Battle Earth VIII (Book 8)

by Nick S. Thomas

"Councillor Armand was a civil servant before the war, and like many who survived the war in Europe, we have little documentation showing where they were over the last few years. So yes, a man that looked like him existed; whether it is the same man, remains to be seen."

  Taylor looked to his former interrogator who was waiting patiently.

  "How far have you got with Armand?" Taylor asked him.

  "About as far as I got with you."

  "Then maybe you should consider a change of career."

  "Silva could not help but laugh a little, but he tried to hide it.

  "You must have got something out of him?" insisted Taylor.

  Weller shook his head. "He's denying any knowledge of Krys agents and claims to be nothing more than his official title."

  "Well, it's not like he's gonna give it up easily, is it?"

  "My hands are tied, Colonel. There are hundreds of ways to interrogate a prisoner, but just as when I worked with you, our laws restrict me. There is little I can do but talk."

  "Talk? You call talking interrogation? You're trying to find out secrets which could be vital to the survival of the human race."

  Taylor turned to Dupont who shrugged in response.

  "You're okay with this? Abide by every human rights law there is while this bastard sits pretty and gives us nothing?"

  "And what would you have said if we broke those rules when you were behind bars?"

  "I'd have fought you every step of the way, Weller, and I doubt you'd still be here today. But I don't give a goddamn what might, should, or could have been done. I care about this moment, right now."

  "Need I remind you we have built our laws over thousands of years, and while they may not be perfect, it remains necessary to keep them intact to keep our humanity," said Rossi.

  Taylor shook his head in disbelief.

  "Great, Doctor, good for you. You hang on to those socialist ideals, and go and live in your fairy tale world where everything is just fucking amazing, and aliens don't come and try and fuck your shit up."

  It silenced the room for a moment. Rossi's face turned to surprise and then disgust.

  "You're a pig, Colonel," she replied defiantly.

  "All right, enough!" Dupont shouted.

  The room was silenced as he thought on the matter, and they looked to him for the way forward. He was looking down at the projection of Armand's brain still and almost in a daydream, thinking it over in his head until he finally looked up at them all.

  "All I care about is ending this war in the shortest time possible, and with the fewest casualties on both sides. Well, human casualties at least. Weller, whatever you are doing isn't working. It's time for a new approach."

  "I must protest..." he began.

  "Noted, but I'm not interested," replied Dupont.

  The General turned to Jafar who had been standing back from the table behind Taylor and had remained silent throughout.

  "Do you know anything at all about these Krys agents, or any cloning or reprogramming your people ever did?"

  Jafar shook his head and simply replied, "Nothing."

  "Well, you can still be useful. Right now, I'm organizing a meet with UEN representatives to try and get them to understand what is going on here, but it isn't going to be easy. We need all the evidence we can get."

  "And what if the representatives we meet with are in fact more Krys agents?" asked Taylor.

  "That's just a chance we'll have to take. I want info out of Armand, and you are going to get it, you and your alien friend here. You've got until whenever it takes me to organise this meet, probably a few hours, a day at most."

  "And you are authorising me to do what, Sir?"

  "Anything you have to. We need Armand alive. Besides that, use your own discretion."

  "We cannot sink to this level of barbarism," protested Rossi.

  "We do what we must. We all have much work ahead of us, and I will hear no more of your argument. I will not be swayed in this matter. Weller, you will show the Colonel to Armand's cell and provide him with any assistance he asks. Any more questions?"

  "Yes, Sir," said Parker.

  Taylor turned; surprised to hear her speak up.

  "What is it, Sergeant? Speak your mind quickly."

  "Sir, I only wonder, if Krys agents worked their way into the UEN, why not us as well? How do we know there aren't any of them among us, right now?"

  "It is a fair question. This facility utilises an x-ray scanner for security measures at all entry points, initially intended to protect against hidden weapons and data devices being brought on site. Everyone in this room has been scanned and cleared."

  "Based on evidence obtained from a single specimen," Reiter added.

  It was the first words he had spoken since they had arrived, and it was met with a sigh from Dupont who had clearly been dealing with the scientist’s cynical attitude throughout their work together. Before he could interrupt, Reiter continued.

  "One specimen is not nearly enough to make the basis of any results. It does not even begin to scratch the surface."

  Taylor looked to Rossi for her input.

  "It is true. Other enemy agents may exhibit entirely different identifying features, or God forbid, none at all. But until such time as we have further research subjects, we can only work with what we have."

  Taylor couldn't help but feel that after everything they had done to secure Armand, he expected a lot more to have come of it.

  "This bastard could be the key to ending the war. I'll be damned if we did all the hard work to get him, just to find it was all for nothing."

  His comrades nodded and grunted in approval.

  "Far from useless, Colonel," replied Rossi. "This has answered many questions for us, but in science, there is rarely an end to any research. It merely reaches one height and then strives for another."

  "I'm glad you find it all so very interesting. It cost us lives to get that bastard, and it'll cost us many more if your work here doesn't end this war."

  Rossi was silenced, and it was clearly more weight on her shoulders than she'd ever felt before.

  "Enough talk, you all know what needs to be done. Get to it."

