The End of the Beginning
Chapter 43: Fighting Fire with Bigger Fire

Some coordination later and the tanks had been slid into the buildings burning lobby in front and the charges primed; its firing code entered via a glass tablet. Temperatures were now in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, melting the tanks’ plastic seals, releasing pressurized oxygen.

“We gotta go now, the tanks are leaking!” radioed Abby.

To ensure the charges would land where the teams wanted them to, they taped them to DJ’s surveillance drone.

“Do we need to destroy the drone? She is so pretty,” moped DJ.

“You’ll get a new one, Pate, don’t worry, especially if this works,” comforted William.

“Yes, sir. Thanks, sir.”

Again they set the drone free and let it go to the building.

“Okay, Pate, let’s get clear. Mckay, you come with us too,” ordered William.

William, Vinny, and DJ jogged across the street to a parked car and ducked for cover. Then William gave a warning call to everyone in the area.

“This is Captain Emerson to all UNIRO and local rescue personnel, please clear a 150 foot blast radius around the bank and take cover. Explosion imminent. I repeat, explosion imminent. Blast will occur on my mark after a five count.” “I got the drone inside next to the tanks, sir. Temperatures are over 1,000 degrees! Y’all better go. It’s now or never or else she’s gonna melt!” DJ warned.

“Veeder, your team clear?” asked William one last time.

“Clear,” she radioed from across the street corner.

William took one last look around. It was clear. DJ’s tongue was slipping out of his mouth. His eyes blinked like camera shutters, readying to image everything. Vinny was antsy, trying to look over the car as high but as safely as he could.

“Mckay, get down,” ordered William.

“Sorry, sir. I like explosions. Comes with my ex-profession.”

“I would think otherwise but… Whatever makes you happy. Here we go.” Over the radio William began to count. “Fire in the hole in five, four, three, two, one, mark!” “I’m sorry, baby!” said DJ, closing eyes. He pressed the digital detonator on his tablet. A tremendous ball of flames burst from the confines of the building within a second, making it halfway to their hiding spot before settling back. A gust of wind from the shockwave blew DJ’s unclipped helmet off his head. Small chunks of smoking dirt rained down on the three men. A hissing sound followed, then silence. William pulled DJ up by his jumpsuit’s collar and looked on at their handy work. The fire was out, blasted from its fuel source.

William was pleased. “Wow, Mckay, you weren’t kidding.”

“I told you, sir, just a big light show. All bark, no bite. Just enough,” Vinny said happily while getting up himself.

DJ looked at his glass tablets static filled screen where the drones feed was, whimpering. “She was such a nice drone.” “Jeez Pate, get a grip. They will just 3D print you up another one,” blustered Vinny.

A voice came over the radio. It was Veeder. “Hey, Emerson, nice job. Your squadron ever gets sick of ya, you can join mine.” “Thanks, Veeder.”

“Where did you come up with that?” she asked.

“I saw it in a John Wayne movie once.”

Vinny laughed but DJ looked confused.

“Who is John Wayne?” DJ asked.

“Don’t say that Pate, you make me feel old,” sighed William, running back to the building.

The fire out and with nine minutes left, William gathered his team at the front entrance of the building. He broke everyone up into pairs with a few of Captain Veeder’s team members tagging along with handheld fire extinguishers to take care of any hot spots inside. William and Simba scoped out the lobby.

“Buddy Team 1 is proceeding into lobby now. Everyone your eyes and ears open. Check all voids and crevices. Watch out for any aftershocks,” William instructed. “Miller, get Shampoo sniffing on the upper floors. That’s where she will be most useful.” “Copy, sir.”

Amidst bare and blackened concrete walls, the bank lobby was filled with fallen ceiling bits and burned furniture. A huge square section of the doorframe leading from the lobby into the building was filled with rubble, blocking their way to the vault. At the top of the rubble was a gap a few inches wide but it was to high for anyone to see through.

“Mambiri, you got anything for me that can see through that gap?” asked William, shining his LED earpiece.

“Oh yeah, Bossman. I got you. Look at this thing. They call it, the spaghetti camera.”

Simba pulled out a box small enough to hold in one’s hand that had wiring wrapped around hooks. He unraveled the wiring and flipped a tiny screen up from the box, then put the end of the wire onto the fallen ceiling section, to which it stuck. Fully unwound, the wire was about twelve feet long and about a half an inch wide.

“Watch this, Bossman.”

Upon contact with the concrete the cylindrical end of the wire began crawling up it, weaving like a centipede until it reached the tiny gap. Soon it was out of sight, behind the rubble.

“What you got for me, Mambiri? What do you see?”

“I got visuals, Bossman. This thing has a camera the size of a pea at its two ends. Switching over to group vid.” On everyone’s glass tablets appeared an HD video of what the camera was seeing through its lens; the vault, sealed and intact. “You seeing that Bossman?” “Yes, I do,” smiled William. He quickly radioed the others with confidence. “This is Buddy Team 1, we have visual on the vault. Buddy Teams 5 and 6 fall back to the lobby now. We need assistance. Pathway to vault is blocked by heavy debris.” The teams radio back, “Copy.”

“It’s right there, Boss, the camera says seven feet. Blast through?”

“No, too close. We can’t risk collapse from a charge to blow this. It would be too big for this weakened structure to handle.” An aftershock simulated by the shake table the building was built on rustled the two men’s feet. Pipes banged and sparks flew.

“Get down, Mambiri! Get down! All buddy teams take cover!”

William had never been in an earthquake before and he was pretty sure Simba never had either so the experience was very disorienting, even if it was fake. Seconds later, it ended.

“Everyone okay?” William asked over the radio. “Give me a head count.”

All his buddy teams radioed back. All were okay. DJ, Dao, Heather, and Mario arrived, taking off their backpacks as they did, ready for more orders. William informed them of the obstacle.

“It’s at least a two feet thick and we can’t blow through it. Options?”

DJ took out a protective plastic case, the kind that protect something really important with bumpy foam padding inside, and laid it out on the floor.

“What’s that?” asked William.

“Oh that! Boss, you’re gonna love it. We found this when we were going through our supply list. Open it, Pate!” “Hold on a sec, it’s kinda heavy,” he grumbled.

DJ finally got the case open. Seeing what was inside William grinned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”