“What’s that?” he asked whoever would listen.
The black shape fell on the flat decking on top of the Folsom Dam and disappeared. He had enough time to wonder if he’d imagined the object before the bottom half of the tall concrete dam bowed outward like a filling balloon. An instant later, fire and debris shot out of the bulge, followed by a white jet of water and a violent rumble under his feet.
The crowd fell into silence, which was a feat in itself.
They all watched the concrete monument crumble from both sides as the water pushed through. The remains of the roadway on the top quickly fell into the torrent, and the gap grew almost as wide as the dam itself. Once the breach started, it peeled away additional layers of stone, further widening the hole.
People started clapping, but he couldn’t. He was too shocked.
The flood washed through the narrow river channel below the dam with frothy waves that fought like rabid dogs to get out of the lowlands and up to the neighborhoods of Folsom.
The crowd seemed to catch its breath and people applauded and whistled approval. The churn rushed through the flat valley along the path of the once-peaceful river, continuing its spread as more water gushed out of the lake. As more of the town was consumed, more of the crowd rose in support.
“It’s got part of the prison,” Bernard said like he was a reporter. “And it’s heading for downtown.”
Dwight realized none of their fire-starting adventures the night before could hold the flicker of a candle to the destruction wrought by the broken dam. Already houses, cars, and small buildings were being bowled over and washed away. The cleansing of America was happening in real time, and he was there to see its efficiency.
Poppy interrupted his introspection when she yelled a question down to him.
“Yes, I saw the dam break!” he replied with anger. Everyone was whooping and screaming in near-ecstasy at what David had done in front of their eyes, so no one heard him talk to his pet. He was glad for that. It wouldn’t do him any good if they saw how upset he was.
“I’m done with this!”
CHAPTER 24
Minot Air Force Base, ND
“I was here once on business,” Emily said in his ear as they rode through the sprawling base. “Air Force Two had to make a stop before we went to Japan. I got out of the plane for a short while, but I didn’t make it to any secret computer labs.”
Ted laughed. “Leave seek-n-find to Meechum. You just stay alive so you can unlock the terminal.”
To the casual observer, it looked a lot like any small town in America. It had a movie theater, shopping centers, and fast food locations. Since this part of North Dakota was flat, and there were almost no trees for ten miles in any direction, the base seemed even larger. The long central street cut through it all, pointing west, toward the building where Meechum had shown on the soup-can mockup as housing all the computer gear.
He half-turned, happy as could be that they were still alive and free after being stopped at the gate. “You better be right, you know. I don’t think anyone would appreciate if we stopped and asked for directions to their super-secret bunker.”
The vibration of Emily’s laugher traveled along her arms as she still held tight around his midsection.
They’d gone about a mile before they pulled into the parking lot for a nondescript two-story building made of stone blocks. It was about fifty yards square, with tired-looking windows. Compared to the rest of the newer housing and buildings, the place seemed to be from a previous generation. The sign out front said Maintenance and Parts, as Meechum promised.
Emily only let up on her hold when he had the bike off and the kickstand down. He hopped off first and held out a hand, though she didn’t need any assistance kicking her leg over.
“Thanks,” she said, using him for two seconds of balance.
Meechum strode by. “Ma’am, it’s right through here.”
He and Kyla followed the other two ladies through the swinging glass doors at the front of the building. There were lots of other cars in the parking area, so he figured there would be people inside. And when they stepped into the foyer, he got confirmation. People scurried about on the other side of the next set of glass doors. However, before they went through, they had to get by the guard.
A tired-looking older woman sat at a wood-grained folding table. She wore the same black on black uniform, but her jumpsuit top was draped on the back of her chair, leaving her in a gray T-shirt. She barely looked up when they came inside. “I’ll need your guns.”
Ted kept walking. “We don’t have any.”
She sat up straight. “Hold up, friends. I’ll need to wand you.” The handheld security wand had been sitting on her lap.
He had to make a split-second decision.
“Sorry, thought you meant long guns,” he said nonchalantly, “We do have some pistols, but we’re in a hurry.” There was no point in pretending they didn’t have pistols on them if she was going to wand them anyway. He tried to be a team player.
“Thanks,” she said, still holding the wand. “The base commander put us on full alert. I have to wand every person who comes through the doors.”
All of them emptied their pockets and holsters. Kyla and Meechum both put their M9s on the table. Emily set down her P229. He tabled his pair of Sigs, plus the little Ruger LCP. He’d intended to sneak it through until she mentioned the wand.
As promised, she lazily checked each one as they stepped through the second row of doors. She seemed to notice the bullet hole in his chest, but only shrugged like even that didn’t faze her.
“How do we get them back?” he asked from a bit beyond the threshold. “You didn’t give us a receipt.”
The woman tapped her head. “I’ll know.”
He went on, pretending he was used to such treatment. However, when they all got inside the main hallway of the building, they met another surprise. Almost everyone wore different uniforms. Instead of the all-black edition, the new people had black uniforms with red sleeves.
“Where now?” Emily asked the Marine.
