Zones: A new justice for a new world

By M.W. Fletcher

My name is Stone, Mason Stone; I am a blue zone bounty hunter. If you are a High Value Individual (or as we say, HVI) you can run and you may even try to hide, but I will acquire you dead or alive… the choice is yours!
Do you remember when the world was made up of continents? Well, on the 20th day of the 10th month 2030 (10/20/30) the world went to war when Iran launched a nuclear strike on Israel.
On the 31st October 2030, eleven days into the conflict, the world just managed to step back from likely Armageddon. By the 8th December that year, the world map had changed forever; continents no longer existed and the world was divided into four zones: blue, red, yellow and white.
When the war ended, extradition treaties that had been in place for many years simply ceased to exist. On the 15th January 2031, the blue zone countries created a judicial body, officially called The Justice Section.
We call it Jay-Sec.
A new justice for a new world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AG Books
• Release date: Jul 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781785387692

Book preview

Zones

M. W. Fletcher

Published in 2018 by

AG Books

www.agbooks.co.uk

an imprint of

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The right of M.W. Fletcher to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright © 2018 M.W. Fletcher

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Dedicated to:

The people in my life that I am lucky to have around me.

You know who you are!

For the memories we have shared and to those we have yet to experience.

Quote

Laws are made to instruct the good, and in the hope that there may be no need of them; also to control the bad, whose hardness of heart will not be hindered from crime.

- Plato (427–347 B.C.), Laws, Book IX

Preface

A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward (bounty).

Bounty hunting originated in England hundreds of years ago. Back in the thirteenth century, bail was a person, not an amount of money.

An individual was designated custodian of the accused, and if the accused did not return to face their penalty, the custodian would have to accept any penalty the justice system dealt out, including being hanged if that was the sentence handed down.

During colonial times, America relied upon the bail system set up by the government of England.

In 1679, the British Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act, which for the first time guaranteed that an accused person could be released from prison on monetary bail.

This right was later written into the US Constitution. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the setting of excessive bail, and the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the US judicial court system, defined the terms for bail-able offences.

The bounty hunter was given broad authority starting in 1873 with the US Supreme Court case, Taylor v Taintor. This case gave bounty hunters the authority to act as agents of bail bondsmen, furthermore it allowed bounty hunters on the trail of a bail jumper to pursue them into another state and, if necessary, break and enter their house for that purpose.

Federal bail law remained unchanged until the Bail Reform Act of 1966, which allowed the prisoner to be released with as little bail as possible to secure his or her return for trial.

The 1984 Bail Reform Act allowed the courts to hold accused persons without bail if they were deemed too dangerous for release or a flight risk.

On 15 January 2031 following the war, all this changed, as a new breed of bounty hunter materialised these individuals were known as Blue Zone Bounty Hunters!

Their territory and hunting grounds were the whole of the world.

Chapter 1

When he came to, he was sitting in a bloody uncomfortable position in what he believed to be a wooden chair.

He was bound and hooded. God knows how long he had been like this because his body was already stiff from inactivity.

His breathing was now becoming laboured due to the hood over his face and the rancid smell from it was making him feel nauseous.

What had happened to him? He had been drinking in a shithole of a bar, one he had frequently patronised over the last year in Mogadishu. He had gone for a piss and come back to finish his beer.

He’d found a stranger now sitting at the bar next to his seat. The stranger had raised his beer bottle and given him a nod. He had reciprocated as he sat back down on the stool, picked up his beer, and taking a large swallow, replaced the bottle back on the bar. It had been the last recollection he’d had.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening along with the sound of someone moving towards him and then everything went silent again. A moment later he heard what he thought was the rustling of paper, then a voice spoke in Arabic.

Abdul-Nasir-Ismail-Al Somali, you have been found guilty in your absence of murdering seven people from the British delegation in Cyprus four weeks ago, when you bombed the Elysium hotel in Paphos. I have a warrant here and will be taking you back to face justice for your crimes.

