Ozoneraser: Terrorism + Technology = Great Mayhem

By Ven Dan

The most potent human-killer has arrived. Mankind has been a witness to its fury firsthand as hordes of people dissolve into thin air and vanish. The results are direful!!
Executive order: I, George U. Hamilton, president of the sovereign United States of America do so order the containment of all areas in the southern states exposed to an unknown contagion. I understand that this order comes at the risk of more than five hundred thousand lives, while saving more than 400,000,000. I command all branches of the armed forces, local civilian police forces and any necessary manpower to cooperate fully with the directors of the National Security Agency. From this moment forth, this presidential action will be referred to as Operation Great Mayhem.
"SATYAMEVA JAYATE"-Truth Alone Triumphs

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Jul 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482834482

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Copyright © 2014 by Ven Dan.

ISBN:      Hardcover     978-1-4828-3450-5

                Softcover      978-1-4828-3449-9

               eBook            978-1-4828-3448-2

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CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Ozoneraser who is who

Time line map of Ozoneraser

Prologue One fine morning in April 2039

Chapter 1 14 February 2034. 3:45 p.m.

Chapter 2 14 February 2034. 8:15 p.m. upstairs

Chapter 3 14 February 2034. 9:52 p.m.

Chapter 4 15 February 2034. 6:05a.m.

Chapter 5 15 February 2034. 9:00 a.m.

Chapter 6 11 January 2032. 6.00 am

Chapter 7 25 March 2033. 9:00 am

Chapter 8 04 January 2034. 7:30 am

Chapter 9 04 January 2034. 8:30 am

Chapter 10 04 January 2034. 2:00 pm

Chapter 11 15 April 2034. 1:21 am

Chapter 12 23 August 2034

Chapter 13 24 August 2034 04.30 am

Chapter 14 25 August 2034. 09:30 pm

Chapter 15 26 August 2034. 10:45 am

Chapter 16 29 August 2034. 12:30 pm

Chapter 17 29 August 2034. 2:45 pm

Chapter 18 30 August 2034

Chapter 19 04 June 2035

Epilogue 10 July 2035

Acknowledgements

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Ozoneraser is a crisis of ginormous magnitude and to justify its impact, POV of several victims and media aids have been accounted while narrating. This may result in slight discomfort for those readers who feel comfortable to cling on to the main character or characters right from the start. Considering this, a detailed who is who of important characters and chapter wise timeline map are conveniently provided in this book.

The author strongly believes that terrorists do not form the identity of any particular religion. Every religion as such, is meant for peace and those who take the path of violence alienate themselves from their beliefs. It is a mistake to suspect people based on their faith. Everything that is part of Ozoneraser is fictitious and any resemblance of names, places and circumstances is purely coincidental.

OZONERASER WHO IS WHO

TIME LINE MAP OF OZONERASER

01.jpg02.jpg

PROLOGUE

ONE FINE MORNING IN APRIL 2039

Hey babe! Let the petals of Amaryllis bloom on your cheeks forever and ever! I wonder why they compete with the beauty of my babe when I know that they can’t even stand a chance. An honest remark of George Hamilton, couldn’t win an extra bacon for the breakfast.

Your cholesterol honey Sylvia pulled the bacon away from him and pushed the plateful of fresh orange pieces. George always relished these emotions and excitement packed breakfast ritual in his garden house right on the banks of Chattahoochee River in Helen, Ga.

By the way. What is my humble husband up to? Why is he trying to butter this deformed entity? Sylvia tried to sound playful, but there was an authentic undertone of self-despise which she could never hide. Its been almost 4 years since she ever looked herself in the mirror. The resurrection process brought her to life again, thanks to George, but it left a horrible trail in the form of an indoor plant growing from the left cheek all the way to her left abdomen, a couple of electric wires hanging from her right shoulders and one leg of a wooden table protruding from her left hip.

George immediately came to her side and hugged her and assured her, I love you babe. My savior! If not because of you, we wouldn’t have this conversation in the first place. Honestly you look so beautiful after resurrection. So don’t ever punish yourself like this, never!

