Installment 3.2

McDevitt looked over at Dilip.  “Your turn to report out.” he said.

Immediately after Delarosa’s assassination, he had been terminated from his position with the state.  Going home, he had time to review the recording of the actual event.  He made multiple copies and forwarded them to several other parties that he thought might be interested.

Dilip’s anger overflowed when he learned that his aunt had been killed in the assassination.  The assassin had lured her away from the desk, probably claiming that there was a leaking drinking fountain, slit her throat and pushed her body into a janitor’s closet.

Dilip personally viewed the surveillance footage from the security cams.  They all went in-op at the same time.  The “snow” that was recorded was frame-for-frame, pixel-by-pixel identical.  The files had clearly been hacked and over-written and the only entity that could achieve that with casual ease was the tentacles of the state that had infiltrated Silicon Valley.

“I talked to a bunch of people who have recently mustered out of the Cali military.  The evidence is that they wear helmets with Identification, Friend or Foe to avoid friendly fire incidents.  This is totally understandable when you realize the recruits wear shock collars and the officers light up the recruits for the tiniest infractions.  That is the only way they trust recruits with a weapon.” Dilip said.

“My best guess, based on what they are telling me, is that each helmet has a near-infrared beacon that strobes at a certain rate but the only way to tell is to capture some helmets.  The most important thing is to capture some officer helmets because recruit’s weapons won’t cycle when pointed at officers but officer’s weapons will cycle when pointed at recruits.” Dilip said.

“If we can break the IFF codes, then we can shoot back with impunity.”  Dilip had been a tiny kid as a child and had been bullied by bigger kids.  His father sent him to jujitsu classes.  Dilip eventually acquired a black-belt and burned into every level of his psyche was the mindset of using the opponent’s momentum and energy to your advantage.

McDevitt looked around the table and was silent for a moment.  The team was about to cross the Rubicon.

“I want you to look inward.  Pray, if you are a praying person.  Then I want your opinions.  To war, or not to war.  There is no shame in advising caution but there is risk in hesitating when there is no gain in waiting.  Do we go to war, or do we continue to prepare?”

The vote was unanimous.  SD-LA was going to war.

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