by G. R. Carter
“I killed his father, Bek. The fact he hasn’t taken a shot at me tells me he still cares about what we’ve built.”
“You made a war time decision. You had no idea Clark would get killed.”
“I’ve been over this a thousand times. If I was qualified to lead this Republic by myself, I could have seen what was going to happen. Eric was right, I was blinded by my hatred for Walsh.”
“Well I disagree. But I know I’m not going to talk you out of feeling this way. What are we going to do now?”
Alex’s jaw muscle tensed as future scenarios flashed in his brain. “The same thing we’ve always done, my love. We protect the Okaw…we protect our family.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tecumseh House – Governor’s Mansion
Mt. Vernon – Capital City of Grand Shawnee Province
A clicking radiator easily overcame any evening chill in the cramped room tucked away in the basement of the Governor’s Mansion of Grand Shawnee. The VIP quarters of the mansion had the newest comfort technology available in the post Reset world. The rest of the building – and its less important occupants – made do. The men gathered in this gloried closet once held the greatest of the old world’s technology in their grasp. Reminiscing about the glory of that time made current circumstances even more difficult.
“You’re telling me that you still have a connection to Grapevine? How’s that even possible?” Marcus Nielsen asked.
“Nicole Diamante thought it would be a good idea to keep monitoring the network, even while she was building RenOne,” Timothy Maxwell replied.
Marcus turned to Demetrius Renaldo, who appeared just as stunned as he was himself. “How did they not get infected, then? With the virus, I mean? Everything electronic in the world got the shut-down order from Grapevine.”
“Not everything. They kept the gateway to Grapevine in a secure room, totally cut off from everything else. It’s just been sitting there all this time, completely quiet.”
Maxwell took a deep breath and smiled. “Here’s the really wild part. A few months ago, it turned back on. All by itself!”
Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. He felt his heart leap and his stomach churn at the same time. He once dreamed of having his Profile live in Continuity, only to have that wish dashed by the end of the electronic world. Now Maxwell was telling him it might still be possible.
“Do the Diamantes know?”
“Of course, they seem to know everything. It’s frightening, really. But they don’t understand what Grapevine is all about.”
“What did it say? Were there any commands?” Demetrius demanded.
Maxwell shook his head. “The screen just said ‘Begin Migration.’ I tried to log in, but as soon as I started the screen went blank again.
The three sat in silence, trying to make sense of having their gods appear to them briefly, then once more slip from their grasp.
Demetrius broke the quiet. “What did the Diamantes say?”
“Not much,” Maxwell replied. “But ever since they’ve been working double time on some kind of secret project out towards Kansas City. More than top-secret. Nobody in the City knows what’s going on except the top Citizens.”
“I can’t believe they let you have free range of Renaissance Tower,” Marcus said.
“Only because Tony hates Julia Ruff; she’s a Buckle sympathizer, always pushing Hamilton to help them. Since Ruff hates me, he figures I must not be all bad. Nicole likes having my brain around, since I’ve networked the entire City for her. She has no idea I could open every gate and secure door with one click!” Maxwell bragged.
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re not going to do anything,” Demetrius replied. “It took us weeks to arrange a meeting that wouldn’t raise suspicions. Even now I think the Tri-S is watching us.”
“I thought the Olsens were wrapped around your finger,” Maxwell said with an accusatory look at Marcus.
“Maryanne is,” Marcus replied. “Eric doesn’t trust anyone except his pretty little wife. That Maleah is a knockout, but she’s got brains, too. She comes from the family that held Harrisburg together after the Reset. Second-largest city in Grand Shawnee, rich with coal and fruit. Plus, they’re Buckle sympathizers. Not afraid of anything and suspicious of everything. Just the kind of thing we don’t need right now.”
“Well, we have to figure out what ‘Begin Migration’ means,” Maxwell said. “If the Continuity community is going somewhere, we need to join them. I can’t take the idea of staying here with these people if the Enlightened still exist.”
All three nodded, distant in their own thoughts and dreams. “Okay,” Demetrius said. “Let’s get to work discussing this communications system between Vincennes and ARK. For our cover to work, we at least need to get something accomplished. Tell me how we get messages across Grand Shawnee without being intercepted.”
