VINDICATION

Chapter 28: Running Hot

*dedicated to hellsoldier for the uber-love in da reviews!


Private Partz yawned as he monitored the radar screen at his station, his feet up on the desk. When the alarms started sounding in the complex he almost fell out of his chair.

Major Appliance hung up the direct line to the Off-White House, shouting to all the soldiers working around him. “Sound the alarms! The Off-White House is under attack! Step it up, step it up! Get those units out there!”

There was a flurry of activity as a barrage of troops and a fleet of fighter jets and helicopters took off towards the Off-White House at full speed to fight the reported fires raging through the famous building.

In the midst of the response, there was a loud rumbling and the whole building shook.

Corporal Punishmunt ran into the room, looking around. “What in the HELL was that?! We’re under attack! How is this happening? WHO’S MANNING THE RADAR, DAMMIT??”

Private Partz waved, sweat dotting his forehead. “Sir! Sir! Come take a look at this!”

Jogging over, the Corporal took a look at the radar screen.

There was nothing there.

“That’s impossible! Whatever’s dropping those projectiles should be on the radar! And the helicopters should be able to see it! What in hell’s going on?!”

Major Appliance came over and scowled at the screen. “The bombs are coming from somewhere, and they’re coming from the air. Whatever’s dropping it must be under stealth.”

“Why wouldn’t the choppers see it then, Sir?” Private Partz asked, totally confused.

“I don’t know. Contact them and confirm.”

Private Partz went on the radio. “Base to choppers, can you see anything?”

There was a burst of static, and then a transmission. “Negative…no visual contact…”

Private Partz looked up at Major Appliance fearfully. “What do we do, Sir?”

The Major was silent for a long time, then spoke solemnly. “Whatever’s dropping those bombs has to be airborne. So it has to have an engine. Switch the radar to infrared.”

Private Partz obeyed, flipping the radar over to the seldom-used frequency. A few seconds later there were two blips on the screen just out of range of two of the choppers.

Major Appliance and Corporal Punishmunt grinned. The Major growled. “There they are.” He picked up the radio transmitter, proud sadism glowing in his eyes. “Base to choppers, change course, 26 degrees northwest. Use the heat-seeking missiles and bring ‘em down.”

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Oh, and hey, "Running Hot" for anyone who's curious is an ambulance term. It means 'going lights and sirens' to a call.
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To andalitebandit: I’d forgotten that ‘strength five’ is a radio term. Not sure how much or how often you worked with the radios/dispatchers when you were in the military, but perhaps strength five is a Canadian term…Anyways, I work in an ambulance dispatch centre, and when the crew calls in to do a radio check, we respond as follows:
Strength five=loud and clear
Strength four=good, minimal static
Strength three=readable but covered in static
Strength two=static makes the transmission unreadable
Strength one=completely unreadable due to static. This is when we have the crew call us over a landline.
Hope that helped! And maybe you can let me know, is that a Canadian thing, or do they have the same codes in the States for that? Thanks!