Abdul was stunned by what he had heard: yes, it was true that he had bombed the hotel, but he was back in the Red Zone now, a place of safety and non-extradition. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

He remembered the man at the bar: his hair had been unkempt and long enough to cover both his ears; the colouring was a brown salt-and-pepper mixture often seen on older men, but this man was around thirty, and he had not appeared out of place.

He certainly had some slight European features but there had been a strong Mediterranean look about him; his face had been covered with a few weeks growth of stubble.

Abdul countered with: There ain’t any way you will get me out of Somalia for I have plenty of friends here!

The voice replied again, in Arabic: The contract states ‘dead or alive’. I don’t know which you would like but I’ll collect your bounty all the same - your choice.

Abdul immediately knew the type of man speaking to him and although it was hot where he was, the cold shiver that he had experienced a few moments ago returned with a greater degree of intensity.

He raised up his hooded head, facing the direction of where the voice had come from and said: You’re a fucking bounty hunter! Listen - whatever they are paying you I will double it!

* * *

Hello. My name is Stone - Mason Stone, aged thirty-four. I am five feet eleven inches tall and I have been a freelance bounty hunter for the past ten years, up until January of this year when I became a Blue Zone bounty hunter.

Firstly, there are four things you need to know: you can run and you can hide, but I will find you, then you are mine - dead or alive!

Like any effective predator, I know my prey. The profession requires resourcefulness, intelligence and the cunning to outthink and outsmart any target.

I had been in Mogadishu for the past week searching for my quarry and established two days ago the bar he frequented and that it was a favourite haunt of his.

The buildings around here were built from stone, covered with plaster made from crushed seashells and coral rock with a final whitewash finish.

Most of the buildings were blemished with bullet holes of every size and shape imaginable; many houses were deserted, riddled with holes from small and larger sized ammunition, coupled with smears of black smoke stains to what was left of any glass and surrounding brickwork. It all added to the chaotic effect.

Following the Second World War back in the last century, the mainly Islamic indigenous tribes had been warring in this region ever since.

This was the last place any white man should be, but my Mediterranean complexion along with a couple of weeks of facial growth helped with being able to blend in.

Nonetheless, in my line of work, there are no such things as any ‘no go’ areas. I had visited this bar on several occasions with no signs of my target, but today I was in luck.

The temperature outside was 32 degrees Centigrade and in this hovel they called a bar it was not much cooler. I sipped on a cold beer as the pathetic ceiling fan in the centre of the room twirled around, attempting to distribute the warm air around the room.

As it spun it gave out a constant clanging that was still audible above the drone of the talking going on.

I had discreetly observed the occupants while I sat at the bar. Normally I would be looking for the person or persons who would pose the most threat, but in here, I had no difficulty identifying the threat level.

Every one of them was a murderer, thief and cut-throat; most of them were chewing a Khat leaf that releases an amphetamine-like stimulant - a commonly consumed drug among combatants in this area of the world.

I was probably the only one in the room not openly displaying a weapon, but during my time over the past few days I had only been engaged in conversation on a couple of occasions; this was obviously a tactic by some of the locals to check me out. Knowing the language had certainly kept me off their radar.

After that, no one seemed to pay much attention to me. This was a place where strangers seemed to come and go and one more face in the crowd that was obviously not white was not seen as a risk.

There were two exits: the main door in and a back door that led to an outside toilet, a small open-roofed wooden shack with two piss holes and a real lavatory for the other end of the business. Pieces of paper from old newspapers stuck on a large metal spike on the wall were available to take care of that end. However, having looked at it, I would need to be at the end of my tether to use it!

Additionally I could use one of several open windows if a quick exit was required; there were several blind spots consisting of supporting beams for the roof.

As soon as my mark left, the bar to go to the toilet I discreetly slipped a few drops of a powerful and quick-reacting sedative into the man’s beer bottle.

Upon his return my mark took a drink and several seconds later slumped forward, his head landing on the bar table. I just sat there and looked around; no one seemed to have noticed anything.

After a couple of minutes I stood up, moved to the unconscious man, lifted him up from the stool, placed one of his arms over my shoulder and took him out of the bar.

