Operation Indigo Sky

by Lawrence Ambrose

  I thought of her when Craig's mom showed up to complain about a leaky pipe in the basement, which Craig promised to repair. Then his daughter and ex-wife arrived to complain respectively about a junior high school teacher and the air conditioning in their house. Craig's girlfriend appeared, complaining about how late he'd been working lately. I sensed a pattern, if not a moral, in there somewhere. But Mr. Sunshine took it all in good grace, his smile rarely wavering. I guessed he liked feeling needed.

  "You're making me glad I'm single," I said.

  "Ha. No pain, no gain, as they say."

  "Don't think I've ever heard it applied that way."

  "Is that what you're on the run from? A vengeful ex-girlfriend or wife?"

  "I wish."

  "You ever going to tell me about your mysterious past, Robbie?"

  I paused in slapping on a sheet of plywood and looked at him. He was smiling as always, but there was a serious glint in his eyes.

  "Maybe at some point," I said.

  "You aren't running from the law, are you?"

  I met his gaze. A trickle of sweat tickled the back of my neck.

  "Okay, if you want to know the truth," I sighed. "I witnessed a military rescue operation involving a UFO, and because of that they sent me to a detention facility. I was then broken out by a secret group devoted to truth in government and have been on the run ever since."

  Craig stood with his drill hanging limply in one hand, cocking his head at me, his grin becoming a smirk.

  "All right, Robbie, I hear you. If and when you're ready to tell me the truth, I'm all ears. Until then I'll try to mind my own business. You're a good man, I know that much."

  Huh. So that cliché of telling people the truth to shut them up actually works. What do you know?

  We were lifting a panel of tin onto the roof when Craig froze, staring down over my shoulder with eyes so wide that I turned expecting to see a big cougar had wandered in from the hills.

  What I saw was much more shocking than any garden variety big cat. This was an apparition: an eerily familiar figure despite the short dark reddish brown hair, tortoise shell sunglasses, and cowboy girl jeans and shirt. My drill slipped out of my hand and rattled down the panel, plopping into the dirt below our feet.

  "How's tricks?" Lilith inquired.

  I didn't speak. I wasn't sure I could speak. My vocal chords and my brain had seized up.

  "I'll let you two have some privacy," said Craig, clambering down and heading for his house with a half-bow to Lilith.

  I lowered myself to the ground one cautious hand and foothold at a time, not taking my eyes off her. With her jaw-length brunette hair and cowboy outfit she seemed both herself and someone else – familiar but alien.

  "Nice, uh, disguise," I said. "I'm not sure I would've recognized you if you passed me on the street."

  "That's the idea."

  "How did you find me?"

  Lilith glanced at the house. I thought I glimpsed Hank peering at us through one of the windows.

  "Can we go somewhere more private?" she asked.

  "My place." I nodded to the garage. "Be it ever so humble."

  "Okay. Do you have a television?"

  "Internet. Why?"

  "You haven't heard yet?"

  "Heard what?"

  Her mouth drew tight. "You'll see."

  We ascended the stairs behind the three-stall garage into my one bedroom apartment. I was glad I'd vacuumed and picked up some of the clutter last night.

  "Can I get you something?" I asked. "Something to drink or eat? I have some leftover stir fry – well more stir try – but it's semi-edible."

  Lilith shook her head. "Maybe later. Why don't you turn on your computer?"

  We both pulled up chairs at my computer table. I'd purchased the used laptop at a local computer store for a mere $150. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done. I opened it and clicked my internet browser.

  "What am I looking for?"

  "Type in Mall of America."

  I entered the name, and the page blew up. BREAKING: MALL OF AMERICA TERROR ATTACK CBS News in blazing bold text was the top result. The article was ninety minutes old. Swallowing, I clicked on it.

