Chapter 65 Babs has scored an own goal

Luke pondered, his cell phone still saying nothing. Liz was silent, just sipping her beer and smoking. 

After two hours, everyone said their goodbyes and Luke saw Liz get into a cab with Sarge. He was lost in thought and made his way home. Saskia and Bill were picked up by their father. He entered his house. His mother was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hi honey, how was the dance recital? "

Luke sat down next to her, exhausted.

"Didn't happen."

Sue looked at him questioningly.

"But why not? You practiced, and my mother took Gitte with her."

Luke scratched his head.

"I think Sarge took Grandma Bab's saying too seriously."

"Which one?"

"Welcome to the family, she said as she walked out laughing."

Sue stared at him, then smiled. She took his hand.

"We'll have to tell your grandfather about that."

He protested and was pulled over. Alex was sitting on the sofa as usual, reading Tablet.

"Dad," Sue began, smiling cheerfully. He looked up and looked at them both.

"You're in a good mood, darling, what's wrong?"

Sue sat down next to him and smiled.

"Luke has news that Mom and Aunt Gitte didn't understand."

" Well, I'm curious then. Apart from the fact that Liz wants him to stay with her and George treats Gitte like a kitten."

"Um. Well. Grandma Babsi has taken Sarge into the family."

"Well, as much as he's with Liz, yeah, I can see why she'd say that."

"Well Sarge, I think he took it too seriously. "

" Oh, now it's getting interesting. So what did bachelor number one say?"

" He's going to marry Liz."

Sue grinned.

Alex laughed and wiped away a tear. 

Luke was confused. Alex picked up his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Where are you right now? I don't care if you're in therapy. I just heard from Luke. Do you realize she's holed up here when you're not around?"

He looked up at the ceiling and grinned. 

"Good, I don't mind. No, don't think she's that mean. .. No. ... I'll tell them both. I'll see you at the meeting."

He hung up with a smile.

"Oh," he wiped away a tear.

"Thank you, Luke. Now I'm having my fun."

Luke looked at his mother. 

"Sue, you don't tell your sisters about this."

Sue nodded eagerly.

Jannet and Min came in chattering. Main subject Liz turned bright red. They looked at the three of them. Then Alex grinned.

"I don't like it when Alex grins like that, he's up to something." 

Jannet nodded. 

"It can't be that Gitte got her butt wiped either." Jannet said back to Min.

"Luke, where are Gitte and Babsi?" asked Alex.

"Um, they wanted to buy furniture, Grandma said she wanted to buy an XXL bed."

" Then they're both busy. " Alex lit a cigarette. 

Min stepped closer to his face.

" What do you know that we don't know and, above all, WE don't know?"

Alex grinned.

"Babsi scored an own goal." 

Min looked at Jannet, then at Alex.

" More? "

He grinned and tapped the ring on his hand.

Jannet grabbed her face. Min looked at her, confused.

"What, I don't understand this. "

"George is with Liz."

" So what? Liz hangs out with him most of the time anyway. I was surprised she had such a problem with asking him to move in with her anyway. It just reminded me of Gitte anyway. She always had problems with that with Alex too. Only she didn't turn that bright red." 

Jannet looked at Min.

"Min. Remember before we had all those countries. When Alex said that asshole gangboss and all his people and families should die because he refused to surrender?"

Min looked thoughtful.

"Oh, you mean the guy in Central Africa? "

"Yeah..."

" Um " she thought about it.

Ah, I know," she beamed. "George was hunting for two weeks until they suddenly came begging. He asked me where he was anyway." 

Jannet rubbed her temples.

"That's right, he took Alex's request literally. "

"I see, now what does that have to do with Liz and the finger tapping?" 

Jannet groaned. 

"What do you expect when Mei asks her stud to move in with her?" 

"He has to take responsibility," she nodded. "If he's going to live with her under the same roof, he might as well ..." 

She looked at Jannet, her eyes widening.

"Do you understand now?" asked Jannet.

"But Liz didn't even dare to be a bridesmaid at Tahara's wedding."

Alex laughed again.

They both looked at him.

April and Mei came rushing in through the patio.

"Me from Danny..." Mei began.

" I heard from Ethaen..." they looked at their mothers.

Sue grinned.

" Ha! She'll be ahead of you!"

Jannet looked at April. 

"So, what did you say to each other?"

" Um..." April looked at Mei.

"Ehm..."

Min came closer.

" Yes?"

"We have to..." April punched Mei in the side.

Mei pulled herself together. 

"Liz isn't going to make it, Mom! "

"Go on ... I want to hear your plan now."

Alex couldn't help laughing.

Jannet looked at him in irritation.

"Alex! That's not funny!"

