by Peter Hoole
All the dreams, the plans and the expectation of their future together were about to be quashed. It was a feeling he knew he would possibly be exposed to one day, but he was not prepared for what it meant. His heart was heavy, and all meaning was lost in his world.
The impending attacks, the Colonials plans… they meant nothing.
Caleb looked at William, hoping for one last act of mercy.
“Can I…” Caleb began, a slight quiver in his voice, “Can I just say goodbye?”
His tone was almost begging.
William took a step towards the marine, and looked towards Darcy.
She was, too, feeling the strong sense of loss that Caleb shared. A tear fell down Darcy’s cheek. She was trying to be strong. She was trying to show Caleb that she could cope.
But, with everything that had happened in the past few days, she was once again faced with losing Caleb. This time, it was looking like it was a fait accompli. Caleb was going to die, Darcy had no doubt. And the emotion and fear she had been trying so hard to suppress was finally coming through.
As the tear passed over her cheek into the crack of her mouth, she found herself giving way to what was inside.
With Caleb being held back by William’s men, all she wanted to do was hold him, even if it was for the last time. She looked up at William, as though begging him to allow just one last embrace. It pained her that this monster was her only option.
William looked at Caleb and Darcy, and a smile came over his face.
“Just one?” William asked, as he leant in to Caleb.
Caleb nodded, disgusted with himself that he had to beg for anything from this man.
William delighted in the power.
He leant in close to the Caleb, and with a wicked smile on his face, gave his answer.
“No.”
Being denied this simple act, Darcy let out a cry. It was then the full horror of the situation revealed itself. There they were, only feet away but they couldn’t be together.
The people around them were cruel, sadistic and malevolent.
They would rather cause misery than allow any modicum of mercy.
Caleb shared Darcy’s pain. He wanted nothing more than to hold her one last time. But, he showed his emotion differently. Rather than a tear, Caleb lashed out. With a swift forward movement, Caleb crashed his forehead into Williams nose.
The Englishman lurched back, shocked by the impact.
His nose shattered, William fell to the floor.
While a few of the Colonials stepped moved forward, none immediately assisted William.
Though there were a few chuckles among them. It was apparent William, while a leader, was not well loved by his people.
“Stop messing around and get on with it,” a clearly irritated Zach yelled from the top landing.
William, still slightly ruffled, staggered back to his feet. While unexpected, William cursed himself for his cockiness. He needed to refocus, a task that was proving difficult as the pain swept through his nose and down his face. Blood trickled down his throat, forcing him to gesture rather than speak.
He ushered them towards the back of the plane.
Caleb fought as much as he could, but it was to no avail. Even if he did break free, the only outcome would be putting Darcy’s life further at risk. So he relented and made allowed his chaperones to lead him away.
As he was bustled down the plane, he could hear Darcy calling out.
“I love you, Caleb.”
It was simple, but effective.
Caleb felt a sudden calmness with those words.
With one final movement, Caleb shook free from his captors. If he was going to die, he wanted it to be on his terms.
“I won’t fight,” he said to William, who had followed them down the plane.
William nodded, ushering the men away from Adam and Caleb.
The men released the prisoners, and made their way back to William and the others.
But that was the end of Williams mercy.
“Bring her,” he said, “I want her to see this…”
With those words, the crowd that had gathered behind William slightly parted, and Darcy appeared. She was not restrained, nor was she forced through the crowd. She wanted to see Caleb as much as William wanted her to.
Caleb saw Darcy and became inspired.
He loved her so very much, that he didn’t want to give up hope, even when there was only a slight beacon of light.
He urgently looked around the cargo bay.
The steel and industrial nature of the plane was a façade he had become accustomed too.
As he looked around, he realised that the efficient design of the area would indeed work against him on this occasion. There was simply nothing he could do.
There was no way out.
William raised his gun, and pointed it at Caleb.
Caleb looked at William, then at Darcy. He wanted his last image to be of the woman he loved, even if it was of her with tears streaming down her face.
William tightened his grip on the gun, and with a swift movement, the gun fired.
A bright flash filled the room, and Caleb heard Darcy cry out again.
Caleb braced for the impact of the bullet, and for a moment he could have sworn he felt it pierce his skin.
After a few moments, he realised that William had missed.
And after a further few moments, he realised why.
William was cackling, the gun still pointed in Caleb’s direction.
“Oh, captain… you didn’t think it would be that easy did you?”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Part of him wished he didn’t miss. He wished William had just ended it all with one bullet. But, it was not a huge part of him. The much larger part of him was given to relief. He thought he was dead, and that all was lost.
His relief was quickly replaced. When he saw the expression on Williams face, he knew his fate had already been decided. What he didn’t know was how that fate would be met.
But he did know it would not be pleasant.