  Below the heading and a photograph of several armed men apparently barricading the Mall's main entrance the article read:

  Surveillance videos reveal twenty-five to thirty men blocking Mall of America exit doors and killing security personnel and several bystanders. Inside cameras show gas being released within the store resulting in unknown casualties. Authorities believe the gas to be the nerve agent Sarin. Entrance into the building has been hampered by apparent explosive charges placed on all entrances and by sniper fire...

  I kept reading, bile rising in my throat. Jesus. This was fucking insane. Not much was known about the "terrorists," other than the photos and witnesses suggested an unusual mix of races (white, Arabic, black, other?). Newscasters were already speculating that they were members of the Freedom Brigade, which called itself a "consortium of freedom fighters from all over the world, dedicated to overthrowing the evil elite, their puppets, and those who support them." The FBI considered them to be primarily "homegrown terrorists consisting of radical libertarians and supporters of the Constitution allied with possible ISIL members." No one seemed to know much about them or how seriously to take them, though their "Manifest Destiny" manifesto, excerpted in various newspapers, did earn some fearful commentary.

  Casualties were sketchy, but estimates in the several hundred were being entertained. I leaned back from my computer and sought a clean breath of air. Lilith removed her sunglasses and stared at me with those seascape blue eyes of hers - glinting with a warmth and sympathy I couldn’t recall ever seeing before. She reached out one hand, and for a disbelieving moment I thought she might actually touch me, but her hand dropped on the table several inches short of my forearm.

  "I don't believe this," I said.

  "Don't believe what? The inhumanity of people? The event itself?"

  "Any of it." I rubbed my eyes, wishing I could blot out the images that were forming. "I thought the Freedom Brigade sounded phony from the start. Since when do libertarians and Constitutionalists hang out with Islamic Jahidists? Not to mention slaughter people with nerve gas? It makes no fucking sense."

  "Not if you take it literally."

  I stopped rubbing my eyes and stared at her. She regarded me with a neutral expression. After a second or two she slowly arched one eyebrow in silent confirmation of what she knew I was thinking.

  "Another false flag?"

  "What else could it be?"

  I didn't have an answer – not one that satisfied me. From what I'd seen in the last couple of months, nothing was as it seemed, but one truth did appear to stand out: nothing of major political import happened without powerful, interested parties being involved. I couldn't connect all the dots, but of that much I was sure. And this, much like the Paris attacks, Boston bombing, and the Wedding Massacre, would surely have huge political import.

  "As Rahm Emanuel said, never let a good crisis go to waste," I muttered. "But even better, why wait for a crisis to appear when you can create one?"

  Lilith sagged in her chair with a soft sigh. "I think I could use that drink now."

  "Beer? Something stronger?"

  "Stronger. And tastier than your usual cheap beer swill."

  "Since you asked so nicely."

  I poured a pair of vodka-cranberry on ice drinks, a favorite of mine since my stay with Professor Killian.

  "How's your dad doing?"

  "Okay. Taking everything in stride as usual."

  "Where are you staying?" Lilith gave me a wan smile and shook her head. "Right. Okay. Then how did you find me, and why are you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you."

  "You are happy to see me?"

  "Yeah." I smiled. "I like you as a brunette. Brings out your softer side."

  "Ha. And your beard brings out your biker outlaw side." She wrinkled her
nose as I caressed by goatee with a sinister air. "You weren't hard to find. I just learned where they dropped you off and made some calls to the nearest city – the motels, the bars, your usual haunts. I didn't even need to know your fake name. What is it, by the way?"

  "Robert Drexler. But you can call me Robert."

  "Thanks. I'm Sophia Gould. You can call me Dr. Gould. I'm a research scientist in this life."

  "You look more like Calamity Jane in that outfit. All you're missing is a cowboy hat and a pair of six guns."

  We both laughed. The amusement didn't last long on either of our faces. I was happy to see my former accomplice, but I didn't have a good feeling about this. Her showing up and this disaster unfolding didn't seem auspicious, especially with the tension she was projecting.

  "Does your coming here have anything to do with that?" I gestured to the gruesome images on the laptop screen.

