some territory that they had chosen as their own in London's docklands. They'd ambush people, chase police trying to wipe them out into dead-ends or other Val's. Working together. Primitively, but it's bad enough that they can do that. I've seen them using weapons too. Nothing complex, but as they say: sticks and stones may hurt my bones.

I'll start making measurements tomorrow for my fortifications. I think this plan will end up working pretty well. If I can get the materials.

28 September 2007

I've got company now. Good company. Benny and Cassie - he's ex-army, now a carpet salesman, she's a nurse of all things - but in a palliative care hospice so she managed to avoid Val, lucky for both of them. They bolted from the city when it started to get bad, brought their two dogs along as well. Nice big boys, german shepherds, named Mack and Buster.

I'd heard a vehicle coming a few minutes before it came into view on the stretch of road I could see through binoculars. I had the jeep packed and running and was standing in the tray on the back staring at this old model Subaru stationwagon which was roaring up the road. They pulled up at the sign and I saw Benny get out, he had a shotgun ready and quickly scouted around, his wife still behind the wheel, ready to go. I watched him walk to the basket and pull out a flare. Before he'd even lit it I was racing towards them in the jeep.

They were suspicious of me at first, and with good reason. We'd both been hearing reports of looting parties and roaming gangs. And here I was infront of them, wearing camoflage and a gasmask, not to mention the gloves, overboots et al. That's without mentioning the weapons I was carrying. Needless to say, for a few moments it was pretty tense. But Benny's a cool character, he talked to me about who I was and what I was doing, all the while, his shotgun never left his shoulder and I was staring down a remarkably big looking barrel. I told them to follow me back to the farm - that I had a secure house and a good stock of supplies. And that I was alone, not part of a gang or anything like that. And that I needed their help. I must have convinced them that I wasn't crazy, because right now, they're sitting infront of the fire with their dogs sitting happily on the porch outside eating some barely defrosted ox-tail. And also - I'm not dead on the side of the road with a half dozen shotgun pellets in my chest.

Once we got back to the house, I took them on a tour of the property - Benny seemed impressed with the layout and with what I'd done so far, but his biggest concern was long term security. He seems to think that we'll be in this for the long haul. I talked to them over lunch about the nearby town, which appeared to be completely infected, but had large stocks of supplies - as long as we could safely get them. I also told them what I'd found out about the local area so far.

It was late afternoon when the announcement came over the radio that the military was threatening a coup. The networks are going nuts - tryign to figure out what is going on. They were obviously sick of the denials of the problem and the continued squandering of resources overseas when small town USA is worse than Baghdad on a bad day. Hell - they had all the Joint Chiefs lined up at a Pentagon press conference telling the cameras that the use of the US military within its own borders was inevitable at this point. That the action required at this time is action which the government is refusing to take. The president and co. are yet to draft a response. Probably because Mr Undisclosed-Location is still of the goddamn radar.

We spent the next few hours listening to more reports from around the world over the shortwave, while preparing weapons and equipment for tomorrow. All three of us are going to be making an attack on that town. We want to get into the grocers and the hardware store, we need food supplies and we also want supplies to let us secure the house and firetower more than they already are. We'll be going in at just before dawn, working on the principle that the Val's should be sleepy and not on their game at that time. I hope we're right. News from Europe isn't so good, Paris is literally burning down - imagine the riots that they occassionally have an multiply them exponentially. Its a goddamn nightmare there by the sounds of things - they've even had the air force start conducting strikes on the large projects where the infection is allegedly centred. Japan has been sinking any vessels coming or going into or out of their waters. Not to mention taking out planes that refuse to turn around or try to leave. The JSDF has blown train lines and highways and the country has become a series of isolated cities and towns. And it sounds like there's a big confrontation brewing after they shot down a USAF transport plane trying to land at one of our bases there. The Korean peninsula is quiet, some suspect that the North may have collapsed entirely, or that they are not willing to risk infection as they may have been spared thus far by their enforced isolation.

Its about 10pm now - the skyline in the direction of the big smoke towers from the other day is glowing orange, so that fire must still be burning strong. Benny and Cassie both went to bed about an hour ago, its reassuring to have them here, but a few more wouldn't go astray. I guess tomorrow we find out how good our plan really is.


-=-=-=-=-

29 September 2007

We're all alive. And all unharmed, but it was pretty hairy. Thankfully we got most of the Vals that were there and the rest scattered damn quickly, so it should be safer to go there again. We're now so stocked up that its ridiculous, in the end we made three trips to carry everything. We finished hauling everything just before dark and are working on plans for the next few days to be spent on construction.

