A Soldier's Heart Chapter Four
#4 of A Soldier's Heart
Here's Chapter Four of A Soldier's Heart. Like the last chapter, I got this done pretty quickly because I had some time on my paws. This chapter will introduce a conflict that will be the base of the story. In regards to the different view points, I decided that the view point will be in the writing not here. It will also be centered so it should be easily recognizable. The five asterisks in the story will signal a switch in view points. Another view point will be shown after it as well. I thought this would be better than having one chapter for every view point because it may cause chapters to be smaller. And I thought the stated view points will be better than stating it here in case of any confusion. If people have a problem with the format, I may change it. As always, feedback is always appreciated.
---President Ryndenko; Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Russia---
"Mr. President?" I turned around. My secretary, Dmitri Venediktov, a white Arctic fox, stood there waiting for me. "The council is ready for you now."
"Thank you, Venediktov," I said and walked into the room. Venediktov followed me into the room. The council members were sitting silently in a circle, patiently waiting. The Council was created in 2013 and consisted of 8 members, all elected by the public. The Council was brought into session when there was a crisis in Russia.
"Welcome Mr. President," one of the members greeted me, a bear. I took my seat and Venediktov stood behind me.
"Alright, let's get to it." I said with a serious tone.
A red fox spoke up, "Russia is in deep economic trouble; unemployment is high; and our nation's dept is rising. We need to find a way to create businesses and therefore create more jobs. With new businesses, we can try to support ourselves. That will lower the dept as we lower foreign spending."
"How do you suppose we promote businesses?" another member asked, a black panther.
The fox replied, "I suggest we issue tax breaks to both the people and businesses. It will encourage businesses to produce and the people to buy. I know the government needs the tax money, but we can only fix our economy through the people and businesses. If we raise taxes, people will spend less and push our economy into more trouble."
"Very good," I said as he finished, "do you have any ideas about the increasing terrorism in Russia?"
He shook his head. I continued, "We have terrorists attacking cities on the outskirts of Russia, but I don't think they are foreign. They have not done anything major, but I''m afraid that they will soon. We-" A gun shot went off somewhere in the palace.
"Everyone get down!" gray fox, the head of security, shouted. We all knelt behind our chairs and some coming around the table to get away from the door. "Status?" he spoke into his mic. His face frowned as he listened to the report.
He turned towards me, "Mr. President, we have terrorists infiltrating the palace. My men sh-" The door exploded, sending shards of wood everywhere. "Shit!" the gray fox yelled, reaching for his pistol.
Suppressed gunfire came from the doorway and our guards were taken down quickly, before any could bring up their weapons and return fire. I turned and saw the gray fox take ten shots to the chest and collapse. Blood was all over the walls.
The attackers came in with their suppressed sub-machine guns raised. The last one to come in was a gray wolf with a scar over his right eye. He had a large pistol in his paw.
"Line the council members up," he barked at his men. "Keep the president there."
The council members were all lined up against a wall, including Venediktov. The gray wolf walked up to the one on the end and raised his pistol toward his head. He pulled the trigger and sent a bullet through his head, causing blood and brains to spray the wall behind him. The sound of the gun rang in my ears. He shot each individual member in the head and turned toward me. When the pointed the gun at Venediktov, Venediktov lashed out to snatch the gun. But the gray wolf simply deflected the fox's paw and shot him in the leg. The Arctic fox fell on the ground, and tried to get up but was shot in the head.
He was grinning evilly. "Don't worry, I have something special for you."
"Tie his paws; we wouldn't want him to escape," he ordered his men. My paws were tied and I was forced out of the room and into the hallway. Security guards were lying on the floor, each one shot and killed. I was forced into the elevator and onto the roof. There, a helicopter was waiting for us. I was shoved in and fell onto the floor of the chopper. When I tried to get up, I was hit very hard on the back of my head. My vision blackened and I fell unconscious.
I woke up tied to a chair with my paws tied behind it. I looked around and could barely see anything; I was in a dark room. A light came on and it shown right above me, looking down at me. I heard footsteps coming toward me and looked forward. Walking towards me was the gray wolf. I was sure of it. Slowly he became visible as he came closer to the light. I saw a red light turn on and start blinking. A camera.