  "Sort of. Indirectly. Hayden..." And then her hand did complete the remainder of the journey to my arm, her fingers resting on my wrist. "It could get really bad. This mall thing is only the beginning. It would be a good idea if you were somewhere safe. Safer, anyway . "

  I tried not to feel the electric tingles radiating out from her fingertips. "Do your people have underground bunkers a la Ethan Ellenberg and the government?"

  She shrugged. "They have something like that. And it's been okayed for me to bring you to one."

  "Really? Last time your people wanted to take me somewhere, it was a one-way trip, wasn't it?"

  Lilith scowled and withdrew her fingers, averting her eyes. "My father is well-respected among our people. He argued strongly in your favor. You'll be treated well."

  "That was nice of him, I guess." I wondered why I didn't feel more grateful. "Not that I can see myself hiding away while my father and my friends go up in flames."

  Lilith sipped from her glass, her gaze distant. I noticed a small tremor in her hand as she lowered her drink.

  "You know more than you're telling me," I said. "I knew from the start you and your dad were withholding information. But maybe I underestimated how much." I paused. She didn't look at me. "Do you know what's coming, Lilith? Is it an asteroid?"

  "I can't tell you that, Hayden. You'll know soon enough."

  I turned the vodka glass in one hand. This conversation was turning into a real buzz-kill.

  "If we don't kill ourselves before the Apocalypse arrives," I grumbled under my breath.

  "I don't know exactly what's going to happen. I don't think anyone does. But from what I do know, it may get much worse before it gets better. Unfortunately, some violence and what you call 'collateral damage' – God, I hate that word – will be unavoidable."

  "Who's going to be causing this violence? Governments? Or your people?"

  "There's going to be a power struggle. There'll be violence from both sides. I don't condone everything my side has done or may do. Exigency and all that."

  As those words sank in, I had a sudden, sickening thought. "Did your people have something to do with the Mall of America?"

  I expected an immediate denial, but Lilith stared into the distance with haunted eyes and said nothing. The vodka began to curdle in my stomach.

  "Lilith," I said.

  "I don't know, Hayden. I don't know." A sharp cry of frustration. "I'm not upper management. I'm out of the loop on most details. I mainly have my suspicions."

  As my thoughts whirled, I spotted Craig down by the barn, looking around as if wondering where we'd gone. I knew he was anxious to finish the coop today, but I wasn't sure I'd be up for that. In my current state I'd probably drill a screw through a finger or staple my hand to the plywood siding.

  "Sometimes people have to do bad things to achieve something good," said Lilith in a soft voice. "If you could make this world a better place, but people had to die to achieve that, would you do it?"

  "Don't all terrorists justify themselves that way, Lilith? The ends justify the means?"

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "I don't believe killing some people to help other people is the way to go."

  "Even it meant ending all this barbarism? Ending your forever wars? Escaping the primitive constraints of your coercive governments and creating true, lasting peace and prosperity?"

  "Your secret society will do all that?"

  "That's the goal."

  "They plan to rule the world?" It sounded so silly that I expected Mike Myers as Dr. Evil to barge in. But my sardonic smile fell flat as Lilith looked away. "Seriously? That's really the plan?"

  "They're smarter, wiser."

  "Philosopher kings?"

  "Something like that. They have a lot more experience and better ideas."

  "I always thought Plato was full of shit about that. We don't need wise parent-leaders who will rule us as children. We need a society with a rule of law that applies to everyone, including the elected leaders."

  "You tried that with your Constitution. How well did that work for you?"

  Ice filled my insides as her words sank in. But with it came a cold realization, dawning in slow, painful degrees. Maybe I needed to take a closer look at 'The People'? If I wanted to do that, I needed to rein myself in here or risk eliminating that possibility.

  "I can't argue with you there." I wrenched my mouth into a less dour shape. "So you're inviting me to come to this place? Now or...?"

