The Decay

Chapter 65 - All aboard

65

Mike had hardly slept. It was difficult to sleep when the next day involved going on a suicide mission. He got out of bed right before sunrise. He put on some jeans and a sweater, followed by body armor and then walked out the front door of the small apartment provided to him by Artemis. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't had much time to sleep since arriving at the headquarters.

He grabbed a quick breakfast consisting of eggs, bread and a sausage, washed it down with a glass of cold water and then headed up to Artemis' office. Anita and Ray were there, together with Artemis sitting at his desk. He politely nodded to Mike who nodded back. No one was in a conversing mood this morning.

A few minutes passed before Cole and Douglas joined them. They didn't seem near as dull as the others. Artemis stood up. 'Good morning. I hope you had some sleep,' he said. 'Wish I had a lot more,' replied Mike. 'But then again, you always like to sleep, don't you, Mike?' answered Anita, grinning. It was a lame attempt at brightening the mood but it had some effect. 'Right. Now to the important part.' Artemis pressed a button below his desk and the wall behind him moved down and disappeared at the level of the floor. The five of them gasped in surprise.

In front of them was a white room lit from the corners with rows of shelves forming a central corridor. On the shelves was a variety of ammunition and a few weapons, but what was truly impressive was at the far wall beyond the shelves. Sorted into sections according to weapon type, were the best weapons Mike had ever seen. Best because they looked brand new. Some were big, other were less so, but they were all in perfect shape. 'The best of our collection. Stolen from the USGA before we left. Dig in, everybody.' No one said anything, but the mood was lighter. A smile crept across Douglas' face. He had fixed his eyes on a large weapon on a pedestal at the end of the corridor. A minigun.

He picked it up with some effort, expecting it to be heavy. 'This is going to be SO much fun!' he said, clearly delighted that no one else had tried to claim the weapon.

Cole had picked up pump-action shotgun together with a handgun and a couple of grenades from one of the shelves. Anita had gone for a sub-machine gun which looked a lot like the old MP5. A few knives and a hand gun. Ray and Mike had the same idea. A military-style assault rifle and a combat pistol each.

They each grabbed a backpack and filled it with ammunition from their respective weapons, some water, a flashlight and snacks.

Twenty minutes later, they each walked out into the open and approached the NFAD waiting for them. As they boarded, Ray took one last look at the headquarters. They were about to go on a suicide mission. What were the odds that they were all going to make it back alive?