Rogue Nation

Chaper Two

The car skidded around the corner, that black Camaro with the open door I strolled right into.

"Hello, Agent Ares," said a burly, middle aged man with cold eyes. "I am General Daly." He handed me a large file. "In here is just about everything you need to know about the disease that's been destroying New York. You'll get the whole mission when we reach the base of operations."

I started to flip through the file. It had heavily classified research information and almost a hundred headshots of what I could only assume to be first and second wave agents.

"Are these all the agents that are in New York right now?" I asked. General Daly's eyes went even colder.
"No. All the pictures you see are agents that are confirmed to be either K.I.A. or M.I.A."

I sat in shock. "We lost this many agents?!"
General Daly answered reluctantly. "The first wave was slowly taken out by rioters or other groups. But the second wave... well... their aircrafts were blown out of the sky by a land to air missile. Only two agents survived the attack. Faye Lau, and one other. But agent Lau is in no condition to go into the field. So the other surviving agent has had New York on his shoulders for the past three days. That's why we called in the third wave."

"Do you have any feet on the ground? Military wise?" I needed some support. I wasn't going into the field without any reinforcements.

"All we have at the moment is the Joint Task Force, lead by Captain Roy Benitez. But that's mostly made up of first responders, firemen, and some ground forces. It's mostly a volunteer force that will take anyone they can get. That's all we've got."

"What about....?" I started to ask. General Daly cut me off.

"We will discuss it once we get the rest of the third wave together."

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The car pulled right up to a cargobob ready for transport. I followed General Daly out of the car and towards the aircraft.

"That cargobob will take you to Newark Liberty International Airport where a chopper will be waiting to fly you to base of operations in New York!" General Daly yelled over the roar of the engines. I nodded.

He extended his hand, and I shook it. "I really wish we didn't have to involve kids in this!" He yelled.

"I've been training for this! Thank you, General Daly!" And with that, we parted ways.

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It was a good five hour flight, including the helicopter ride. I sat in almost complete silence the whole way, thinking about how bad it must've gotten.

The once beautiful New York skyline looked more like a snow topped dystopian city. The skyscrapers were peppered with broken windows. The streets were filled with abandoned cars and police barricades. In the distance, smoke drifted into the sky from a building that caught fire and couldn't be put out. The sounds of gunshots were obvious from the streets below. The news had really been sugarcoating this place. This wasn't the New York I remembered. This was something much darker.

We landed on a makeshift helipad on top of the James A. Farley Post Office building. It reminded me of ancient Greek and Roman architecture, with the long pillars and high ceilings.

"This is your stop!" The pilot yelled over the whirling helicopter blades. I nodded and hopped out.

The chopper took off, leaving me alone on the roof. Was someone meeting me here, or... My question was answered when the roof entrance opened, and out stepped a man in his late forties, with graying hair and a beard to match.

"My name is Roy Benitez. I'm glad you're here, agent." He shook my hand and continued. "Agent Faye Lau is waiting to debrief you downstairs. It's a relief to have you with us, agent. We need you now more than ever."