  "As those around the table split away, Weller approached Taylor to be his guide and aid, but Mitch turned to Parker first.

  "You get everyone of our Regiment through that scanner in the next two hours."

  "You think some of them could be working for the enemy?"

  "I don't want it to be true, but I want to know for certain. Every one of them, you understand?"

  She nodded in agreement.

  "Oh, and get Acosta to me ASAP."

  She nodded in agreement and rushed off to go about her duties. Taylor eventually turned and acknowledged Weller's presence.

  "Lead the way."

  Weller led the three of them down a few corridors and through yet another security check with armed guards. They passed through the first barred door that was once again an unpleasant reminder of the time he had spent in such a prison. All he could think was to be grateful he was now a free man.

  They passed through into a room where half the wall was glass and looked in on the Councillor. Clearly it was one-way glass, for he did not acknowledge their presence in any way. He sat upright on his bed with his back against the wall. Far from a man who had lost everything, he merely looked bored.

  "You want the cameras turned off?" asked Weller.

  Taylor shook his head.

  "No, I'm not ashamed of what we have to do here, and I have the authority to do so."

  "Doesn't mean you won't be breaking laws."

  "I think we're a little past that. We get through another war, and we can worry about it then."

  "That's always your attitude, isn't it, Colonel? Screw the rules now and worry about it later. No wonder you get yourself in so much shit."

  "Yeah, and tend to get the job done right, too."

  It was hard for Weller to argue with that.

  Taylor
looked to Grey as if to ask if he had any ideas, but the Captain merely responded with a question.

  "You know anything about interrogation?"

  "I figure I'll make it up as I go along, like half the shit we've had to do since all this began."

  "Great plan," he mumbled.

  Taylor turned to Weller. "So what have you tried so far?"

  "I've tried to build a rapport with the subject, to become his friend, and offer incentives for his assistance,"

  "And how'd that work?"

  Weller shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

  "Right, so he didn't take the carrot. Time for the stick."

  "That won't work, Colonel. Subjects will say the wildest of things under threat or use of physical pain. We need truths."

  "A fighter might hold out until such time where they'll tell you anything, but he ain't a fighter. He's a big mouth in a suit. I doubt anybody’s dared ever call him an offensive name, and you've merely carried on that routine. Look at him. He thinks he owns this place and owns you."

  Taylor put his rifle down on the desk in front of him and then paced over to the door leading to his cell. He wasn't surprised to see a smug smile on Armand's face when he entered the room. He had the look of a man who was untouchable. Taylor thought back to movies he had seen of wealthy criminals in the same position, who saw them as above the law and would rub it in at every opportunity.

  I wonder if he has ever felt pain?

  "Good to see you again, Colonel. I am glad to see you keeping well."

  His voice was sleazy and insincere, to the point of being a little insulting.

  "We both know you are a Krys agent, and soon the world will, too."

  Armand shrugged. "And who cares anymore? The UEN and Mech soldiers stand together against you. The war has started now. Nobody cares for the reasons why, only of winning."

  "You're wrong. And when we show the world your deceit, you will be done for."

  "Then what are you doing here if not bore me to death?"

  "You're gonna help me answer a few more questions."

  "Because your plan of exposing Krys agents is going so well?"

  Taylor reached for his Assegai quickly. He switched off the power so that it was nothing more than a truncheon. To Armand's surprise, the Colonel leapt across the room and smashed the weapon into his face. The baton hit dead on his nose, and the impact was amplified as the wall he was resting against worked as a bump stop. Blood burst out from his nostrils and a deep cut in the centre.

  The Councillor recoiled forward and squirmed in pain, cupping his nose and the blood dripped through his fingers. Taylor took a pace back, grabbed the only chair in the room, and took a seat before him as he continued to wince in pain.

  "You think you’re protected by our laws, but what you need to know is I have no care for them. I do what I think is right. That is my law, and in my law, you'd be dead. I will happily admit we need you, but we only need you alive. So, you can do this the easy way, and answer my questions to the best of your ability, or you can feel pain until you finally give up and tell me anyway. So what'll it be?"

  "Fuck you!" he yelled, blood spewing out from his mouth and over the floor.

  Taylor lifted his baton and smashed it down on Armand's right kneecap. The sound it made on impact was stomach churning and made Armand scream at the top of his voice. Taylor took no pleasure in it, and the only thought in his head was that he was glad Parker was not in the room and watching him.

  "At some point you will come to realise that I will stop at nothing to protect this world from those who wish to destroy it. The day your people understand that will either be the day they stop trying, or the day there is no longer any of you left to fight."

  Armand sat back against the wall again, still in a lot of pain, breathing hard, and not daring to speak another word he knew would lead to more pain.

  "So, I'm gonna ask you some questions, and you are going to answer them to the best of your knowledge. If you are lying, or telling half-truths, or if I even think you are bullshitting me, you know I will not hesitate to make you suffer for it. Death would be painless, but that is not what you'll get. At least not anytime soon."

  He waited for an answer, but none came. He took it as a sign of acceptance.

  "How many Krys agents are operating on Earth?"

  He shook his head.