"Do you know who I am?" the gray wolf demanded.
"A madman," I snarled.
"I am Vakhrov," he answered. "Russia is falling, President Ryndenko; you have failed." He loaded his pistol. "I will make Russia into the greatest nation. It will be the greater than the West and China. You, however, President Ryndenko, will never see it." He raised the pistol. I refused to close my eyes and wait for death, instead I looked at his grinning face. In his eyes I saw madness. Then I saw nothing.
*****
---Captain James Parker; United States Marine Corps Military base, Location Classified, United States---
"Russian President Ryndenko was executed yesterday while in the custody of Russian terrorists. He was captured during the terrorist infiltration of the Grand Kremlin Palace..." I paused the video. "What does this mean, sir?" I asked Colonel Haverson, an orange and black-strip tiger, who stood behind me as I had watched the news report.
"This means World War three, son...or the start of it." he replied. "As much as I would love to kick those terrorist bastards' asses, the U.S. can't afford to engage in another long war."
"What will we do then, sir? Vakhrov will attack us, that is guaranteed; he won't allow the U.S. to stay standing where we can stop him." I asked.
"Don't worry 'bout that, Captain," he said with a wave of his paw, "General Anderson has a plan, somethin' about sending in an elite group of soldiers."
"The Seals?" I asked, disbelief evident in my voice. I didn't think even a group of Seals could take down Vakhrov. His organization is far to big and organized.
"No, not the Navy Seals. Someone new. Hell, I don't even know all of the details," the tiger grumbled. The room's speaker came on and a gruff voice spoke, "This is General Anderson, send Captain Parker to my office on the double. General Anderson out."
I looked toward the tiger hoping that he could explain why I was requested, but was given a shrug. I got up from my chair and left the room. I walked down several hallways and eventually reached the General's office. I knocked on the wooden door.
"Come in," the same gruff voice called out.
I opened the door and walked in. There were two people in there; one was a male Doberman and the other was a small, female, Arctic fox. The Doberman was General Anderson and he was sitting behind his desk, but I didn't have a clue who the Arctic fox was. She sat silently in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. I saluted, "Sir! Captain Parker reporting in as ordered, sir!"
"At ease, Captain," General Anderson said. I lowered my arm. He continued, "This is Dr. Sarah Tillman, I'll explain why she is here in a moment. Take a seat." I took a seat in the other chair.
"By now you have been informed that Russian President Ryndenko was killed by a Russian terrorist by the name of Vakhrov. Vakhrov released a video of his execution as well as a threat to national security. Right now, he is focusing on taking control of at least half of Russia, giving us some time to prepare. But I'm afraid we can't engage our whole military against him, our country won't be able to supply our troops without destroying the economy. So the plan is to send in one group of soldiers. This is where Dr. Tillman comes in, Doctor?"
The Arctic fox cleared her throat, "In order to put an end to this new threat with the use of only a single group of soldiers, we need to make an elite group of soldiers. Fast, strong, swift, and efficient. I have studied for a long time on physical augmentations to the body and I believe I may be able to do it. I have been given permission as well as funding to launch Project WOLVERINE. Project WOLVERINE is military program that will train canines and transform them into the ultimate soldiers. It will be expensive, but not as expensive as deploying the whole military. These elite soldiers will be a quick solution to the terrorist problem and prevent another world war."
"Any questions, Captain?" General Anderson asked.
"Just one, sir," I replied. "What has this got to do with me?"
"You, Captain Parker, will escort Doctor Tillman around the country and recruit candidates for the program. If there are no more questions, you are dismissed."
The Arctic fox and I stood and left the General. Once we were out of the office, I asked, "Where are we going first?"
" We will start on the eastern states and move west. General Anderson contacted all recruiters to hold all unique furs and group them up until we arrive and evaluate them. If they deem eligible, we will recruit them."
"How will the recruiters know if the fur is unique?"
Dr. Tillman began walking, "I gave them specifics to look for. We will have to get it done quickly, maybe a week or less. Let's go, we have a lot of work to do."