Chapter Three
The Surprise
September 19, 2043

Brian woke suddenly. At first he thought someone was in the room, but a quick glance told him he was still alone. He looked at his watch, two hours had passed. It was still dark outside, but it would be daylight in a few hours. His instincts told him to stay put, something still wasn’t right but he wasn’t sure what. He would wait until daylight to continue to the rendezvous.

He got out some food from his pack and started to eat. That is when he heard the noise from outside. It was loud and he knew right away what it was. Only the scavengers made that much noise. They usually traveled in large numbers and took what they wanted. They would kill anyone who got in their way or had something they wanted. Brian had run into them on numerous occasions. His training usually allowed him to avoid the scavengers. He would avoid them tonight as it definitely wasn’t the right time to engage a mob. He was alone and he didn’t want to chance getting trapped in the building.

He got out his night vision goggles and carefully took a look out the window. He recognized the group. He had run into them before and he owed them. They had ambushed his team some months ago. Three of his friends were killed that day and the rest of his team barely escaped. The leader of this scavenger group was James McKinsey. He was a criminal in the old days. Now he is a terrorist. He kills because he enjoys it. The council had told him that this mission was critical. Too critical to endanger on a mission of personal revenge, but one day Brian would settle the score.

He watched them carefully as they went in and out of the buildings looking for anyone or anything they could find. Anyone who might have food or what ever the hell else they could steal. They were making enough noise that anyone in the city would hear them and know to stay hidden. Brian doubted they would come all the way up to his floor, but he decided this might be a good time to get out of the building. That’s when he saw it.

A shadow moved in one of the buildings. Was it a survivor trying to hide? He wasn’t sure, but he kept an eye on that spot. There, it moved again. Whoever it was moved with stealth. Brian could barely track their movements. Wait, more movement. It looked like two or three people, maybe more. A military team? They were moving systematically, avoiding the scavengers. He wasn’t sure who they were, but they were good. He watched them maneuver through the street without detection, without having to kill a single scavenger.

When the scavengers passed, Brian waited five minutes to see if they would show themselves. Maybe they were the group he was supposed to rendezvous with. He doubted it as he was still 75 miles from the rendezvous point. After 15 minutes, they came out of the shadows. A group of six men. All wearing military clothing and armed with a lot of fire power. If it was 20 years earlier, he would have thought it was his Navy seal team. He got a good look at the leader, or at least the guy giving the orders. He recognized him from some old photos. It was Carlos Molina, a member of the Mexican Militia.

What were the Mexicans doing in Atlanta? They hardly ever ventured outside of Texas. Ever since the revolution when they were able to take over the southwest of the United States, they have been content to just defend that land. They had left the American colonists alone in the south east. Were they planning on taking over more of what was left of America? Is that what he was going to find out at the rendezvous in the morning? He continued to watch them as they began a systematic search of the buildings. What were they looking for? Could it be him? He decided not to wait and find out.

It was time to leave as quiet and quickly as possible. He made his way out of the room and down the stairs. He would push his bike out of the building and backtrack west for a while which should allow him to miss the scavengers and the Mexican assault team.