I walked the short distance with my newfound friend draped over my left shoulder, my exit barely registering with any of the locals, to a previously located empty building. As soon as I entered the room, I placed him down in a chair, secured him, and waited for the sedative to wear off.

* * *

My mother, Ariana, is a Cypriot who had a relationship with an RAF fighter pilot named Ralph Stone; they were married after six months and within three months, my mother had fell pregnant.

When the baby arrived, they had named me Mason after my grandfather. Six months later, my father had died in a tragic air accident when his fighter plane developed a catastrophic engine failure, resulting in the engine stalling immediately followed by the aircraft entering into a flat spin.

My father had fought to bring the aircraft back under control but to no avail; he never ejected from the stricken plane and went down with it.

Since the end of the recent world war, my skills have been called on more frequently by the countries connected in the blue zone to track down and apprehend HVIs (high value individuals). I was now one of the select few Blue Zone Bounty hunters.

* * *

Two years ago, the west finally eliminated the threat of the terrorist group known as Daesh; the governments of Europe had eventually united, sending ground troops into the Middle Eastern regions to root out its evil.

It had been a hard-won victory but Daesh was no more: it had been totally dismantled and neither side had given quarter. The Western alliance’s troops had been extremely ruthless and this had shocked the armed followers of Daesh - the orders had been to root out this evil and destroy it forever.

Following this, it was time for the world to live in peace again; there was no more stomach to engage in any more conflict, let alone repeat a conventional ground offensive with urban-style war.

The cost had been too high, with many coalition troops paying the ultimate price to rid the world of this diseased faction.

That hard-won peace was short-lived, however, because eleven months ago on October 20th 2030 - (10/20/30) - the world had gone to war.

Iran had finally gone and bloody well done it - launched a nuclear strike on Israel.

Two months earlier, the Iranians had accused four workers, believed to be Israelis, of trying to sabotage its nuclear programme and they blamed Israel for the plot.

All Akbar Kavoosi, the Iranian nuclear power chief, had identified the suspects from covertly monitoring them as they worked on one of the country’s nuclear facilities; the authorities had stepped in, arresting the four men at what they had said was "exactly the right time!"

The four men had been questioned and many believed they had been tortured. As a result, tensions between Israel and Iran had sharpened, with Iran accusing the Israelis of sending the men in to sabotage their nuclear programme.

The Israelis had denied the accusations and accused the Iranians of war mongering.

The United Nations had stepped in to attempt some sort of reconciliation, and although the Iranians appeared to be playing ball at the talks, in the background they had been about to change the world forever.

It was a Sunday - when Iran had launched seven ICBMs - Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles - at Israel.

The high speed of these warheads make them difficult to intercept and allow little warning before striking targets many thousands of kilometres away from the launch site, with a delivery time of usually less than thirty minutes.

The Israeli defence had managed to take five of the missiles out before they entered their airspace; the two that made it through struck two military bases, one at the Palmachim base south of Tel Aviv and the second one at Tel Shahar located between the cities of Jerusalem and Ashdod.

Over fifteen hundred military personnel had been killed at the two military bases, but the resulting fallout driven by the winds across Israel had eventually resulted in over fifty thousand casualties.

The Israelis had immediately retaliated with venom, launching non-nuclear missiles and air strikes on the Iranians, virtually wiping out all of the Iranian military installations.

As a result, over the next week Syria, Egypt and Jordan had launched ground and air offensives against Israel: within days of this, the state of Israel had been close to collapse.

The British and Americans had been forced to step in, launching missiles and airstrikes from bases in Cyprus and Turkey along with their warships in the Mediterranean, against the three countries assisting Iran.

The United Nations had attempted to conclude the hostilities, but over the previous years, they had become an impotent force.

The Russians and Chinese had stepped in on the Iranian side and immediately begun to provide aircraft and missiles for them to use.

Things had begun to escalate out of control with no one apparently showing any concern as to where this was all leading, except for two men: the Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia.