  "I really don't know."

  "So you may not know totals, I get it. But what sort of ballpark figure are we talking, a few dozen, few hundred, thousands?"

  His eyes lit up at the last word.

  "Thousands? How many thousands?"

  "I don't know for certain, but enough are infiltrated in every level of your society that is needed to fuel this war."

  "And what do you think will happen when we show UEN leaders this video of you confessing it?"

  "Nothing. It's too late for you, Colonel. Years too late for you to stop this."

  He knew he wasn't getting anywhere, so he moved on.

  "We found a chip in your head and some modifications to your retinas, are these features shared with all Krys agents?"

  "I don't know."

  Taylor lifted his Assegai over the man's other kneecap, but he quickly screamed out.

  "I really don't know!"

  Taylor relaxed.

  "Do you know every item of your anatomy?" asked Armand.

  Taylor knew he could be lying, but he also knew any answer on the subject could be wrong, whether he believed he was telling the truth or not.

  The door to the cell suddenly prised open, and both turned sharply to see why. Weller stepped through into the room, and Armand relaxed back in relief.

  "What is it?" asked Taylor.

  "It's sterling work, Colonel," he replied. "If a little blood was all it took, you may well be able to rewrite the textbooks yet, just don't expect to win any peace prizes."

  "Peace prize? Hell the only peace prize I want is the head of the last alien who would dare step foot on this planet."

  "I can take it from here, Colonel," he replied.

  "Now that I've done the hard work?"

  "Now that you've done what I'm not allowed to. Now please leave us, Colonel. I have a whole host of questions I need answers to."

  Taylor was actually relieved to be able to end it there. It wasn't work he liked at all. He got up and stepped up closer to Armand, who cringed at the sight of the marine looming over him with the baton that had dealt him so much pain.

  "I'm heading out, but I won't be far away. I ain't going anywhere. You will answer all of Weller's questions no matter what, or I will return, and you don't want me to have to come back. Got it?"

  He nodded in agreement, still sheltering his head and expecting to be struck. But Taylor would not. He didn't hurt the man for fun and through sadistic nature. He sheathed the Assegai and walked out of the cell.

  "He gave in easy," said Grey.

  "Yeah, either he really is as weak as he looks, or he knows the info he has will do us no good anymore."

  "We can hope."

  Taylor grunted as they stepped out from the room to find Parker and Acosta waiting for him.

  "Get what you wanted?" Eli asked him.

  "I think I got through, but God knows if anything we get from him will be of any use."

  "So what now?"

  "Follow me, Acosta with me."

  The young Private looked fearful as he stepped up beside the Colonel and they got up to speed.

  "That idea you had for taking down drones, it's time to share it with someone who can make it a reality."

  "But...Sir...it was just an idea..."

  "Every piece of tech we got sprung from an idea. I'm not asking you to design and build it, just share your concept, and we'll see what we can get done."

  "But it might not work, Sir. It might be a piece of shit...sorry, Sir, junk, piece of junk."

  "Yeah, well you let the experts be the judge of that. We were lucky we didn't lose a lot more last ti
me we faced those things. In open ground or supressed by armour and artillery, they could have made mincemeat of us. We cannot afford, and I will not accept those losses. You came up with something that might save lives. Let's see where it goes."

  The Private looked shocked and scared at the idea as he was led back to the research room where they’d had their briefing. He was taken to Reiter, who was busy working on a piece of electronics which none of them understood or recognised. As they approached, he turned and smiled.

  "Good to see you are still alive," he said to Taylor, looking at the battle damage of his armour.

  "Thanks in no small part to your equipment."

  "What can I do for you?"

  "The UEN attacked us with drones. They came as a swarm with mostly short-range weaponry. They're light, fast, and agile, but lack any kind of protection. We need a simple way to knock them out of the sky, and this young marine here thinks he has a solution. I'll leave him with you and see how you do."

  Acosta's pulse seemed to stop, and he looked even more fearfully at Taylor.

  "Sir..."

  "You've got nothing to worry about. We improvise and overcome. It is what I expect of every man and woman under my command. You're the kind of new blood I need, and this is the kind initiative I want to see more of. Good luck with it."

  He turned and left, leaving the Private speechless.

  "Poor lad, he'll never have a clever idea again," said Grey.

  Taylor laughed.

  "So we have this evidence of a Krys agent and his recorded testimony, now what?"

  "Dupont is arranging his meeting with UEN representatives. We just have to hope they're willing to listen."

  "And what about the thousands of agents that may be out there?"

  Taylor sighed at the very thought.

  "I guess we just have to hope he's exaggerating."

  But deep down he knew it was almost certainly true. He'd seen the incubation chambers himself, and he'd heard Tsengal's report of the vast quantities Chandra had stumbled upon.

  "However many there may be among us, there are still plenty of good people involved in this; every bastard who fought and survived the last war for a start. We just have to get through to them."

  "So what now?"

  "I haven't sat in a comfortable chair in weeks, and I intend to find one. Followed by something to eat and a few hours of sleep wouldn't go amiss. Whatever happens with this Armand situation, you can be guaranteed we'll be needed before long."