We arrived at the town before dawn, all of us dressed in camoflage gear, wearing latex gloves under thicker dishwashing gloves, the big overboots/waders and gasmasks. Cassie was driving the jeep after having a bit of practice last night, Benny was riding shotgun in the front with a semi-auto Ruger Mini-14, I was sitting facing backwards in the tray with the Garand. Cassie had their shotgun close at hand. In the back seat behind me were about a half dozen more weapons from both my grandpas and Benny's collections. We were expecting trouble and as soon as we entered town, it was clear we were going to get it.

There had obviously been more people passing through since my last visit. But they'd failed to actually pass through. Their car was sitting in the middle of the main road, every window smashed, the interior flecked with blood and with pools of blood and drag marks all around it. I could see a kids seat in the back. Cassie saw it too and made a kind of hiccuping, whimpering noise. I didn't want to see either an infected kid, or a dead kid. We reached the hardware store and started to get ready, the street was nice and open here, so we'd have plenty of room to fire at attackers, there weren't many openings or alleys or driveways, so there were limited spots for an ambush. The biggest threats where the intersections at each end of the block which we were roughly in the middle of.

We all moved together, Benny took the lead his training evident in the way he moved, Cassie in the middle and me bringing up the rear. We busted through the main door of the hardware store using a sledgehammer. Once open Benny quickly scouted it and made sure the rest of it was safe. Janine returned to the jeep and backed it up to the door, keeping it running, she stood on the drivers seat shotgun in hand keeping an eye out on the street. Benny and I started grabbing everything we thought we would need. It was while we were moving a big roll of cyclone fence wire that we heard Cassie's shout and the shotgun start firing.

As we'd planned to do, we dropped the load we were carrying and sprinted outside. We could see a badly wounded person at the north end of the block, lying on the sreet. A few more heads occassionally poked around the corner. Benny started firing down the street in the other direction and I saw several more Vals drop.

They'd tried to flank us. Benny screamed at us to move. Cassie dropped down into the drivers seat and got it into gear, I stood on the back seats, gripping the roll-bar and facing backwards to watch for pursuit, Benny sat in the front again, his rifle poised to fire out his open window or through the windscreen if need be. We took off away from the main street and saw the full force of Vals begin pursuit. I would have thought there'd be maybe forty or fifty. We reached a point in the road where it began to turn left and go uphill and Benny called for us to halt. Cassie kept it idling and ready to gun the engine and go, while Benny and I lined up and once the got within thirty metres just started firing.

I emptied the Garand in a few seconds and grabbed a shotgun from the backseat. In under a minute it was over. The road was littered with bodies. A few still moaned or moved and each received a single, aimed, shot from Benny. A few had run off into a small nature reserve nearby.

We headed back into town, driving on the shoulder of the road to avoid the bodies littering the asphalt. At the hardware store we found a single Val, a woman, maybe sixty years old staggering around the aisles. Benny put two shots into her chest with his pistol. I asked him about his service later - he'd been in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention various peace-keeping missions. He'd seen a lot of combat, but had been wounded by an IED while riding in a hummer near Baqubah in Iraq and retired back in 2005. His training was definitely keeping us alive. And given the stories I'd heard on the news about the way St Louis had been going, I have no doubt that it was his training that had gotten him and his wife safely out of there.

On our second run a few tried to jump us near the service station as we filled up every jerry can or container we could find. The ran into the long grass again after a few shots. The fat guys corpse was still there. A little messed up from something chewing on it and sitting in the sun, but there. Again, gas masks probably made that a whole lot more acceptable.

By the third run, they'd figured out that we were a little more than they could handle. Aside from a few thrown rocks and one over-zealous Val with a shard of glass he looked like he'd been using as a dagger, but it was probably his own blood covering a lot of it, after all - holding a bit of jagged glass in your fist as tight as you can is going to hurt you a lot.

The news of the day wasn't that good either. Regional skirmishes are flaring up everywhere, Indonesia has been bombing the hell out of Papua New Guinea and some it's other more restive provinces, Africa is alight with conflicts and genocides, the Swiss have shut down everything into and out of their country which may be a vector for infection and are ruthlessly purging the infected. There was some kind of massacre at the Rio Grande border crossing - death toll is into the hundreds apparently. The Indian armed forces completely annihilated a large shanty town which they claimed had been a Val haven - the media had gotten coverage of it. Hundreds of troops in their NBC kit piling thousands of bodies into enormous mass graves which were being set alight.