"Yes, I think it's funny," he cleared his throat, stood up and went to Mei and April and hugged them both. 

"I'm proud of you two, also for not leaving Liz alone. It's going to cost me a bit, but it's worth it to me to see you three at the altar."

Luke looked to his mother, who was still smiling. 

April looked at Sue.

"Single?" 

Sue stuck her tongue out at her. " Bullshit, according to the records, I'm still married to Luke's father. "

Luke grabbed his face. His father, who was never there.

"Mom, please ..."

Sue shrugged her shoulders. "He's a sensitive musician, he's just shy."

"Shy ... Mom, he plays in front of thousands of people ..." 

"Right, but when the show's over," she smiled devilishly.

" Fine, fine, so Sue, tell him to come to the ceremony. "

Sue nodded. Luke groaned.

"I'm going to my room," he reached into his pants pocket, grabbed his cell phone and pulled out the CD.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to see what's on it. " He hurried into his room and looked at his tablet. Sarge was right, there was an indentation on the side. He opened the packaging and slid the CD into the opening. A window opened on his tablet and the movie began to play.

 It was half dark and the camera stalked through the undergrowth.

"Hey Miller, why did the captain send us here?" asked a voice.

"I don't know, at least we don't have any stinkers in the area. He said he heard radio scraps."

The camera panned to a road and then back into the undergrowth, a rifle barrel could be seen briefly.

"This is all bullshit. Since when do we run away? "

" 2 months man, the captain is really grasping at any straw."

" That's it, shh, there's something up ahead."

The image focused on a light, they got closer and you could make out a walled house with a pile of bodies in the yard.

"Shit, do you see that?"

"Yeah, man, look, bitches," A giggle could be heard.

Luke blinked.

Women were coming out of the house. Luke swore he saw his grandma.

"Mike, look at that guy."

The image panned to a man in a camouflage suit dragging a semi outside. The women stared at him. The picture zoomed in. The face was barely recognizable. The man grabbed the thug by the head, chopped off his head with a machete and threw him on the ground.

"Did you see that? "

" Shit ... We'll stay here and see where he goes..."

The image went black, it jumped up as trucks pulled into the compound and soldiers jumped out.

" Those are soldiers Mike..."

" Yes... we have to give this to the captain..." 

The image went black again. Luke scratched his head. 

The next picture showed Kiel, Luke thought it was Kiel. A car was filmed speeding through the streets, the view went up and fighter planes and helicopters thundered past. 

A picture appeared of all the soldiers standing in a hangar, with Uther in a BDU in the middle, as he had seen in old photos of Gitte. What struck Luke was that the only thing on his uniform was his rank, nothing else.

"Since the colonel is busy with his wildcat right now," came from him, laughter rang out.

"Let's use the time, you all have plenty of opportunities to kill infected and bandits."

Enthusiastic faces could be seen.

"But, that doesn't mean throwing military tradition overboard. Means duty rosters, training, boring tasks. Training to get out there, not for the assholes. It's for them." 

He raised his hands and stuck his index and middle fingers down. 

"The survivors." 

"Eh, why, sir?" 

"Simply because the idiots are more dangerous than the other two. You can shoot infected people and so on. Shoot and loot bandits and secure the area. Survivors Well" 

He lit a cigarette. 

"Let's take Scout Beta, find a group scouting, save them from the infected, then what?" 

"Rescue, sir!" 

Uther nodded. 

"Right, that's the ethnic step, but here's what I want each of you to consider. 

We don't know what condition they're in, physically or mentally. Do they belong to a larger group or how old they are. Depending on how far away you are, it can be more dangerous for the troops. That's why the order to the scouts is to pass on group sightings, and a motorized collection unit will be sent out immediately."

"Eh sir, why, I mean," came from a medic. 

"Your safety, you're risking your ass out there, I'm not saying if you rescue any, leave them alone. Just that you have to contact the rescue team to get them to do it. 

If you have a mission you can't turn around in the middle of it just because a hysterical survivor was picked up or a marital dispute or whatever. Not to mention all the idiots who are still trained to do pointless things despite the apocalypse. "

"Which ones, sir?" 

Uther took a drag on the fag.

"Let me put it this way: everyone in the North Block is the same. No matter where you're from, no matter what religion you are, no matter what color your skin is, no matter what gender you are, no matter. Why? Because it's not worth it, so you won't be treated worse or better. If someone feels disadvantaged, then they should come forward and say what. "

"What does that have to do with survivors?" a soldier wanted to know.

Uther looked at him.

"You can't tell me you weren't even unhappy. You thought you could have done better, or is it just because ..." 

Silence spread. 

"The survivors will be no different, unlike you. You will get an education. Those who are dissatisfied should get off their lazy asses. "

Luke recognized Erkiam, who approached Uther with a box full of tablets.

