The Shepherd's Crook Pt. 04

Using the same tech he came up with for the backpack's skeleton tubing, Ben designed a honeycomb mesh tubing that transferred impact energy laterally very effectively and efficiently, in his testbench software at least.

Ben filed a patent on the design with a homeland security rider to maintain its secrecy. Then he started experimenting with making modular armor panels comprised of layers of these honeycomb mesh tubes. For testing the panels, Evelyn hired out a local firing range for a twenty-four-hour period and brought in a few members of General Davis' secret squad who were in town and crashing at the Spa. The rest remained behind, enjoying the amenities.

Fisher, Stim, and Dunno showed up at the firing range loaded with a range of weapons for testing the plates. They brought weapons they most often encountered in the hands of their enemies and a variety of ammo for each.

The gun range owner, Murray Hamilton, was allowed to remain after he signed a non-disclosure agreement. His insurance plan actually made his presence in the building a requirement. He wouldn't be joining them on the range as what they were testing was classified.

All security cameras for the establishment were deactivated, and Evelyn set up her own cameras to record the test results.

When Ben walked into the building with Liliya, Murray's eyes almost fell out of his head. "Hey! You're that fella on TV! You killed those white slavers and rescued the girls! You also had those naked statues made of you!"

The commandos were all struggling to keep from laughing at Ben's weary expression.

Liliya kept her expression neutral, though her hand slipped closer to her blades.

"I didn't ask for them to be made," Ben said, then shook his head in frustration to indicate he was done talking about that. "We're here to shoot guns, yes?"

Liliya stationed herself within view of the building's entrance and the door to the gun range. Ben walked into the large chamber and saw Evelyn finishing her preparations in the center shooting booth. He looked to his right, down the lanes, as he approached her and saw a series of mannequins wearing the test armor. Each dummy was wearing a new test plate. Each had a different configuration of the inner layers.

Then Ben got a closer look at the dummies. They weren't your basic retail store mannequin. He looked to Evelyn in confusion. "What's up with the targets?"

She grinned. "General Davis had them sent here for us to use for the test. They have ballistic gel torsos with interior skeletons to mirror the damage a human torso would receive."

Ben stopped to look at them again. "But... not real skeletons, right?"

Evelyn's smile dimmed as she looked at him and then turned to look at the dummies. "No...."

Fisher broke the uncomfortable pause when he and his men arrived with the weapons they'd be using.

"Sweet targets!" Stim said appreciatively. "Are those plates they're wearing the new armor?"

Evelyn's smile returned immediately. "Yes! The leftmost target is Larry. He's wearing Configuration One plating, three parallel but offset layers. In the middle is Curly, wearing Configuration Two plating, three layers with outer and inner set ninety degrees offset and the middle at forty-five degrees offset to the outer. Finally, we have Moe wearing Configuration Three, which is three layers with a sixty-degree offset."

The three commandos stared at her. Dunno was the one to voice their question. "What material is each layer comprised of that gives it directionality? Some kind of carbon fiber?"

Ben smiled and reached into his jacket to hand each of them a metal straw. They held the eight-inch tubes and noticed how light they felt. It was Stim who tried to blow through his and discovered it was hollow. "Hey! This is a straw!"

Chuckling, Ben nodded. "Try blowing gradually harder through it, and tell me if you notice anything."

Stim did as requested and frowned. "Uh, I think it's getting harder to blow the more force I use," he said.

"Stim's gonna be so popular now that he's learned a new blowing technique!" Donno teased.

"Hey, fuck you!" Stim returned. He turned to look at Ben. "If you were drinking soda with one of these, the harder you sucked, the slower it would come?"

Donno was in stitches, laughing at Stim. "Do you even hear yourself?"

Evelyn's eyes widened as she realized where the inner design came from. The valves Ben designed for the oil refinery! He saw her expression and nodded slightly.

Ignoring his men, Fisher was frowning. "So, the plates are just layers of straws?"

Ben nodded with a small smile. "Basically."

Fisher's eyebrows went up. "Not sure what you think that'll do against a bullet, but let's do it."

He looked at the dummies. "We're only going to get to do three tests?"

Evelyn shook her head. "Between tests, I can swap out the plates with new ones." She gestured to the large crate in the next booth.