The military is continuing its threats on Washington. It sounds like they're going to be pulling out regardless of what the Commander in Chief says. And given the situation, its not like a budget hearing is going to hurt - from what I understand most police and guard units have been "nationalising" resources any time they need something. Benny says that he'd gotten a phone call from some of his old army buddies still over in Iraq just before they left town. Apparently the media isn't reporting the half of what's actually happening over there. The officers' in charge ordered a half mile wide killing field around all emplacements and the greenzone. Airstrikes, artillery, demolitions were all used to clear any buildings, vacant or otherwise. Those who couldn't or wouldn't move were taken out regardless. Many bases are being abandoned as they pull back to major airstrips to secure those in force in preparation for the eventual airlifts out. Similarly, massed armour movements are heading towards the Gulf Ports for evacuation. Benny reckons that it'll only be a few more days before they make their move, with or without the support of the government. And if its without, then things are going to get even more difficult in the US of A.

More Braiinnsss.

A new segment of the tale, with a more traditional narrative bent.

South-Eastern Baghdad. US Army compound. 0949 Local. 30 September 2007.

"There's too fucking many of them!"
"There's snipers out there too!"
"Man down! Medic!"
"More Val's coming from the North East!"
"Mortar fire incoming!"
"Get some goddamn air support here!"

The compound had been many things in the past, a noble family's walled home and land, a temporary fortress, a grain warehouse and most recently a large trucking companies lot. Now, it was filled with armoured vehicles, portable dwellings, antennae and wounded. All along its ancient stone and mudbrick walls were troops in fighting positions. Beyond the walls was nothing short of hell itself.

Burning buildings soiled the air with smoke, the sky over Baghdad was as dark as it had been since the oil fields had burnt in '91. Much of the city was burning, explosions from airstrikes, artillery, mortars, carbombs, IEDS and all manner of weaponry sparked new blazes continually. No firefighters braved the streets. No HMMWV convoys moved through the city on patrol. The battle had been lost, between the warring militias and the horrific violence sparked by the Valencia strain's outbreak no police or military dared to leave the safety of their reinforced homes.

"Vehicle coming from the South! Increasing speed!" A battered Volvo spears through a debris riddled street, its driver obscured by the tint of the windows. Briefly. As it accelerates along the street it is hit by the fire of at least a dozen weapons at once. The windscreen disappears, the bonnet and bodywork of the car is churned into a deformed, rusted hulk. The driver triggers the explosives prematurely as the car veers to its left, into an abandoned cafe. The shopfront disappears behind a wave of dust, a series of secondary explosions indicates that the gas cylinders in the building are popping due to the heat. Cpt. David Quong was in charge of the defense of this location.

Vietnamese by birth, he had emigrated to the US with his family towards the end of the war. He'd been raised in Seattle by his parents in a house that tried to take on every bit of the American culture with pride. His mother had gone to work at a supermarket while his father retrained, he'd fought with the south Vietnamese before having a leg seriously injured and choosing to spend the last of his savings guaranteeing evacuation. He finished an electrical engineering degree and went to work in the late 1970s with one of the many firms in the area that were beginning to cater to the growing computer industry. His mother left the supermarket to become a translator, the families emphasis on integrating paying off for her too.

They'd lived in a nice neighbourhood, his father held barbeques year round, loving to invite families from up and down the street and David's school friends and their families along. David had gone well in school, never topping the class, but getting through admirably. His parent's never seemed prouder than the day he announced that he'd been accepted into West Point. Now, after nearly a decade of peacekeeping operations, the strange war in Afghanistan and countless battles with the insurgency in Iraq, he realised that he was facing a completely different challenge. The only objective was to keep his men alive. There was no village to secure, no leader to capture, no weapons cache to find. It was a matter of holding this speck of land and lasting until Washington finally decided to evacuate them from this fucked up nation.

"This is Baker station calling for any air support callsign, this is Baker station calling for any air support callsign. Please respond, over." Quong's radioman had been trying to get help for nearly half an hour. No one held out much hope of getting more than a single flight a day. There was just too much going on. They'd heard a few other locations had fallen. Mainly the smaller outposts where a few squads were positioned. Baker, as the compound was known, had been established early on and held an infantry company with a small detachment of Bradleys assigned to them, along with a large group of HMMWVs and other transports.
"Baker station, this is Judge flight, we are a flight of two Cobras and we are heavy." The radioman's face brightens instantly.
"Sir - we have a flight of Cobras on the line - they are standing by."
"Order them to hit the North East and East. Force the Val's back and on the East we'll call buildings when snipers are spotted."
"Roger Sir," the radioman picks up the radio headpiece again, "Judge flight, focus on the Val's to the North East of the base. Anything outside the perimeter is unfriendly. I say again, anything outside of the perimeter is unfriendly. Targets of opportunity may present, we are receiving sniper fire from the East. Targets will be called as they are spotted."

