Route 66

35 Captain Rodriguez

I left the files in Beth's care and told her to keep them under lock and key. I wasn't ready to breathe life into Veronica Preston, at least not yet.

Within a couple weeks I found myself in a Pentagon briefing room sitting across from Captain Rodriguez with special forces, as he paged through a file labeled 'Judy Young'. After a few moments he furrowed his brow and stared at me in confusion.

"Ms. Young, it says here that you're twenty-one and have extensive combat training."

"That's correct, captain."

He shook his head with a smirk and said, "I'm going to be frank. You look seventeen..maybe eighteen. At your age I find it hard to believe that any training has been 'extensive'. "

Then he flung the file across the desk, crossed his fingers, and said, "I realize these are official notes but I don't know if I can include you as part of the mission to Zimbabwe in good conscience. The best of the best have been chosen for this highly dangerous and supremely important mission that could potentially save the lives of millions. There's no time for on the job training."

I looked the captain straight in the eye and said, "What can I do to prove myself to you, sir?"

He chuckled, shook his head, and said, "Okay...let's go out to the shooting range. We'll get you a firearm and test your accuracy."

We made our way to another part of the facility where I could hear shots being fired. The captain quickly cleared it so that we were the only ones remaining.

"I'll start you off with something close."

"Captain, please, move the targets all the way back," I insisted.

He raised a brow in disbelief and said, "Now wait a minute Ms. Young. Let's see if you can hit one at close range first and then—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, the most difficult exercise you have," I said with narrowed eyes.

He threw his hands up with an eye roll and mumbled, "Okay."

"Here's the way it works," he continued. "One of the targets will be moving back and forth. There will also be objects moving in front of that target. For the ultimate challenge, go for the head."

He handed me a pair of earmuffs and goggles along with the handgun, and then said, "Accomplished marksmen have a hard time at that distance. Let's see what you got."

I raised the gun, aimed carefully, and fired shot after shot with dizzying speed.

"How did I do, captain?"

"Impossible. Every bullet hit the target dead center."

"That was one target, sir. Can you have all five targets moving at the same time?"

"Well yes, but—"

"Make that happen. I'll also need another gun."

"Shooting with both hands?"

I nodded with indifference.

He gulped and said, "That's dreamland, Judy."

"We'll see now...won't we," I said with a half smile.

The targets quickly moved left and right, forward and back as I destroyed them within seconds.

Rodriguez collected the targets as I removed my goggles and then he gave me a look of profound respect.

"Every shot dead center, it's never been done before."

He peered into my unflinching eyes and said, "I'm a believer. Welcome to the team."

We headed back to the briefing room and Rodriguez explained, "Ms. Young, we're facing an urgent threat from a small army of neo-Nazi terrorists, led by someone known only as 'The Commander'. They're dangerously close to developing a weapon of mass destruction unlike anything we've seen before.

Specifics aren't available, however, we know the diabolical mind behind the scheme is Randolph Hinder. This psychopath is responsible for countless deaths through suffocation from several reiterations of a serum he created in the '60s. This new project he's working on is said to make that look like a pleasure cruise.

He also has an obsession with anti-aging pharmaceuticals. Hindler is in his eighties but intelligence has confirmed that he has the physical characteristics of a sixty-five year old male. Our mission is to neutralize both the Commander and Hindler. We must bring them under our custody before they release their weapon."

I nodded with fierce determination and said, "Understood, sir."