The interior had the appearance of being a large call center contained within an old elementary school. Thirty or forty people sat at desks scattered throughout a large room at the end of the entryway. Rows of exposed halogen tube lighting hung above the workers, giving it a cheap telemarketer appearance instead of a military one. Meechum gave the people inside a once-over, then pointed to the left, to a hallway going a different direction. “We could probably use any terminal in the building, but the mainframe room should have the fewest people. The stairs we want are that way, and around the corner.”
The four of them walked the bustling hallway, trying to move fast and avoid interacting with any of the enemy wearing the wrong uniforms. It wasn’t hard to do, as many of the young workers had their heads down, looking at cell phones or big tablets.
“This is the IT group, isn’t it?” he asked, knowing the answer.
“Yep,” Meechum said quietly.
Kyla took a double step to get closer to him. “Why does it say maintenance on the front?”
He laughed. “It’s an old trick from the Cold War days. If a spy snooped around and tried to map the place out, they’d be confused as to what was really inside the buildings. The US Air Force continued the tradition by mixing up the signage. Everyone on base knows what’s in here, however.”
“Glad I’m not a spy,” Kyla added. “I barely knew how to get to the computer lab while on the aircraft carrier. I’d never be able to draw it on a map.”
“You’re kind of a spy now,” Meechum said, slapping her on the back.
A few seconds later, Ted thought he recognized a face as he walked by the door of a computer room. The man inside the crowded lab was similar to someone from Air Force Two, though it happened so fast, he couldn’t be certain. He didn’t immediately tell the women, though he knew he had to warn them.
They walked to the end of the busy hallway and Meechum gu
ided them to a right fork. At the last possible moment, Ted looked back toward the mystery man. He came out of the room, obviously sharing his curiosity, but Ted jerked his head back before the bad guy locked on.
Ted ensured no one in the hallway was close, then he spoke to the ladies’ backs. “Guys, hold up. We’ve got a problem. I think I was recognized…”
“Really?” Meechum gasped.
He nodded but looked at Emily. “Remember my asshole friend Ramirez? You sent me and him into DC. He’s here. I’m ninety-nine percent sure I saw him.” The Hispanic man was a bit on the heavy side for a career officer and was hard to mistake for anyone else.
“Well, let’s keep going,” Emily replied as she tried to pull his wrist.
“I can’t,” he said with real regret. “He knows me, but he doesn’t know you guys. He couldn’t have seen you walk by his door. Ram only looked up when I was in the frame. You’ve got to keep going.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Kyla acknowledged.
“No, your mission is to protect the president, and she needs you to knock out that nuclear code problem. You have to go with her.” He’d come to terms with their roles. Meechum would get them there, Emily would provide the code, and Kyla would be there in case on-the-fly programming was required. His role was taking care of surprises.
He was anxious to push them away. If Ram came around the corner, they’d all be implicated. “Please hurry!”
Emily looked like she was going to speak, but she ended up grabbing Kyla by the sleeve and dragging her away. The president smiled at him, then followed Meechum into a stairwell door.
Ted got up against the wall and crept back to the corner. If the guy never showed up, he’d go down the steps after his team. However, if his old friend Ramirez came around the bend, he wanted to be ready for the reunion.
As he stood there, Ted thought back to his failed mission with ER. They’d confirmed that President Tanager was dead, but Ted was duped out of the nuclear briefcase. He’d more or less forgotten about ER until he saw him a minute ago, but it all made sense in retrospect: the man who captured the nuclear briefcase would probably also be the one to bring it to Minot for reassignment.
Even from around the corner, he heard the heavy footsteps of someone jogging to catch up. Ted hoped he could surprise the other guy.
I’m supposed to be dead.
NORAD Black Site Sierra 7, CO
It had been easier than Tabby thought to get the small milk truck out of the mud, and once it was back on pavement, she, Peter, and Audrey reluctantly climbed back inside. She had no sense where they’d been going, due to the opaque windows, but she figured it was somewhere in the mountains. However, when the automated transport opened the doors again, she was in an underground cave or mine.
Two women in black jumpsuits with silver sleeves stood at the ready as they came out of the truck. “Welcome to NORAD,” one of them said to her.
“Your people killed my dogs,” she said dryly, repeating the charge she’d leveled at the men who’d put her in the truck, before remembering there was much more to it. “And all of our freaking parents!”
The practiced smiles faltered on both women. The closest one had brunette hair that was gathered in a rudimentary bun on the back of her head. She wore silver earrings, which seemed to match the silver sleeves of her jumpsuit. The other one was a blonde with her hair cut short, like she’d been in the Army.
The blonde replied, “We’re sorry about all that. You’re luckier than most. You’ve been invited here by David himself.”
Peter chuckled like he’d heard the joke before.
“Who’s David?” Tabby asked. “Is he in charge? My friend needs medical attention for her diabetes.”
“Of course he’s in charge,” the woman went on, “though he doesn’t like Americans, generally. You three are the first ones he’s brought here. They usually get rebooted.”