Sylvia composed herself, reached out for his left hand, slowly drawing patterns on each finger, until she got to the missing ring finger and kissed the amputated portion and spoke out as if in a trance, I can never believe that you actually chopped this finger by yourself. I wonder how some people could be so philanthropic.

George confessed, Honey, I know I love my people. But to be honest with you, at that minute, I felt that this finger is blocking me from being with you. My wedding ring took away my life, my soul and my everything. I had no choice, and I don’t want a choice either.

My poor George! What a terrible enigma for a man like you Sylvia sobbed reviewing in her mind the dreadful events he went through. There were several Presidents of the United States before him but only one that after him. But why… Why only George . . ."

If hangover ever hurts, being an Ex-President would be the worst.

CHAPTER 1

14 FEBRUARY 2034. 3:45 p.m.

The sidewalk in downtown Hardeeville looked as if someone had sprayed pink, red and white paint everywhere. The colors spread over teddy bears, balloons and even flowers. Each shop in town had large signs advertising The Love of Your Life, Intimate Moments or I Love You. From some stores, crooning love songs could be heard with one rebellious shop playing nothing but angry girl break-up songs. Darryl Malcolm was enjoying every moment of the city’s celebration of Valentine’s Day. He was enjoying being just a regular guy on a regular street, running errands for his wife and anticipating a night with close friends. He relished the luxury of everyday living rather than being pinned down by enemy fire, eating horrible food rations and using every ounce of cleverness to get him and his team out alive.

Sergeant Major Darryl Jamal Malcolm spent all of his adult life in the United States Army in the Special Forces division. Until two weeks ago, he lived outside the caves of Tora Bora in Afghanistan, very close to the heart of a worldwide terrorist network that called itself ‘al-Jihad’. Surviving and completing the mission to eradicate the last dangerous cell of resistance and freeing the nation earned Darryl the day off. It also earned him and his comrades the Medal of Honor. Darryl relished his memories of receiving the US government’s highest military decoration directly from the President. He gained such recognition because their mission eradicated the last known terrorist cell in the world. The al-Jihad terrorists splintered from the original dying organization of al-Qaeda, but soon grew stronger than al-Qaeda, more misanthropic and definitely loathed all things American.

Passing an overly excited teenage couple, Darryl continued to wave to several neighbors. These days, he could not walk down the streets without someone stopping to greet him. It didn’t surprise him to hear another shout from across the way.

Welcome back, Sarge! A teenager and three younger men in about their 20s yelled at him in unison.

This started another wave of attention, as a few older women enjoying tea outside the coffee shop waved and stopped for conversation. It took a few moments for Darryl to extricate himself from the praises and greetings. One even said, Thanks for everything Sarge, as he moved toward the trunk of his car carrying his charcoal.

Amused, Darryl waved back at those stopping to salute or greet him. He still could not believe that such a clumsy, socially awkward man like himself could become a celebrated war hero and loved father and husband. Darryl pulled himself from his musings and blinked, a car engine could be heard a few feet away. Two more blinks popped the trunk. Before he could move to load his packages, a few more greetings stopped him.

Quickly, he programmed the car’s navigation to take him home, set the autopilot, and spent the rest of the drive daydreaming about the souvenirs he brought back from Afghanistan.

4:00 p.m.

A beep from the car stirred Darryl from his quick nap. The car stopped in front of the door and waited for Darryl to exit. After the last of the packages was unloaded from the car, it beeped again to raise the garage door and slowly drove itself inside. Whistling, Darryl grabbed the packages and headed out back to get the grill going for the party.

Yo, Sarge, a deep voice called from around the side of the house.

Hey, Rodee, grab yourself a beer and come help me before I burn down the house!

Doesn’t Brittany know better than to put you in charge of anything that requires cooking? Rodger, a man in his late 30s, opened the cooler at the end of the deck and grabbed a beer.

My lovely wife believes that grillin’ is man’s work, and she gonna make a man out of me one day.