Stim smiled. "Excellent!"

The first weapon they brought out was an AK-47. "We see too many of these," Fisher said grimly.

He stepped into the booth and loaded the weapon. "Standard ammo," he called out, and everyone put on their ear protection and goggles. Fisher put a single round into the chest plate of all three dummies. He unloaded the weapon and nodded to Evelyn, who grabbed three more plates and rushed downrange to swap them out on the dummies. She returned with the impacted plates. They gathered around as she showed the struck armor.

"Configuration One. No penetration through the plate, but we have separation. This one might allow for subsequent bullets to penetrate." She handed the plate to Fisher, who stared at the jagged, twisted metal hole in surprise. The bullet fragments seemed to be embedded and shredded inside the hole! He handed it off to Stim.

"Configuration Two. No penetration through the plate. No separation, but the impact placement was over the forty-five-degree layer. We should see if we can hit this other side."

This one was handed to Fisher as well. He went to poke his finger in the bullet hole.

"Careful. Those edges will be extremely sharp!" Ben cautioned. The team CO nodded and handed it along. Ignoring the warning, Stim touched the hole's edge and knicked his finger.

Evelyn moved on to the last test plate. "Configuration Three. No penetration through the plate. No separation. Best result of the three."

Once the commandos got to see all three, they moved on to the second round of shooting. This time Stim got to put three bullets into each plate.

Evelyn swapped them out again and returned with the impacted plates.

Configuration One failed. "We have penetration."

"That's a failure. No more tests with that one," Ben said.

"What's the damage to the torso look like?" Fisher asked.

"The bullet shrapnel is embedded two to three inches deep," Evelyn explained.

The commandos nodded as she envisioned the damage that might do.

Configuration Two had much better success, but Three was performing exceptionally well.

"Why three layers and not four?" Fisher asked.

"My goal is to make it much lighter and less bulky than the existing plate armor." He looked to Evelyn. "Did you bring the four-layer plates?"

She nodded. "Some."

"Let's continue testing with the three-layer plates," Ben suggested.

Dunno got his chance to fire at the dummies, then they switched weapons and ammo. They were now up to eight rounds into each plate. Configuration Two failed at six impacts, but Configuration Three continued to defy the bullets. No penetration.

Evelyn was documenting their results and was very pleased so far.

Ben contained his enthusiasm as it wasn't as much of an improvement as he'd hoped.

"Now we break out the big guns, and I don't mean figuratively," Fisher said.

Ben watched him set up a rifle. "We're going to use armor-piercing rounds," the CO said with a grin.

Once he was ready, they watched him put two rounds into the plate on all three dummies. Larry was now wearing Configuration Two plates, and Curly had Configuration Three plates. Evelyn didn't say what Moe was set up with.

When she brought the plates back for inspection, she had the widest grin.

"The Configuration Two plate shows penetration on each shot. The Configuration Three plate also shows penetration but only on the second shot," she gushed.

Fisher saw her holding back the plate from Moe. "What about that one?"

Her smile went up a notch. "This is Configuration Four. Four layers with a forty-five-degree offset. No penetration on either shot." She handed the damaged plate to Fisher.

He stared at the two spent bullets buried in a tangled mess of shredded metal. Stim and Dunno were staring at the plate closely. "Can I see an undamaged four-layer plate?" the commander said as he handed the damaged one to Dunno.

He hefted the fresh plate, evaluating the weight. He looked at Ben. "This is a little lighter than existing level four armor, which is only certified to stop one round. Yours blocked two." He looked at Moe and saw it was ready for the next test. "Is Moe still loaded with Configuration Four?"

She nodded.

"Can you put Fours on the other two?" he asked.

Evelyn nodded and rushed away with two more plates.

When she returned, all three dummies were sporting the new four-layer armor.

"Stim, put five rounds into those plates."

"Yes, boss!" the man said with enthusiasm.

Stim was an excellent shot and did his best to make neat clusters on the plates. When Evelyn brought them back for inspection, the soldiers were seriously impressed. Two of the armor pieces showed no penetration, though their surfaces were tangled messes of shredded and embedded metal. The third showed one of five rounds had punched through, but only because it overlapped a previous impact point.

"Shit, man! This stuff is going to redefine the armor-piercing classification!" Stim muttered.