On October 31st 2030 eleven days into the conflict, both men had jointly addressed the world, pleading with the opposing nations to cease hostilities and to take a step back from the brink of Armageddon and the end of humankind, as we know it on this planet we call Earth.

Within twenty-four hours of their appeal, all concerned had declared a ceasefire.

Hundreds of thousands had died in the conflict but the world had been saved from another global catastrophe.

Sixty-nine days later, on December 8th 2031 the world map had changed forever; continents actually did not exist anymore - the world was now a series of 4 Zones.

* * *

The Blue Zone countries were all of Europe, up to and including Turkey. The other countries to make up the Blue Zone were Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, North America, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and New Zealand.

The Red Zone countries were all the other Middle Eastern countries, and the African continent with the exception of South Africa.

The Yellow Zone countries were Russia, China, North Korea, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea, and all of Indo China and all the islands in the South East Asia area, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

These Yellow zone countries were those that ostensibly sat on the fence, showing no allegiances to either the Blue or the Red zones. Many in the Blue Zone had their own feelings about these countries, which was that they favoured the Red Zone countries over the Blue Zone where and when it benefited them to do so.

The White Zone was classified as the Neutral Zone and included the South American continent, South Africa, Greenland, the Caribbean islands, Mexico down to the Panama Canal, Madagascar, all of the Pacific small islands, Antarctica and the Arctic.

The world was now only a four-zone planet.

Within weeks of the war ending, extradition treaties that had previously been in force had virtually overnight ceased to exist.

Therefore, on 15 January, 2031 the Blue Zone countries had set up a judicial body consisting of highly skilled lawyers and a team of top criminal investigators, whose job it was to gather the evidence and to arrange the apprehension of HVIs (High Value Individuals) using highly experienced and resourceful Blue Zone bounty hunters.

This group was referred to as JSEC, pronounced ‘Jay-Sec’ short for Justice Section, operating from headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Each of the Blue Zone bounty hunters carried identification in the form of a gold-and-blue shield. In the centre of the shield was a global map showing the Blue Zone countries in blue; the rest of the shield was in gold. On the top half of this were the words ‘Justice Section’ and on the bottom half the phrase Justice with Force.

The bounty hunters were able to move freely within the Blue Zone countries and legally carry weapons, without being obstructed by the authorities.

To obstruct a Blue Zone bounty hunter in the pursuance of their mission became a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their powers were immense: when in pursuit of an HVI, they only answered to JSEC.

* * *

I looked down at Abdul and smiled at the man’s offer. How many times had I heard exactly those words!

The bounty on Abdul-Nasir-Ismail-Al Somali had been set at one hundred thousand euros.

I had been contacted by Jay-Sec and as usual had flown into Geneva to accept the one-hundred thousand euro contract that was written as ‘dead or alive’; the proof of death was established by the taking of the right thumb for fingerprint identification along with the DNA contained within it and providing photos of the target.

I said to Abdul: How the hell can a shit like you come up with one hundred thousand euros?

Leave that with me. Do we have a deal?

Nice try, but I have a reputation to uphold and I never make deals with my targets... so how do you want to go?

Abdul thought for a moment before replying and then said: Your way!

I rolled up the warrant and replaced it in my satchel bag and then retrieved my K-bar military-grade knife from the sheath on my waistband. I cut the ties around Abdul’s feet first and then the hands, and quickly yanked the hood off his head.

For a split second, Abdul’s eyes were shocked by the light and were out of focus to his surroundings. He blinked several times, and as he began to focus, he looked at me, clearly recognising me as the man from the bar I began to replace the knife into the sheath attached to my belt.

Abdul was obviously no stranger to fighting or pain and he leapt from the chair, launching himself at me and gripping both my lapels in his hands in an attempt to push me backwards.

The attack forced me to drop the knife. I had predicted this and welcomed it - dead or alive, either way I would be paid and I would not now have the task of carting his sorry arse out of the country.

I reached for his right arm with my right hand, grabbing the wrist and my left hand grabbing the top of the forearm and at the same time, I twisted my body to his right extending Abdul’s arm