Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), Fort Sam Houston, Texas
0700 hours
Two days later
...
"...The death toll from Friday's attack at Bartlett University continues to rise. At 4 o'clock this morning, a Boston hospital reported that two more victims, both freshmen at the Bartlett College of Law, have died in intensive care due to respiratory failure caused by the mysterious chemical released into the campus... This brings the total number of civilian fatalities to 60, in what many are now calling the worst domestic terrorist attack in America since the Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995..."
...
The hi-def screen showed images of cops, medics, and body bags, set on the backdrop of a college building. With his arms crossed, Ethan kept his eyes glued to the TV, mounted on a wall in the hospital's lobby. He watched the news from this very spot two days earlier, wearing something other than this morning's purple shirt and coffee-colored denims. His shaven face showed a collection of tiny scars in his right check and nose bridge, but that was nothing compared to the plethora of old wounds hidden under his clothes.
There were two gym bags beside the former soldier's feet. Yesterday was his last day on the job, and someone would be picking him up this morning.
...
"...The attack is believed to have been perpetrated by members of the extremist group 'America's True Patriots' led by Leonard Fausse, Gulf War veteran and self-proclaimed populist revolutionary. The ATP, which started as a grassroots movement advocating for government reform, was labeled a terrorist organization by Homeland Security in 2004, responsible for numerous murders, robberies, and bombings across the United States in recent years..."
...
Like most people on that fateful day, Ethan was just minding his business when someone told him to come to the TV. He watched, powerlessly, as the slaughter unfolded on national television. It was dreadful. His first thought was to slip away from the hospital, find the base commander, and ask for clearance to rejoin his unit at Fort Bragg. 'The bastards hit us again', went his words of conviction. He was fired up. Delta Force were undoubtedly called in, and it felt like he was shirking from his job, watching Bartlett become a war zone while he got to hang back at the physical therapy ward. Yet, reality quickly reminded him that he wasn't fit for active duty. Until yesterday, he didn't even have a medical certificate. For all intents and purposes, he was a patient, not a soldier. And so, he had no choice but to witness the aftermath of yet another tragedy.
This was different, however. A 'domestic terrorist attack', as the news called it. Ethan had been fighting across the world for a very long time that he almost forgot about the bad guys back home. Right-wing fanatics, renegade militias, violent psychopaths. This time, it's the ATP. Usually, it was the cops and the Feds who manned the frontlines in this war. But judging from the brief glimpses of grey-clad soldiers on the news, Bartlett seemed like the first time that the Special Operations Command was deployed to fight other Americans. At least, officially. The good guys would never run out of enemies, that much was certain.
...
"...Federal intelligence agencies have also come under scrutiny for failing to prevent the attack on Bartlett. The CIA, in particular, will be brought to Capitol Hill tomorrow, after rumors surfaced that the ATP obtained its chemical weapons from a terrorist cell in the Middle East... As a result, some in Congress now wish to revisit the proposed Enhanced Domestic Defense Act, which was shelved after last year's public backlash. Opponents of the proposal have previously denounced its provisions as, quote, the basic building blocks for a police state..."
YOU ARE READING
Freedom Day
Action(Originally published in FF.net) After recovering from a botched mission in the Middle East, a new recruit joins Team Rainbow eager for a chance at redemption. But the attack on Bartlett proved that his failure had more consequences than he thought...