"You're getting tablets and cell phones now, they can take a beating, I tried it out on the colonel's wildcats. You can use them to access the new North Block network; if you're not happy, send a message there. The cell phones are set up so that you can use them as radios. " 

Uther looked at the ground.

"New BDUs are coming too, and equipment too." 

The image changed again, this time showing a flat landscape.

"Mike, 10 o'clock, shoot the infected."

The camera looked in that direction, a gun came into view and the thunder of several volleys rang out.

"Shit, man! The boss was right!"

"You said it Mike, last one, now we own the north and we can get drunk and chase chicks."

They both laughed.

The picture changed, it was without sound. 

Luke saw heaps of soldiers standing at attention, saluting, marching and getting into machines. The camera panned to a sign that read. "Recapture UK."

The next image was short and irritating for Luke. 

Only battles and destroyed landscapes were shown. 

Then shots of a completely burning city, back views of soldiers, ruined cities, underground tunnels and more fighting against the infected. 

Then, from one freeze frame to the next, the camera seemed to be sitting and watching an approaching helicopter.

"Mike, don't look directly at it!"

" What could possibly happen? "

The helicopter landed and soldiers in full combat gear got out in silence. One of them came towards them.

" Shit Mike..."

The soldier took off his helmet. Luke froze. He saw Sarge, he looked just like he did now. Only unshaven in the photo and with coldness and tiredness in his eyes.

"Can I have a cigarette?" 

"Sure, man," Mike said, handing him a cigarette and lighting it.

Sarge took a drag and squatted down. 

"You guys look like you've been through hell," Mike said.

Sarge nodded and blew out a cloud. 

" The idiots in the American government bunker wanted to detonate their remaining intercontinental missiles..." came emotionlessly from Sarge.

" Really? Shit... do we have to?" 

" Well, I took care of it..."

" Then why do the others look like that? "

"They're defectors, I picked them up on the way. Have you seen Alex?"

"He's over at the radio center."

The sergeant rubbed the back of his head. 

" Thanks, see you around." He stood up and left. 

Luke stared after the sarge. 

The picture changed, the next half hour showing different theaters of war, relentlessly fighting infected and warlords, and in all of them he saw his grandfather in the middle of it. 

He had always been told about it, but now he saw it in all its glory. Every now and then he paused the video, there were several places where you could see his grandfather off to the side, showing a soldier something on a map. Luke rewound, again and again he saw the badge as on the uniform. 

A tiger's head with wings. 

He reached for his cell phone and searched the web, the database, which soberly showed him the logo of the special operations group. He clicked on it, where a sober text told him that it was a unit operating behind the lines. Nothing more, there was also no message about the unit. There was plenty of information about special forces, including pictures. Luke continued to concentrate on the video. 

There were pictures of various bases, including towns, rather slow and boring. Luke noticed that Mike, the cameraman, had switched to the Mp's, there were control shots, at one point he saw Gitte pregnant in the background. The picture changed, Mike went on patrol, everything was peaceful. 

Luke could tell by the buildings that it was Hawaii. Mike stopped, a sniffle could be heard, the camera moved along a wall, then around the corner you could see a 5 year old girl with a blonde tousled head sitting in a squat. She was wearing a bright pink T-shirt with unicorns and shorts. 

"Hey!" 

The girl lifted her head, Luke couldn't believe it was Liz, she gasped and ran off in a panic. Mike ran after her, Liz was fast for her age. She ran between the jeeps. A screech was heard, Mike caught up. They saw an armored battlesuit, completely torn to shreds, countless scratches, dents, bullet holes. 

Luke saw the tiger's head, the camera pulled up. Sarge's face was visible, unshaven, holding Liz by the collar. He looked at Mike. Luke got goose bumps. Sarge actually had warm eyes, but they only showed coldness. 

"Mike, you need to take better care of your kid."

" It's not mine, I saw her at the front of the emergency exit and she's ahead of me ..."

Sarge turns Liz around to face him.

"So, what's your name?" 

"Liz!" she grinned broadly and with gaps between her teeth.

"What are you doing here? "

"I locked myself out!" she continued to grin. 

" I see... why did you lock yourself out?" you could see Liz's shocked face, you could hear a splash... She started to cry. Sarge looked at her in silence.

"Let me guess, you thought the neon sign on the way to the restroom was pretty?"

Liz nodded. He sighed.

"Watch Mike for a minute."

"Okay...?" 

Sarge turned, opened the door of a Jeep and crouched down, it took less than two minutes. Then he stood up, slammed the door shut, Liz on his arm, wearing a black T-shirt with a biker gang motif that reached down to her feet, in his other hand he held a transparent bag of wet clothes. 

