“What ….but they're dead” I said as memories of my parents flashed in my mind, my parents hugging me, my parents teaching me to walk, but most of all the day they died. I still remember seeing the flashes of the explosion and last thing I remembered from that day were the boils on the faces of my parents as the radiation took them away. I remember the fire ash and the men in Hazmat suits who rescued me from the bunker from under our house and then I remember my life in New Manhattan, but I knew my parents were dead, I had seen them die.

        I saw the man shift in his seat “That hasn’t changed”

        “Well” I said “What and where are you taking me to, I was going to join the U.M.D.F”

        “Well first let me introduce myself” the man said as he adjusted his hat, it had been slightly off center due to the crowd and he looked uncomfortable. “I’m Lieutenant General James Haddik of 51st U.E.D.F….and you are Ryan Reynolds, Correct?”

        I was stunned as to why I, a nobody was taken off the streets by the General James Haddix, the one who had led the UN troops in the assault on Euro-Kremlin front. The same general that pressed for the full release of the Operation 77 document and the same one which crushed the African Insurrection in weeks.

        ”Y-yes sir” I stammered, “It’s just that you're a legend, why would you bother talking to me?”

        “Well” he began, “Let’s start at the beginning” he went silent for a moment, “I began my career in the United States Military, I was young a patriot and headstrong”.

        “What does this have to do with my parents?” I asked.

        He looked at me with a look of exasperation. “Just let me talk” We had just turned down the road towards the UN government building. “As I was saying I was head strong I had just graduated from West Point”.

        We stopped at a military checkpoint and a U.M.D.F. soldier began to check out the vehicle. When he saw General Haddik he had a surprised look on his face, then as he scanned the car he saw me and a look of disgust then formed on his face he began to raise his weapon but as he did the general grabbed his gun pulled it away from the soldier with a look of fury on his face. “What do you think you're doing soldier??”

        “Sir this is a breach of protocol and….”

        General Haddik had a look of such extreme rage that I was afraid of what might happen to this soldier. The general knowingly screamed at the top of his lungs “I AM THE PROTOCOL….. NOW GIVE ME YOUR FIREARM” the soldier handed over his firearm without a second thought and the general leaned over and said “Don’t let these soldiers scare you they're all just big teddy bears with a lapse of judgment” “Isn't that right private?” the soldier with a look of confusion responded.

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        “Sir if I may, i'm Sgt. First class”

        “Well seeing as how you had vastly misjudged this situation i'm not sure you're fit for command. Go see you're CO and tell him about your new promotion.”

        Through this engagement I hadn’t realized that I was half out of my seat and ready to flee for my life. Looking around me at this checkpoint I can tell i've made no friends here

        “Well private I think that that about covers it, how do you feel about raising the? I think that there may be some latrines that need your attention.”

        The door closed and the armored car began to rumble forward, there were less bumps and the buildings looked cleaner and there were now skyscrapers surrounding us.

        “Sorry about that, men are uptight with the president's speech but let's get back to business. As I was saying, I had just graduated from West Point and I was leading a squad in Iraq against a terrorist cell and I had insisted upon going myself, and when we were crossing a open field we were ambushed by terrorists raining down fire from a series of buildings, and at the other end of the clearing there was a traitor and he must have alerted them to our attack. I was then hit in the leg making me unable to move, there was also no way I could crawl to find refuge and if I had tried it would mean guaranteed death, that was when when a soldier ran over, grabbed me and began to pull me towards the rocky cover about ten meters away.”

        “It was your father, First lieutenant John Renolds, I heard him yell suppressing fire 100-hundred meters the schoolhouse. I had blacked out and all I can remember is the sound of LMG opening fire and the radio man calling for air support, when I awoke we were back at base two days later surrounded by medical equipment and machines. I called for a nurse and when she came I asked her who saved me in the field she told me she had no idea and I would have to check with the survivors. But even though I stayed in the hospital for 4 more days but I could never find out who saved me” as he spoke on about this and his time in Iraq I saw we were turning a corner and I saw the UN government building up ahead.

        “Then when the Second Mexican American War started your father and I were tasked with joint command of the invasion of Baja, California. Which was the location for a large scale military base used as a staging point for nuclear testing, and our job was to coordinate strike teams to prevent them from seizing the base and using the nuclear weapons on our troops or on our cities.

        You see Mexico was testing nuclear weapons and Uncle Sam didn't like that very much so we had to stop them, and while this was going on we became more than just coworkers trying to stop Mexican fascist government, we had became good friends.” So many questions raged in my head but one of the biggest ones was the identity of my mother,

        “Uh excuse me” The general raised his eyebrow, clearly not used to being interrupted.

        “What about my mother?”

        “Yes” the general replied. “I think it's time we discussed that, your mother was my sister.” A awkward silence filled the truck, all I could hear was the hum of the engine and my own thoughts.

        “Why didn't you tell me earlier?”

        Hesitating the general then said, “I didn't know you were alive.” I could tell he was obviously lying but, if my life in New Manhattan had taught me anything it was how to tell if someone was lying or not, as well as when to press for the truth and I could tell now was not the time.

        “So enough with the touchy feely stuff it's time to talk about where we are going.” I heard the truck stop as a UN Peacekeeper opened the door.

        “Welcome to the UN East Coast Headquaters General Haddik”