It is made of awesome

30 September 2007

We've spent the day building and I'm damn tired. We've reinforced the house quite heavily - all doors now have heavy duty bracing ready to be put in place, both to bar and brace them. Windows have all been covered in cyclone fencing and have been cross-taped to help stop shattering. We also spent a bit of time figuring out if we could do anything to the farm fences - some of them are electrified so we're definately going to keep those active just for a little disincentive for the Vals. The cattlegrid on the driveway is also something that will make life hard for them, but its by no means perfect. We're thinking about trying to put up a larger fence around the whole house, but it mightn't be worth the effort.

We also modified the vehicles. Where I'd lost windows on the jeep we now had the cyclone wire welded in place. I've also been thinking about putting it up on blocks for a while and filling all the tyres with that space-filler foam so that we have some primitive run-flats. Benny and I spent a little time out around the farm looking for the most likely approach routes, then set trip-flares and other make-shift alarms along them. The dogs seem to like it here, Mack has taken a liking to me, but Buster is still a little standoff-ish, they've got the run of the large area around the house out to the first fences and the cattlegrid, which is more than they probably ever saw back in the city. They seem to like barking at the cattle which are grazing their way across the eastern field too. Hopefully if they ever spot a Val or other intruder they'll be just as vocal.

Saw a whole bunch of contrails late this afternoon. Must have been a good seventy or eighty aircraft, and all multi-engined by the look of things. Nothing on the news about it though, so I'm not sure what it was all about. Maybe the military is finally pulling out some troops. The news has otherwise been pretty bleak, a bunch of channels have stopped broadcasting, but all the news networks are still there. Local news is also still going. They've reported that the guard and reservist units have secured the nuclear powerplant a few counties over and will be keeping it online for as long as possible. Running water is off in many cities though as part of the quarantine efforts.

Apparently the police finally killed the Vals that were holed up in London that had been causing hassles for everyone in the Docklands. A mix of SO19, riot police and a bunch of their larger vehicles worked together to corral the Vals into a single building. Then it was room to room to clear it. Benny thought it was insanity to do it that way and they should have just demolished it once they had them cooped up - but there's always a reason to not to it that way, especially when half the news services in the world are covering the events live.

Someone had managed to post a video online from within Russia too. Fox showed it in its entirety. And it was terrifying. The large tenements and reliance on public transport there had caused some massive outbreaks. The video was being taken from atop one of the low-rise buildings on the outskirts of a large tenement complex. Riot police were attempting to cordon off the entire estate, but meeting fierce resistance from within one of the high-rise structures. What I can only assume were Vals were attacking the police from within the building as well as occassionally rushing out in nearly suicidal wave attacks, with ten or so sprinting out from a door whenever they spotted a straggler or weakness in the line of police. Five or six times did this happen, each time one or two would make it back inside, but also each time at least one of the police went down from their injuries. Eventually some vehicles arrived, which Benny identified as BTRs and BMPs. They disgorged troops and the assembled force just began pummeling any window or room that was seen to have a target in it. Eventually they started firing some sort of rocket into the buildings. Benny couldn't believe it: "Schmels!", he literally shouted. Some sort of fuel-air bomb in an RPG form apparently. Soon the building was completely ablaze. Flames pouring from every window. Figures wreathed in fire jumping from them or running out the doors. Each one that still showed signs of life was fired upon by the soldiers or the vehicles with them. After a few minutes, no one new emerged from the buidling. The police and military began to work their way around to the other buildings probing for any resistance and calling for any non-infected to make their way out.

The whole thing was about fifteen minutes long and showed just how bad the situation was in some places. Its still nowhere near what we'd seen in movies like Dawn of the Dead, but in some places its obviously pretty bad.

We're planning to head up to the fire-tower tomorrow to reinforce that in a similar manner. Benny also wants to clear the other farmhouses in the area and get any supplies that we can. After what I saw at the neighbours I'm not sure that I can handle that, but I suppose we'll have to give it a try.


-=-=-=-=-=-


[And what's this? A third thread? Are they connected? What is this all about?]


Masks down. Weapons ready. They can't be ready for us. Can they?

Out of the van, four of us ready to go. All armed with weapons we'd smuggled back. Covered with armour which we had bought legally. Old-style BDUs with old-style boots.

The bank is in front of us. Four armoured cars queued up and being loaded. The first of the flashbangs lands amongst them.

