Juggernauts

CHAPTER 30: Hunted

A few days after Tom left, a base-wide alert was put out. "Thomas Michael Hanson, Captain, age 38, 5'9", 180 LBS. Wanted for treason, desertion, and murder. Assumed to be armed and dangerous. Do not approach or try to confront."

Ella sat in her bunk, fiddling with the ring and looking at a picture of the whole team together.

"Ma'am." Shawn poked his head into the room. "Major Hampton would like to see you."

"I'm on my way. Thank you Shawn." She wiped a tear away from her eye.

Shawn walked in and sat next to her. "Ma'am, even though I only have known you all for a short time, I don't think that Tom would do something like this without good reason."

Ella set the picture down and hugged Shawn. "Thank you. But unfortunately, I'm not the one that needs to be convinced he's innocent."

The two of them stood up and walked to the command center. "Major." Ella said as she walked in.

"Sargent, please have a seat." Hampton said." I'm sure you know why you're here." 

She sat down and nodded. "Sir, I do not know where Tom is or where he might go. As far as I am aware, he has never been to Germany and would not have any contact to stay with."

"That Ella is the problem, we have no place to start searching. And with so many people against the F.O.G., so many people would be willing to hide him and lie to us. We may have no option but to leave him in Germany when are finished helping the country rebuild."

She regrettably nodded, knowing that they would not be authorized to stay and look for someone who was considered an enemy.

"I will see what I can do to convince Washington and Berlin to let you stay and hunt the F.O.G. members. But I won't make any promises." Hampton said in hopes to comfort her.

"Thank you sir. Will that be all?" She asked.

He nodded and dismissed her. She exited the tent and met up with Shawn again. "Take me to the evidence area. Didn't he leave his helmet?"

"Yeah, all he took was his pistol, knife, and a motorcycle." He lead her to a caged area with items inside that had small tags on them to identify what its importance is.

She walked inside and found his helmet. She picked it up and inspected it. "I have a strange feeling that Tom may come back for this."

"Why do you think that Ma'am?"

"Because he will need it to hide from us."

That night, Shawn, Ella, and Alex, who was now promoted to Lieutenant and the leader of PANZER, set up a sting operation with Tom's helmet as bait. They waiting in various locations with the evidence cage in sight. 

"Remember, we need him alive. No hair triggers." Alex reminded the remainder of the team.

"Don't worry boss. We'll get him." Johnson replied.

"Contact." Shawn interrupted.

A shadowy figure came to the cage and twisted the lock off its hinge with almost no effort.

"Unless someone else in existence can twist metal, then I think we have out man." Ella reported.

The figure entered the cage and went right for the helmet. They placed it on their head and began fiddling with their wrist. 

Several spot lights turned on and illuminated the entire cage and surrounding area.

"Hanson!" Alex yelled with his rifle drawn and pointed. "Stand down!"

The figure turned around to reveal a small object in their hand. "Boo." The figure said before clicking it and every light other than flashlights turned off.

The sounds of pushing and grunting filled the yard as the figure made their escape. The lights came back on after a few seconds to show the thief had escaped.

"PANZER, you are cleared to engage and track them for 24 hours." Hampton said over a loud speaker. "Hunt him down and bring him back!"