After the long drive, Tabby was in no mood for pleasantries. “Is that what we’re calling it now? I watched one of your robots cut apart two men back in St. Louis. It was a little more than a reboot. It was murder!”
The woman seemed ready to defend herself, but she noticed someone outside of Tabby’s field of view. When she turned to see what had her captor’s attention, a woman in a white jumpsuit walked alongside the milk wagon until she joined the conversation. “Hello, Tabitha Breeze. I’m Charity, one of David’s handmaidens. I’m the one who will get you settled.” She fluffed her luxurious, long red hair, then extended her hand.
Tabby made no effort to return the handshake, but she did give the woman a thorough inspection. Where the other women were clad in heavy overalls for their jumpsuits, like they were working at a racetrack pitstop, Charity looked like someone out of a rerun show Dad used to watch called Buck Rogers. Her tight-fitting spandex one-piece had a half-opened zipper down the front, with long sleeves, and a hint of a belt around her waist, but was otherwise devoid of decorations. Tabby didn’t let the oddness distract her. “How the hell do you know my name?”
Charity kept her hand out.
Tabby crossed her arms.
Charity didn’t shift an inch. “You know, it’s polite to reciprocate when someone offers the hand of friendship. We’re not going to leave this room until you shake my hand like a civilized person.”
She became uncomfortable as the seconds ran into half a minute. Charity’s hand was still out, and Tabby’s arms remained crossed. It satisfied her to see the look of horror on the other two women’s faces. Whatever she was doing to drive them into such fear, Tabby wanted to keep it up.
When a full minute went by, Charity shifted in her little space-boots. “This doesn’t have to get ugly, but you aren’t going to win, dear Tabitha. We can either stand here all day and get nowhere, or I can show you where to go to meet David, our leader.”
“There’s nothing you can do to make me shake your hand.”
A look passed over the woman’s face, briefly, but her smile returned in a flash. She figured her dad would be encouraging her to keep going, now that she had a chance to stick it to the people who killed her family.
Charity spoke in an unnatural, emotionless monotone. “If you don’t shake my hand vigorously by the time I count to ten, I’ll put your two friends back in the delivery van and drive it into a lake. David would hate to lose an expensive piece of equipment, but sometimes, the end justifies the means.”
She counted down, starting at ten.
Tabby waited a few seconds out of anger, but she was beaten. She’d overlooked the easiest and most obvious method of coercion. Before it was too late, she clasped hands with the she-devil in front of her.
Charity shook it vigorously and acted as if the last couple of minutes didn’t happen. “So glad to meet you, Tabby. And so happy you brought your friends Audrey and Peter. We will, of course, tend to Audrey’s condition.”
“Thanks,” she forced herself to say.
Peter’s eyes darted across the pretty woman’s outfit, but he held out his hand like a dead fish. “I guess you want us to shake like trained dogs, too?”
Charity practically scoffed at him. “I think one test was enough, don’t you?” She turned to Tabby. “And this is about you, really, so I’m glad I get to help you.”
She sighed deeply. “Who the heck is David? How do you even know who I am?” She had no ID on her. When she went to work in the mine, she kept her personal belongings in a locker in the main office. Her phone might have given clues, but she didn’t have that, either.
Charity motioned for her to move. “Walk with me.”
The three of them fell into a line. Charity and Tabby in front. Audrey and Peter in the middle. The two other women in the back.
Charity spoke. “I cannot say why David brought you here. He only instructed me to get you through decontamination before you have an audience with him.”
“Decontamination?” Tabby asked. “Are we in danger?”
“Of course not. I’m talking to
you, aren’t I? It’s merely a precaution. Besides, David does not like things to be messy or out of order.”
“The whole world is out of order right now,” Tabby said under her breath.
“That’s right,” Charity went on cheerfully. “It’s our job to bring the order back. David has said the same thing many times. Perhaps I understand a little better why he chose you for this honor. You think like us.”
“All right. This is too weird. What the hell do you want me to do, exactly?”
Charity pointed to a heavy metal door with the word decontamination emblazoned across the middle. She hit a button next to it, which made the door swing out on a stout hinge, much like a bank vault. The inside was dark, leaving no clue as to what was in there.
“Tabitha, you will be first. I’m afraid the system only accepts one person at a time.” Charity motioned for her to go inside, but her eyes became predatorial. They seemed to convey the idea she was not to be disobeyed or someone was going to get hurt. The silver-sleeved women maintained their presence in the back.
She glanced at Peter and Audrey. They’d gone so far together in such a short time. She still remembered that first hour with them on the tour, where Peter had been flirting with Tabby the whole way. It wasn’t to hit on her, though she wondered what he would have done if she’d been interested. Instead, the boy was trying to make Audrey jealous. It failed miserably at the time, but their shared terror had kept them together every minute since. Now it felt like good-bye.
Tabby turned to Charity. “You’ll send them through after me, right?”
The woman bowed her head. “Of course.”
Tabby didn’t believe it for a second, but she was at her mercy.
“I’ll see you guys in a few,” she said with all the cheer she could muster.
Minus America (Book 3): Rebel Cause Page 19