Or be homeless, Rodger quipped and danced away from Darryl’s playful swing.

Whoa! Rodger snatched the lighter fluid from Darryl. Don’t touch another thing. I got this! I have no idea why you are still cooking in this archaic fashion anyway instead of hologrilling.

Whoo-wee, Brittany must have a death wish. She is letting Darryl cook again on that dinosaur of a grill? A new voice emerged near the cooler.

That’s what I said, Patrick! Rodger gleefully added as he turned over the charred steaks, but managed to save the hamburgers from the same fate.

You guys keep at it and I am going to have to pull rank on you shortly.

All the men burst out laughing and at about the same time, the tittering of a few ladies could be heard from inside the house.

Patrick, the youngest of the group, hopped up on the table. He sat as if watching the cooking was the major sporting event of the day and he didn’t want to miss a moment. So, you still are tryin’ to go for that 1950s American dream here, Sarge?

Watch out now, Darryl growled, but then started laughing.

Patrick, feigning innocence, continued, What? I’m still getting used to the new title. Two years ago you were just a grunt. Now, I have to shine up my shoes before I can visit?

Darryl put him in a chokehold and started messing up Patrick’s already over-mussed hair.

Oh, I see the children have arrived, commented a slender woman as she stepped through the French doors and onto the deck. A slightly pudgy child, looking every bit like her mother, followed.

Hey, I am trying to keep your house from burning down Brittany, just you remember that, commented Rodger as he waved a spatula in her direction.

How are you going to do that if you are the one cooking, she said as she crossed onto the deck.

Patrick fell off the table laughing and two energetic boys, no older than six, quickly pounced on him. They both shrieked, Patty! as they pounced.

It only took a few moments for the remaining children to pile on Patrick, but within moments, the children scattered as he howled and started chasing them.

Honey, don’t you upset them before the meal, his wife called out as she set some food down on the table.

He responded with an even louder growl and peals of laughter followed quickly behind.

Way to keep your man in line there, Diana, Rodger laughed as he put more food on the grill.

So, Darryl… Diana started, Have you caught up to life back home yet or do we still need to give you a few days to recover?

Let’s see. Beer… Still exists. Food… Still need it. Water… Still flows. I think I am up on all the important stuff.

Darryl prides himself on keeping up with the basics, his wife added.

Well, that’s not acceptable at all. You haven’t seen the latest techno buzz then. Rodger gestured toward some buttons on the wall beside the French door. Within moments, a three-dimensional holomenu appeared. What do you think of the new install, D?

I think my war time pay went to more than just food for the house, he laughed.

I had to go shopping and this is the easiest way to do it, honey, Brittany smiled.

Sure it is.

Prepare to be amazed, she said as she made a few gestures towards a pad mounted on the wall of the house.

Within moments, each guest on the deck had their own mini-holovid screen floating in front of him or her. They each were able to select their own program to view, listen to music, or even play interactive, three-dimensional games. The kids soon gathered around the screens and began playing games, immediately competing against each other.

When I left, they were just talking about taking these hardware designs of plasma core from the military and introducing them to the public. Glad they did. I guess we will have to come up with another reason to fight every night, since we don’t have to share the television now Darryl said.

Well, you know I don’t fight with you. You know how much I love a man in armor, she purred. They both shared a smile.

Within a moment, their attention shifted to considerations that are more practical. Soup’s on! Rodger announced.

8:15 p.m. downstairs

Yep, it’s past Kathy’s bed time, Brittany said as she looked at her watch. With a sigh, she scooped up her four year old daughter. Kathy spent moments alternating between whining and high-energy, both designed to get her mother’s attention. She was in the process of licking up the drinks spilled earlier by Sam and Sean, Rodger’s twins.

Meow, the little girl said as her mother picked her up. Within moments, she switched back to fussing and trying to wiggle out of her mom’s arms.

Darryl, I am going to go take Kathy up.

We will hold down the fort here, he said, having returned to scanning his holovid.