Ben smiled and looked at Evelyn. "I think we can wrap things up tonight. Please let Captain Kendricks know I have a new design I need him to run through his test cycle."

"I thought we were doing the test cycle," Dunno said in confusion.

Ben nodded. "Yes, but it was just to prove the design worked as my benchmark software said it would. Now I send it to the captain to feed through the Army's more rigorous testing process. They'll assign the certifications."

"Can we load up a vest with these four-layer plates to see how much it might weigh in combat?" Fisher asked.

"They aren't properly sized to get an accurate assessment. Once approved, they'll be shaped to fit the existing pockets in the vest," Ben explained.

"Wait! These are straws! Can they be curved?" Stim asked suddenly.

Ben grinned. "Yes, they can."

Stim turned to his commander. "This opens up all kinds of possibilities for armor configuration!" Stim suggested. "Four layers for the torso, Configuration Three armor for arms and legs. Lightweight and highly bullet resistant."

Fisher was nodding to himself as he was thinking along the same lines. He looked to Ben. "I hope the Captain's team doesn't take too long to get this to deployment. I'd feel a lot better sending my team out knowing they were protected this well."

Ben nodded. "Kendricks is a good man. He understands the necessity of expediency, but no product is released until it's proven not to have serious flaws." Ben frowned as he examined the rough outer surface of the impact sites on a plate. "Maybe a rubber coating to absorb or contain the displaced energy?"

"Walking around looking like a jumping cholla cactus is better than not being able to walk," Dunno suggested. That got nods from his teammates.

Ben turned his head to look toward Larry, Curly, and Moe. "How did those skeletons do? Any visible signs of damage from the kinetic energy transfer?" he asked Evelyn.

"They're all showing broken bones, but they just took five armor-piercing rounds to the chest. To walk away from that with a few broken bones would be an achievement," she suggested.

"One got through," Ben reminded her.

The three commandos stared at Ben in surprise.

"You don't give someone time to put five rounds into you!" Stim exclaimed.

Ben raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Let's clean up. Unless you wanted to do another test?"

Fisher looked at him with a grin. "I have some spent uranium rounds. They punch through almost anything. Seeing how your plates shred the bullets, it's probably best not to use them here. Clean-up is a bitch."

Ben nodded, and they got to work tearing down their test site.

It had been a good night.

-=-

Murray ensured the door to his office was locked again and looked through the peephole to ensure the Ruskie wasn't outside listening in.

He couldn't believe his luck. A week after he received the activation orders as a supplier, the prime target waltzes into his establishment!

When he found the email in his inbox, his heart had leaped into his throat, but after reading the damning message, he was trembling with righteous anger. To know this man, living on American soil, was conspiring with the commies to send advanced weaponry to the Kremlin was more than he could stomach. How could the government be so blind? He openly had Russian double agents acting as his bodyguards! One of them just returned to Mother Russia with secret plans stolen from the Pentagon!

The blonde traitor to her uniform may have turned off the interior cameras, but he still had a peephole from his office, which let him see into the gun range. He'd witnessed everything! Another secret would be going to the Commie bastards if he didn't get the word out.

He was in a privileged position as his shop was an armory for the local militia. This gave him a number he could call to reach a contact who had the means to get to everyone who'd been activated for this mission. Not one of the leaders, but a field commander with the ability to pass the word.

On the third ring, the line connected. "Loyal to the flag," a voice said tersely.

"Honored to serve our country," Murray said in response.

"Report," the voice commanded.

"The fella, the prime target identified in the activation message, he's here at my place of business. Tonight, of all nights! He has the Ruskie bitch with him and some people who aren't wearing US military uniforms. Hard-eyed sonsabitches too! He's testing some new personal armor. It looks like it might be a game-changer. We can't let this shit get to the Ruskies too!"

"Shit! I'll notify the others. Thanks!" The line went dead.

Murray sat back and pondered what actions he'd just put under way. Hopefully, it wouldn't get back to him. He'd lose the burner, just in case.

Once these traitorous customers left, he had to open up the cellar where he kept the special ammo stockpile to supply special patriotic missions.

Tonight, he was expecting more visitors. A lot more.