Maximum speed. Overwhelming force. The armoured car guards are neither stupid enough nor paid enough to put up anything beyond a token resistance. One looks like he's going to try something and cops a punch for his efforts. In a few seconds they are all lined up face down on the ground like cheaply uniformed sardines. We'd become excellent at such basic and effective crowd control over the past five years. Dragging Taliban from caves, Republican Guard from disabled armour and shattered bunkers and insurgents from houses and cars.

The sounds outside had warned those inside of what was coming. It wouldn't help. With gasmasks fitted we storm in behind a barrage of CS gas and flashbangs. The guards are isolated and taken down as gently as they'll let us. The bank employees are pliant. They've had the training on how to react. And they know that we aren't some meth-head looking to grab a roll of quarters to fund their next hit. They can see we are the real deal, well trained and with a definite plan.

The guards are all secured. The gates to the rear of the bank are still open. It all looks good.

"Foyer clear! Sound off! ONE!"
"TWO!"
"THREE!"
"FOUR!"

"Evens! Cover the front. Three, you're with me!"

We move into the rear of the bank. Our weapons in our shoulders ready to fire. The few bank employees we see are already curled up into balls on the ground. Coughing and crying from the gas. A voice crackles in my ear, "One, this is Ten, we've got police response coming. Just two black and whites coming down from the north."

"Scare the shit out of them, but try to avoid casualties. We need three minutes."

"Roger One. All - heads downs, blast danger!" We'd learnt a few tricks from the enemy while fighting them. Like how to set up an ambush for a predictable response. A low thud comes from the street.

The IED had been a minor diversion, a high-grade pyro charge in a rubbish bin. It made a lot of fire, smoke and a bit of noise and probably broke a few windows, but it certainly wasn't anything special. Or really anything to worry about. But the cops in the cars didn't know that. To them it looks like a 100% genuine attempt to blow their cars away.

The vault was up ahead. Its door still open. Two guards knelt just inside aiming their revolvers. They were shouting something at us. It only felt right to shout back.

"Put down your fucking guns! PUT THEM THE FUCK DOWN!" I felt a lot more confident than these guards did I'm sure. After all they just have their cheap khaki and black imitation cop uniforms and an old S&W wheelgun that would be lucky to hit a target ten feet away, especially they way these guys were shaking. And myself and Three? We have our full combat kit on, aiming AK-74SUs with military red-dot sights straight at their heads as we advance, keeping our weapons stable with well practiced movement.

"Drop your guns! Drop 'em! DROP 'EM!" shouts Three. One of the guards starts to lower his. The other has a hero complex and fires a shot. It misses high, striking the ceiling behind up. Three fires a quick double-tap into the guards head. The guard I have fixed in my sights is in shock for a moment as he watched his colleague's body slump. I take advantage of his momentary distraction. I rush forward and deliver a sharp kick to his jaw that would have left Vinatieri proud. Cowering in the corner of the vault I see a man shielding two female bank staff. "LIE DOWN FLAT ON YOUR STOMACHS! HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!" Three comes in behind me and with practiced casualness kicks the dead guard's body flush with the wall. The prize was on the table. And probably already in some of the trucks outside.

"All, this is one! Vault is clear - standby to receive load!" I can hear orders being shouted from the front of the bank and I start to issue them here too. I toss a roll of bin liners on the floor.

"Bag the money! Twenties and above only! No more than four bundles per bag!" The bank employees and the guard don't move. "DO IT NOW!"

Four comes running down the hallway to the vault behind a half dozen more hostages. He drops a large pile of canvas sports bags and more bin liners.

"Put the packages into the bags! As many as will fit!" As the bags were loaded a hostage picked up one in each hand and ran as fast as they could back to the van at the front.

"One, this is Ten. You have sixty seconds left on your count. Black and whites are holding short of the fireworks."

"Roger that Ten. Two - what's the progress out front?"

"We've only got one tin can left to empty. We'll be ready in under sixty." Twelve bags from vault so far. This was going well.

"One! This is Nine, we've got six black and whites coming right up our egress route!"

"Take them out. We're on our way out to the front now." I look to the hostages, "All of you! Out of the bank now! Drop what you are doing and go!"

"One, this is Four, bringing the pyros in." Three looks over at me.

"Go, take out their servers." We'd built several thermite charges just for this purpose. To slag their entire server and HDD arrays, wipe out the records of what had come in and out already. The pyro charges for the vault were to try and destroy as much of what we had left behind as possible. The serial numbers we had gotten away with had to be as clean as a we could get them. After all, money laundering runs on a percentage, better to spend a bit more up front and pay a lot less to certain unsavouries to clean your cash.