Rodger wrestled his two boys onto the couch and was daring them to move. It did not take long for the kids to settle; within moments, the two boys were drowsy. With a sigh of relief, the adults continued talking.

What are you so caught up in? Diana asked over her glass of wine, nodding at the holovid.

Just catching up on the news and what’s going on in the world, Darryl replied.

Well, I want to see. She reached over, grabbed his image, and threw it up on the wall for all to see. The small tin-sounding announcer, Aron Hobbs, was suddenly larger than life and three-dimensional as he continued his story about the recently returned Afghanistan heroes.

Just can’t get enough of your nation celebrating your return, Sarge? Rodger quipped.

"We here in the US are proud to welcome home the heroes of our nation, the seven soldiers whose recent endeavors helped to end the final conflict with the al-Jihad terrorist group. The originally eight-member crew had fallen to seven when Medical Sergeant Jasmine Fernandez was killed in action. As the celebrations continue, more information is being shared with the media regarding the roots of the conflict with al-Jihad and our government’s responsibility for a conflict that has lasted for 2 years. More than 30 years ago, America and the world lost many lives as the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed to the ground. It was the longest day in American history and had galvanized the government into action. Less than five hours after two planes slammed into the tallest international business buildings, the Armed Services and the UN were receiving reports from a terrorist cell called al-Qaeda, gleefully taking credit for the loss of so many lives. Amazingly, the US response was quick, decisive, and supported unanimously by every UN member. Weeks later, the UN and the US agreed to use an aggressive anti-terrorist approach.

Would have been sooner if I’d been there, Darryl crowed. The screen was showing a map of the world and Aron was pointing to several cities—Tokyo, Berlin, Edinburgh, and Port of Elizabeth.

al-Qaeda’s attacks didn’t stay within US boundaries, he explained. Soon the world felt it. The Shinkansen, Japan’s major railway, was bombed in Tokyo. He pointed to a region south of Tokyo and an image appeared indicating 2,508 dead.

He then pointed to Edinburgh, as a similar image appeared announcing 945 dead. He continued, "Then there was Edinburgh, Scotland. At the height of tourist season, Edinburgh Castle imploded, killing tourists, workers, and several members of the Royal Family who were in town for an important meeting.

In Port of Elizabeth, the waters are still unusable from nuclear fallout. The image appeared again saying that about 1,200 died. Many of the dead could only be estimated as the currents of water carried off bodies killed by a nuclear bomb. A suicide bomber blew himself up as the innocents watched several water sports near the coast."

Berlin’s image showed up with a number of zero dead. "Their final attempt at devastation occurred at the Chapel of Reconciliation, Versöhnungskirche, in Berlin, Germany. With the world on edge, it was fast-thinking of vigilant tourists who spotted some obstruction in the wall of the Chapel. Their discovery not only kept such a historic monument whole but also saved the lives of the heads of the parliament who were meeting close to the chapel. The bomb, if it had ignited, would have devastated a two-mile radius.

No longer was just the US and England fighting to uproot and destroy al-Qaeda. The whole world set this as their agenda. These were the days when every news report seemed seeped in images of the dead. International students riding the train to attend a science and technology conference in Japan lost their lives, tourists were targeted, workers and members of the Royal household were victims as the castle of Mary, Queen of Scots crumbled at its foundation, as were the polluted waters of Johannesburg as a failed nuclear attack was aimed at South Africa. Aron stopped as the display moved to a commercial.

Yeah, during that time, we seriously pounded out every cell on the planet. Only a group in Afghanistan seemed to offer up any resistance, Darryl added.

Sarge, that wouldn’t have been safe if you’d been higher up. Patrick agreed with Darryl.

Aron reappeared and continued as the image of the world faded as one spot on the map was blown up where the countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan used to exist.

He continued as the visuals of Tora Bora floating Fleeing for their lives, al-Qaeda operatives buried themselves deep in the mountains of Afghanistan near Tora Bora. It was rumored that the main heads of al-Qaeda still resisted, including their leader, Osama bin Laden. The final push to remove this terrorist cell from the world included frequent air strikes by British and American military, compounded with an infiltration led by the anti-Taliban militia of the Muslim nations.