“I doubt you’ve figured it out yet.” William began, “But a bullet, while successful a lot of the time, doesn’t always counteract the effects of the serum. You see, I could shoot you, but we don’t know if you would come back. And we really don’t need you to come back now do we?”
William was part right. Just by witnessing the past few days, Caleb knew that bullets could kill Colonials, but they had to connect with the head in exactly the right point.
Failure to do so would result in a less than effective death – such as William returning from the backyard in Sydney.
Despite Williams posturing, Caleb still did not know what was going to happen.
“Just get on with it, we have things to do.” Zach shouted, still atop the cockpit staircase.
William winced at the order, but followed it anyway.
With a nodding motion, William indicated to one of his men his intent.
The soldier pulled a tablet from his pocket. This one looked similar to the one Caleb and Darcy had become accustomed to, only a lot smaller. Caleb figured it was for plane operations only.
With a couple of touches to the screen, the horror of Williams’s intent became apparent. The cargo bays doors slowly moved, shining the smallest burst of daylight into the plane.
All attention was drawn to the light, which became larger and larger. The cargo bay door was opening, revealing the picturesque country landscape of Australia.
The horror of what was about to happen dawned on Caleb.
“You’re not in the air force, are you Captain?” William chuckled, “Shame, because you’re going to have to figure out how to fly.”
With those words, the men that had been hold Caleb and Adam wrenched them back towards the now fully open cargo bay doors.
As the doors had opened, a ramp had extended, much like the time in Seattle.
Caleb could hear Darcy crying out in the background. Caleb turned to face his
beloved, and was surprised by what he saw. The light had formed perfectly around Darcy, making her appear almost angelic.
If that was the last image he would see, than Caleb felt a sudden rush of contentment. At least she would outlive him. At least she still had a chance.
Upon seeing Darcy, Caleb also felt a strange clarity. He was lightly wrestling against the men that were holding him, but he felt overwhelmed to take matters into his own hands.
As they approached the opening, he yelled back to the Englishman.
“Wait.” he shouted.
William was not surprised. He had often had men begging for their lives in his presence. And he would show Caleb as little mercy as he had shown them.
“What is it, Captain?” he said with distain.
“Just… just let me do it myself.”
William was surprised.
In fact, he almost admired the American’s courage. Such had been the people he had in a similar position; they would often be in tears bargaining for their lives.
But not Caleb.
Unsure why William was inclined to grant him his last request.
“You’ll jump?” William clarified.
Caleb nodded.
Looking at his other men, William made sure their guns were directed at Caleb and Adam. Even if they wanted to, William knew there was no escape.
Caleb looked across at Adam. His fellow captive had a serenity about him. He had barely said a word, or even made a sound for their entire ordeal on the plane. Caleb assumed he had long accepted their fate.
Adam looked back at Caleb, and smiled.
Caleb forced a mild response. He was not near as accepting of their current situation, but he did admire the aboriginal man’s resilience.
Darcy reached out to Caleb, but was immediately pulled back.
Caleb looked at his paramour, knowing this would be the last time he would see her. He mouthed the words “I love you”.
Darcy could barely muster a response. She was swept up in her emotions, unable to truly believe this would be the last time she would see Caleb.
After only a few moments, William interrupted in his usual way.
“Come on, Captain… get on with it.”
Caleb looked at Darcy for one last time, and turned to face the passing landscapes below. They were so high; he knew there was no chance without a parachute.
He was thinking about his last moments, when he felt an arm on his shoulder. He turned to the source.
It was Adam.
“Let’s go, Caleb.” Adam said with a surprising serenity.
He had no idea why, but Caleb felt amazingly calm with those words.
And with that, Caleb jumped.
***
He looked at his travelling companions.
He knew they felt the same as he. And while he lamented the lack of speed they were dealing with, he knew what else it represented.
For almost his entire life, he had been staunch in his belief that his people – the American people – were the most formidable force in the world.
Every now and again, there had been threats, entities that had tried to usurp the strength the Americans had had.
The Germans, the Russians, the Chinese. All had tried, and none had been successful in overcoming what Dunleavy and the people before him had worked so hard to achieve.
But this new foe? They were different.
They could traverse oceans in hours. They could kill millions, maybe billions, without even raising a gun.
They were the single biggest threat Dunleavy had ever seen.
The gravity of what they could achieve had only been revealed in the past few days. Prior to the events in Seattle and Australia, Dunleavy thought of the Colonials more of a nuisance, and nuisance that could potentially be exploited.
He didn’t realise just how wrong he was.
And he also knew that no matter how many people Murphy and Casey could round up, it was not going to be enough.
After the incursion in Haven, Dunleavy knew the Colonials would be doing all they could to beef up security.
Dunleavy looked around the cabin area of the plane. He was depressed by the apparent crudeness of the technology that was available. None of the niceties of the Colonials Kite were available, and with the sleep pods being replaced by solid metal floors and a few old jackets.