Sarge walked off, Mike followed him. He went to the door and kicked it several times. An irritated soldier opened it. 

" Tell me, you got a girl escaped in there."

" Uh... I'd have to ask about that, just a moment."

The door was closed. 

" What's in there?"

" The women's squad..." said Mike.

" I see... the Hydras then..." 

The door was pulled open and Gitte came rushing out, panic written all over her face. Liz was crying and jumped towards her.

"Ma'am, is that your daughter?" Mike asked.

" Oh yeah, what happened?"

" Looks like your daughter locked herself out."

Gitte looked at Liz and stroked her head.

"Oh Liz..."

Sarge handed her the bag.

"She didn't make it to the bathroom."

Gitte looked at the bag, then at Liz.

"Eh..." She took the bag.

" Mike, I'll see you " Sarge turned and left, lighting a cigarette and scratching the back of his head. A jeep braked.

"Sach ma where are you?"

"Got pissed on!"

Malicious laughter rang out.

"Get in, the boss has just announced a new mission."

" We've just come from the mission..."

" Yup yup, but the third one screwed up and has to get out."

Sarge got in.

"Don't put your blood in the seat! The car is new!" The jeep accelerated and sped off.

"He had bullet wounds in his back, didn't he?" asked Gitte.

Mike looked at Gitte.

"Not for the first time, ma'am."

"Liz, what did he do to you?"

"He told me to close my eyes and then I had a new T-shirt and new pants on, he was faster than Dad!" 

She looked at Mike.

"Ma'am, he didn't do anything, I promise."

" What kind of unit is this? "

"I don't know ma'am, the guys down at the airport say it's the special ops squad."

Gitte looked at Liz.

" Did he touch you?"

She shook her head.

" Mom, it was like magic, eyes on wet clothes, eyes closed and open." She stretched out her arms. 

New images emerged, lines of soldiers marching, he wondered at the echo of their footsteps.

"Gee Jim, you know I get goose bumps when I see them."

A laugh rang out.

"What? You wanted to know what it's like to see them march."

The singing started and harmonized with the echoing marching. Luke's goose bumps got stronger and stronger. 

"Holy shit..." came from Jim. The camera made jerky movements as if it were taking up position. The image moved and stopped on Uther, who stood in front of them in North Block uniform. Luke had to see what the rank said.

"Sector Leader... what kind of rank is that... "

He faltered, then it was explained that sector leaders were above generals in military rank and there were only two who were active in the military sector. 

Luke continued walking.

"Eh, sir, we just wanted to," Mike began.

Uther looked at the camera, what irritated Luke was that the soldiers had stopped in the background.

"They're from the guard battalion that patrols here."

" Aye sir Lt Mike Mcline and Lt Jim Wellis Mp. "

" And the camera on your helmet? "

" Um... Hobby sir... "

" Hobby? Ah. You wanted to see the march. Come on both of you, I'll show you what most people won't see."

The camera followed Uther as he walked and the soldiers marched on. They came to a hub where the airfield and subway were located. 

Planes, jets, helicopters were flying around. What caught Luke's eye were the thick exo-suits.

"Oh shit, are those combat robots?" came from Jim.

"Right, I'm the last one to use them, so I got them all. With the size of the sector, I need them."

"Uh sir... if you don't mind me asking. Looking at the old world, which sector are you monitoring sir?"

Uhter lit a cigarette.

"That's a good question, besides me there are the sector heads of South America, China, South Africa, Oceania, Europe, Canada."

He blew out a cloud: "USA, Russia, Eastern Bloc countries, Arab states, Middle East, India, Thailand, etc. fall within my area. When the infrastructure is in place, they'll be handed over, then the Ai can take care of it."

"Uh, sir, don't get me wrong. But that's a hell of a lot of land."

Uther looked at him.

" Right, that's why I'm using different means than the others."

Luke investigated. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, he wasn't lying. Of all the area leaders, he was the most successful and effective when it came to reconstruction. No war crimes or civil unrest like in the other sectors. 

The image went black and Luke paused. He rubbed his eyes. He rewound and copied Sarge's logo, then rewound further and compared them. Then he did the same with the bodies and silhouettes. They matched 1 to 1. He needed to rest and think, so he lay down and fell asleep. 

The next day he wanted to ask Sarge, but he didn't get around to it. Not even the next day. Liz was supposedly on assignment according to his mom, clearing her head and he had learned that Babsi hadn't bought a bed, she had one on her list, but after she got home and got the info, she left it alone. According to his mother, Gitte had collapsed. Jannet had organized and planned the wedding. He took a picture of Uther surrounded by Omega soldiers, he didn't know what was riding him, but no matter how many times he looked at the picture, it was just creepy.

Luke rarely saw his aunts like this in the last few days.