Darryl interrupted, It was my first assignment to Afghanistan 20 years ago. The anti-Taliban militia led the world’s forces into the mountains and it was not long before the white flag of surrender showed up. al-Qaeda had surrendered to the local militia but had not withdrawn from the mountains of Tora Bora.

Patrick inquired, What’s the reason?

Darryl turned to him and spoke, They requested a few days for total surrender. And, the US military was comforted that the reign of terror would soon end. They chose to let the anti-Taliban tribal militia keep jurisdiction over al-Qaeda surrendering. The world waited impatiently for those who caused so much death to be brought to justice.

The world map faded and images of the areas devastated by the al-Qaeda attack appeared behind Aron. That wait lasted more than 20 long years. In retrospect, many agreed that waiting was our final undoing. In waiting, we allowed the members of the al-Qaeda to regroup and several top members escaped into the tribal areas of Pakistan’s White Mountains. All the while, the public was convinced that all the terrorist groups had been defeated.

Darryl paused the holovid with a sigh, well that was more informative than I expected.

We already knew that.

Yes and no, Darryl said definitively as he stood to stretch. You know that the waiting was a bad idea, but no one publicly said it, except that author guy, Peter Bergen. He was a CIA top dog who did his job well. Within a few weeks after that book came out, I managed to get a copy. Besides my wife, who else here believed him?

No one made a gesture; all sat transfixed.

On top of that, al-Qaeda’s involvement in South Africa was never fully confirmed. Can you imagine the terror that would spread if we knew they had built a nuclear device? He continued, before I picked up my last mission, three years ago, we . . .

Three? Rodger interrupted.

Nothing gets past you. We have been training on this last mission for three years now, not two. When I went in three years ago, Peter Bergen was the celebrated hero. We could mention him and his books in our ranks. Before, any mention was instant charge of quarter duty for the month. Even so, we still only knew the tip of the iceberg. Now we know a lot more about Tora Bora and what the public knew was not true, there was more, he sat back down. A whole lot more.

Rodger spoke up as Darryl paused, You said that’s not true about what Tora Bora was. Well, what is the truth?

al-Qaeda abruptly disappeared from the face of the earth after the surrender drama. No attacks didn’t mean any less danger for the American people. So all this time, until the eight of us went in, these terrorists were planning. A few were captured and those left behind formed a terrorist cell that looked weaker. But, guys, they had us all fooled. The remnants pulled together and formed a sect called al-Jihad.

Real original name there, Rodger interrupted. Everyone laughed, nervously.

We didn’t officially know this cell existed until 2020.

What? Rodger interrupted again. How do you not know about a cell of terrorists with the ability to kill more innocent people.

For almost 20 years? Diana breathed. As Brittany’s best friend, Diana knew the frustration Brittany had been experiencing for years thanks to Darryl’s secret missions.

Because, they laid low. Unlike al-Qaeda, al-Jihad didn’t want to be recognized for the one big devastation. They wanted ginormous devastation, something the world wouldn’t easily recover from. They were smarter about it and held even less moral stature. Darryl explained.

If they were so smart, how did you find them? Sam asked. Everyone jumped in surprise as Rodger’s son spoke up.

Well, you know this technology we are messing with here? Darryl stopped before any further classified information is given out.

Darryl, Diana prompted. It is almost nine here. These kiddos are past their bed times too.

Yeah, I guess it is time for everyone to head in. Brittany never came back down, so I am guessing Kathy is not being cooperative.

You need any help cleaning up? Rodger offered.

Nope, I have it. It will be good to do a bit of the domestic thing.

Stay away from cooking though.

Darryl playfully punched at Rodger as everyone said their last goodbyes. Darryl busied himself cleaning up.

CHAPTER 2

14 FEBRUARY 2034. 8:15 p.m. UPSTAIRS

Can I get down? Kathy asked, trying to wiggle out of her mother’s arms.

"If I put you down, you must