Front Lines: Timer's Training

Timer's Training is a short story by Telos, a prequel to Front Lines.
==Prologue: Early Days==
Trent Williams was born in 1979 to Elizabeth and Peter Williams in Westchester, New York. From an early age Trent displayed advanced mathmatical skills and determination. He finished high school at age 17 and did a law course at university. After considering his job options (and some pressure from his parents), Trent decided to join the army and fight in Iraq. At first, he was merely a low ranking soldier, but eventually he was promoted to a job placing explosives and training others in explosives. Trent learned everything about them, from how to identify different types of bombs to setting up C-4 in seconds. Trent spent two years as an expert in explosives for the military. He decided to buy a flat in the rim areas of New York and wanted to become a lawyer. One night, he was studying in his apartment. However, little did anyone know a small yet very powerful bomb had been planted in the middle of New York by the terrorist Raphael Hassar, and was set to blow in only 35 minutes.
==Chapter One: Deadly Bomb==
Lester Thomas was sitting at his desk, filling out a death certificate of one of his deceased agents. He jolted with surprise as the phone rang. Lester picked up the phone and put it to his ear. He was met by a voice with a harsh Mexican accent.
"Is this the Head of the United States Department of Defense?"
"Yes, Lester Thomas speaking. Name please?" Lester replied.
"Raphael Hassar." With those two words a cold shiver went down Lester's spine.
"What do you want, Hassar?" Lester sneered. Raphael Hassar was the most infamous and deadly terrorist in the world. He was renown for being the founder and leader of a group called Dagger. Unlike most terrorist groups, Dagger wasn't about religion or weapons. Their goal was political-based - they wanted the entire world to be anarchist. Already they had set bombs in several cities and destroyed the world-famous "Tower of Gods", the tallest building in the world after the World Trade Center. The problem was, no one knew where to find Dagger or Hassar. So far, Hassar had done an excellent job of hiding himself and his affiliates. He hired people to do his dirty work for him and only showed himself when something extremely bad had happened - or when something bad was about to take place. They were not a group to be messed with, unless you had a deathwish.
"I want three billion American dollars delivered to an empty account of mine in the Ultimate Loans Bank. The ID is 48279001. You have half an hour to make the payment. Fail and you'll find Times Square obliterated along with everyone in the surrounding area." Hassar hung up.
Fifteen minutes later, members of parliament were arguing over whether or not to pay Hassar. Policemen were desperately trying to evacuate Times Square, but it was past midnight and many people were asleep in the nearby apartments. As Trent sat at his desk, reading a recent court case and completely unaware of the impending danger, the telephone rang.
"Hello, Trent Williams speaking," he said.
"Hello Trent, this is Lester Thomas. I'm the Head of the Department of Defense."
"THE Department of Defense?! Is there a problem?" asked Trent incredulously.
"A very big one. There's a bomb in Times Square. You're highly trained in explosives aren't you?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I have access to the records of every recruit in the U.S. Army and where they are now. You're the closest ex-army recruit trained in explosives and we need you to defuse the bomb ASAP. Cops have been searching the area for the past ten minutes to find the bomb. Hold on, I'll just check if they've succeeded." Trent waited for a few moments before Lester got back on the phone. "Yes, they've found it! Get to Times Square as fast as you can! Don't worry about road rules, I'll make sure your record is wiped clean. Go!"
Trent slammed the phone down and raced into the corridor. He started up his car, a red sedan, and sped down the road. Within a minute he had reached the mass of streets, lights and brightly colored billboards that was Times Square. A police officer hurriedly escorted him to the base of a billboard advertising Coca Cola. A small yellowish-brown stick of C-4 explosive was attached to a sealed plastic bag. Trent began to examine it, then suddenly swore.
"What is it?" asked a nearby fireman. Trent swore again.
"It's a damn dirty bomb!"
"A what?" said a policewoman.
"A radiological dispersal device! A bomb designed to spread chemicals around a certain area to render it uninhabitable until it is thoroughly cleaned up! Basically, bomb goes boom, everyone dies. People come to rebuild the buildings, they die too. Times Square could be deadly for... I don't know, anywhere between a few weeks and a few hundred years!"
"Can you defuse it?"
"I think so. Tell everyone to be quiet! I need absolute silence so I can concentrate. A tiny mistake and this thing could kill half of New York!"
The chatter died down and Trent got to work. "I need wirecutters, gloves, water and tweezers!" he yelled. Moments later he was handed the items he requested. Anxious minutes dragged by as Trent fiddled with the powerful explosive device. The city and the morale of the entire country, and maybe the world, were in his hands. Sweat trickled down Trent's brow but he ignored it, desperately trying to deactivate the dirty bomb. Finally, Trent laid down his tools and stood up.
"The bomb is deactivated!" he declared. The huge crowd of police and firemen cheered. Trent was tired and shaky after what had just taken place but despite this he broke into a grin. He had just saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people, as well as billions of dollars in damages. The crowd began to chant his name like excited fans at a rock concert. Lester Thomas strode beside him and shook his hand warmly.
"Congratulations, Trent! I'm sure you will be awarded a medal. I'll be meeting with you soon. We have matters I want to discuss."
==Chapter Two: Recruitment==
Two days later, Trent Williams had been granted the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration that could possibly be awarded in the United States. A photograph of him shaking hands with the President had been featured on the headlines of almost every newspaper in the entire world, and had been praised for his courage more times than he could count. His parents were reduced to tears of joy and relief when he told them the news. He had almost forgotten his encounter with Lester Thomas when he received a voice message on his cell phone.
"Hello Trent. Congratulations once more for your part in averting what could have been an utter catastrophe. I have a little proposal I would like to ask you about..."
==Chapter Three: Training==
Category:Front Lines
Category:Articles by Telos