To say the flight had been uncomfortable by comparison was an understatement, and Dunleavy was keen for it to end.
“How far out are we?” Dunleavy shouted across the cabin.
The target of his request was slumped against the door. There was nothing spectacular about the soldier, other than he had a watch that worked.
Unfortunately for Dunleavy, his timepiece had been damaged at some point in the preceding days. Fortunately, the light weight Casio was cheap enough that it didn’t matter. Though Dunleavy did wish he had it, as now he had to rely on the unknown soldier for his assistance.
The young man looked at his wrist, seemingly agitated at being asked for an update… again.
“About five hours out, sir.”
Five Hours??? Dunleavy lamented.
Every moment and minute that passed allowed the Colonials to get closer to their goal.
“Shit,” Dunleavy exclaimed aloud.
Murphy and Casey were seated near the formerly-old man. They too had grown tired of his whinging. Though they agreed they were in a less-than-ideal situation, it was the situation they were in, and that could not be changed.
But after listening to his complaints for hours, Murphy finally gave in to her desire, “Will you please just shut up???”
It was not normally in her nature to behave so abruptly, but the combination of the previous day events, her “coming-out” and the long flight had drawn her nerves and emotions to the surface.
Dunleavy was taken back by the terseness of Murphy words.
And he was not used to be spoken to like that, especially by someone he considered subordinate to himself.
He was about the rebuke her, but she did not provide him a chance.
“Just be patient,” she demanded, “Nothing we do now can change our arrival time. Nothing we do now can change it.”
It was then Dunleavy remembered.
Murphy was the one that had been giving him his direction. She was the one that had first told him about the Source, and the Colonials.
Indeed, without Murphy as his clandestine guide, Dunleavy would never have been able to guide Caleb and his team on their missions, and would not have been able to get to where they are.
Dunleavy slumped in seat, along his youthful body to mould to the wall of the cargo bay.
The realisation that he was, in fact, totally powerless on his own drawing his thoughts, and he lingered in his self-doubt.
Seeming to sense his persona shift, Murphy left Casey and sat next to Dunleavy.
Though it would have been better to whisper her sentiments, the loud speaking had to suffice
“You know there’s still time, right?” she asked, almost patronising.
Dunleavy looked at her in silence.
Not waiting for a response, Murphy continued, “They are prepared for this. They have been preparing for years. That’s their problem.”
Dunleavy gave her a look, a look that said he had no idea what she was talking about.
Murphy could sense his disbelief.
“Look,” she began, “They have been preparing for a long time. They have worked out everything to the minutest detail. Timed everything so that, when it was time to strike, they would be completely undetected and able to move swiftly.”
Dunleavy looked back at the Lieutenant, hoping for signs on her face as to what she was talking about.
There was a pause when she spoke, and Dunleavy used the opportunity.
“What are you talking about?” he said, foregoing the usual swearing he often felt compelled to.
Murphy smiled.
It was the smile of a woman in complete c
ontrol of the moment. In complete control of her mind and thoughts.
“They didn’t count on us.” she replied with a grin.
Now, Dunleavy returned to his usual vocabulary.
“What the fuck does that matter? At most there’s only a dozen people that can help straight away.”
Murphy shook her head.
“It gives us something we need. It gives us time. Right now, they are panicking. They aren’t sure what to do next. For as long as I can remember, and for much longer I’m sure, they have followed a very meticulous path. All that was building to the events of the last few days. And us? They did not plan for us. They will be after the Captain and Darcy. But they will have no idea that we are coming for them too.”
It was Dunleavy’s turn to shake his head.
“I still don’t get it. Surely they had a contingency.”
“Yeah, but they never thought they’d need it. They are panicked, without their leader. My father meant more to them than you realise. It is likely they are still squabbling about the next move. With James, it would have been settled, and the virus likely released.”
Dunleavy understood.
“But it is still a long shot.” he said, loud enough so she could hear over the din of the plane’s engines.
Murphy paused in thought.
She had been thinking for some time about their next move.
Although Walker had been spoken to, she knew it would not be enough.
“You still have some friends in the business?” Murphy asked, knowing full well that Dunleavy was still connected.
Dunleavy nodded.
“But I can’t just ask them for help. There are protocols. I’m not in a position to influence like I was…”
It was Dunleavy’s turn to pause.
“But… you know someone that is?” Murphy asked.
A smile spread across Dunleavy’s face.
“Pass me the phone.” Dunleavy asked Murphy, “It’s time I called in a favour.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“You’re on your way back then?”
John was surprised by his enthusiasm for his friend’s apparent good health. Part of him was glad he was alive.
Though he cherished his bond with his eternal friend, John knew Zach was the only one standing in his way. The only one that had a claim to be leader of the Colonials. And with his apparently still being alive, John knew he would have to wait a little longer to take his throne.