-=-

As Ben and the special forces men loaded the test weapons and targets into their trucks, Ben got a closer look at Moe and its battered internal skeleton.

"Shit! It looks like it was run over by my truck!" he lamented.

Fisher snorted. "That many hits of armor-piercing rounds wouldn't look like a love tap."

Ben nodded begrudgingly.

The man moved closer. "We heard the Marines were able to do some special night training from your tower."

Ben caught the scowl Evelyn immediately flashed at Fisher and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes moved to his, and her expression became defensive. "The General's standing order is to leave your home out of the assets we have access to."

"I already said it was okay. We tested it for noise, and there was no discernable noise within the interior bedrooms. I'm fine with it as long as it happens between midnight and six in the morning and you're willing to give me a signed agreement that any damages to my property from this usage would be repaired to my satisfaction and a waiver from you accepting responsibility for all risks from the activities performed from my property."

"We're agreeable to those terms," Fisher said, ignoring the barbs from the sergeant's eyes.

Ben looked around at the significant snow covering... everything. December this year wasn't as cold as it typically was, but they'd still received abundant snow.

"Are you sure you want to be doing this in these conditions?" Ben asked.

All three commandos grinned at him. "This is perfect!" Stim said.

Ben shrugged. "When we get back, I'll show you where to make your connections on the tower. I'm sure the sergeant will assist you in identifying the best termination point within the forest," Ben said, fixing his own stern look on her. She huffed but finally nodded.

The drive home was quick, and Liliya picked up Rose from Ben's place to walk her home. Stim and Dunno rushed into the Spa to tell the others they had special permission to run zip-line drills from Ben's tower. That got everyone hustling to get on their winter combat gear. Evelyn went with them but wasn't smiling about it.

Ben grabbed a couple of shovels, got his tools and a towel for the glass panels, then took Fisher up to the deck. They shoveled the roof clear then Ben undid the panels. They stored them safely off to the side.

"There is a mounting point under the table at the center of the deck. It connects to the frame of the tower. If you have any vibration dampening mechanism—"

Fisher smiled. "We got the set-up from the Marines, so we have the same equipment, and it'll work the same way."

"Oh! Okay then. The waivers?" Ben said, and Fisher was prepared for that as well. He pulled them from an inner pocket and handed them over.

Ben smiled. "The Marines prepared you well."

"Thanks for running interference with the Sergeant," Fisher said.

Ben nodded. "Evelyn, and the General, for that matter, are just looking out for my best interests though they can both get a little overzealous about it." Ben thought about that. "Which is definitely preferable to the opposite."

Fisher nodded.

"I'll set up your access to the back door of the tower between midnight and six in the morning. The code will be 38473.

"Got it, thanks! Have a good night!"

Ben waved as he headed for the stairs. "You as well. Be careful up here. It's slippery." That got a nod.

Once Ben programmed the lock on the back door, he went into the house and gave kisses to his family.

"How did it go tonight?" Tina asked with a sweet smile.

"Really well! I think this armor will make a big difference!" he said with a smile and got hugs from Tina and Lucy.

This was the best reward of all.

-=-

Agent Montrose was cursing her luck. And the bastards upstairs who decided to reassign her from Organized Crime to the Anti-Terrorist division.

The assignment of tracking the movements of the domestic terrorist group America's Answer was frustrating, but discovering their first active campaign was actually targeting Ben Shepherd was too much of a coincidence for her. She'd made discreet inquiries and received confirmation that her previous interaction with the man was why she was chosen to head this team.

She hadn't shirked her duties, though. Her keen intellect, laser focus, and excellent management of her team's resources meant she'd made tremendous headway in identifying and tracking its members and was preparing to tighten the noose on the organization.

That's when she intercepted the activation message for their next campaign, once again directed at Mr. Shepherd. The thing was, the order hadn't come from the terrorist cell's leader, retired US Army Colonel Lindsay Brackett. His vocal disapproval of how the last few presidents managed their military assets had led to him being asked to quietly step down.

Since then, he had been silent, but now they were learning he hadn't been idle. Carefully and silently recruiting like-minded military personnel who'd been scrubbed from active duty and civilians with a similar mindset, he built a network of his patriots. Going back through the communications they'd collected, it looked like he hadn't ordered the first campaign against Ben Shepherd either. His network had been compromised.