  "The sooner the better, I'd say. Are you open to that?"

  "I'm considering it. I'd want my dad and best friend to come, too."

  "Your dad, maybe. Your friend..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Hayden, but I don't think so."

  I glanced at her before returning my attention to Craig, now standing on the ground below, who'd spotted us in the window and was giving me his patented "Don't worry, be happy" wave before disappearing into the barn.

  "Can you tell me anything more about this secret society of yours?" I asked.

  "What do you want to know?"

  "How big the organization is, how much it's infiltrated governments and business, how long it's been in operation – that kind of thing."

  "It's big, it has infiltrated many positions of power, and it's been around a long time." Lilith gave me a hard smile. "And that's all you're getting for now, Hayden."

  "If your network is so powerful, why did you need me?"

  "They couldn't investigate things – important things – without risking exposure. But that's changing now, and that's why it's bound to get violent very soon."

  "They didn't want to tip their hand."

  "That's it." She met my gaze. "A couple of things you need to know. My dad and I went to the mat for you – that's why you were rescued from that detention center in the first place. You need to be on your good behavior. Also, once you accept sanctuary, you'll be in there until the crisis is over."

  "I wouldn't be allowed to leave."

  "No." She touched my arm again. "Believe me, you won't want to be out here anyway. Come with me now, Hayden. I'll contact my father and see if they'll permit your father sanctuary. If it's okayed, we can call your father and arrange to meet him on the way."

  I had a decision to make. Maybe the hardest decision I'd ever had to make in such a short time with no real preparation and minimal knowledge. I respected and liked Lilith and Markus. I had no doubt they were good people and had gone to the mat to protect me. Other than them, I knew next to nothing about their organization, and my one encounter with them sure as hell didn't inspire trust. They might have noble aspirations. So did Karl Marx. Our own elite might believe we'd all be better off with them in control.

  I didn't trust our government. But why should I trust these people? Bottom line, I believed in my country. We might fuck things up royally, our politicians might be corrupt as hell, and the military-industrial-corporate complex might be screwing us over for their own profit. But this was our mess to clean up - not some philosopher kings who believed they knew better than everyone else. Since when had people who b
elieved they were God's chosen ones ever made good rulers? The whole notion of elites ruling us stuck in my craw. Wasn't that what we already had?

  Lilith was watching me with intent eyes and a carefully composed expression of patience. I assumed it was carefully composed, because the Lilith I knew didn't have a lot of patience. All I could do now was follow my gut. And my gut had made its decision. I just hope it didn't end up stinking.

  "Okay," I said. "I guess I could put my fabulous career as a chicken coop engineer on hold. If we can get my dad on board, I'm in."

  Chapter 20

  I FELT LIKE A shitheel leaving Craig in the lurch like that, but Mr. Sunshine took it in good grace. He even offered me severance pay, when I was the one severing him. I told him to keep my week's unpaid wages as compensation, but as we hugged he slipped five hundred bucks in my jacket pocket. Generous bastard. My eyes even got a tad misty. I made a mental note that I'd pay him a visit after the Armageddon. Who knew, maybe I'd need a job?

  With his storage container buried as a survival shelter in his backyard, he'd stand as good a chance as any. I told him to keep his head up about a possible future shit storm, and left him scratching his head. It seemed the best I could do under the circumstances.

  On the road with Lilith in her new Volvo, I had one of the most frustrating phone conversations I'd ever had with my dad, and that was saying plenty.

  "I'm sorry, Hayden, but I just don't buy all this end of the world crap. You've gone way overboard in your conspiracy theories, son. You gotta just live life and let what comes come, you know?"

  "This isn't come vague conspiracy theory, Dad. I'm talking about stuff I know personally – things I've personally seen."

  "I don't know what you've seen, but you sure as heck didn't see the end of the world. You talked to some people and believed what they said, right?"

  "I have good reason to believe what they said, Dad. I've personally spoken with a military officer who confirms what I'm telling you."