“Why can’t we just go straight across the province using cable?” Marcus asked. “ARK and the Republic are allies. They both get along with Vincennes, so what’s the hush-hush?”
“General Hopkins doesn’t want the Red Hawks to know,” Demetrius replied. “That’s part of the reason he demanded that Julia Ruff be replaced as ambassador. He’s given up trying to join the Republic in any meaningful way. He’s got big plans to expand Vincennes east. He knows the Red Hawks will try to stop him taking over Evansville and the Creeks to make it happen.”
“How do you know all this?” Marcus asked.
“Hopkins figured the Olsens hated the Founder enough they would help him pull this off. He reached out to Maryanne, that’s why she sent me to negotiate with them,” Demetrius replied.
Marcus couldn’t help the hurt look on his face. Demetrius reached over and grabbed his arm. “Marcus don’t be offended. Eric has Tri-S following you all the time. You’re too close to Maryanne, she needed someone with a lower profile.”
“She had Eric name you a Senator, Demetrius. That’s hardly low profile.”
“In Eric’s view it is. My position was the perfect cover for meeting with Hopkins.”
Marcus begrudged the point, still wondering why Maryanne hadn’t told him. “Regardless, I don’t see a way we can hide any sort of communications system.”
“ARK has developed a type of short-range wireless shielded from interference. They’re using it for the skyships to communicate. Maybe if we set up a series of repeaters across Grand Shawnee, the signal could bounce back and forth,” Maxwell said.
“Sketch up a plan to place them along the Salem railway. It’s the perfect east-west corridor; the Red Hawks wanted it because they thought it would tie ARK, the Republic and Vincennes all together.”
“I guess they didn’t know how right they were,” Demetrius laughed.
“That project is under Shawnee jurisdiction, not Okaw or Old Main. I don’t think anyone will notice as long as the antennae aren’t very big,” Marcus said.
“Great. Problem solved in the span of fifteen minutes. Amazing how much we get accomplished without all the mouth-breathers around.”
“Speaking of which, did you hear about the guy who landed in Vincennes not too long ago? The Creeks tried to bring him from out east, but Hopkins’ men captured them before he got to Evansville. He was telling everyone who would listen that the federal government never really disappeared, they just went into hiding after the Reset,” Maxwell said.
“Why do these huge things just get brought up like they’re no big deal?’ Marcus asked. “Are you saying Federal DC didn’t collapse?”
“The city was pretty well destroyed, yeah. But according to this guy, the whole Reset was planned ahead of time. It was a way to reduce the population to a more manageable number.”
“And ARK knows about it?” Demetrius asked.
“Well, they know the guy said it. But they haven’t been able to confirm anything. There’s a lot of no man’s land between here and the coast. Only the Creeks know how to navigate it without getting k
illed, and they’re not going to help Vincennes. Hopkins told Diamante as soon as he found out. They were going to send this guy to ARK for interrogation, but they didn’t want anyone else finding out. I only overheard it by accident, they didn’t know I was there working on some of their computers during a family meeting.”
Demetrius tapped a finger to his chin, deep in thought.
“What is it, Demetrius? Something’s on your mind,” Marcus asked his friend.
“If it’s really true, and it wouldn’t be the first time a rumor about the government surviving made its way here, that would go a long way to explaining this urgency of ARK’s. The top-secret projects, the move to control the river system, Vincennes being anxious to expand east…” Ronaldo paused and leaned back, hands holding up his head. “I’m not sure what their play is, but I think it would be in all of our best interests to find out.”
Maxwell nodded. “I’ll see if I can come across anything else without raising any suspicion. In the meantime, Demetrius, why don’t you see if you can get another visit to Vincennes?
Demetrius returned the nod. “Those people give me the creeps. That crazy religion of theirs…bastardized a bunch of Norse mythology and crossed it with ancestor worship. Hopkins refers to his men now as ‘Jotnar.’”
“What’s that mean?”
“That’s what the Norse called giants. Hopkins and that nutty professor of his are crazy as loons, but dead serious about conquering and converting,” he replied. It was absurd to him for someone to follow any religion besides Continuity. “Evansville is the appetizer, and a return to the East Coast is the main course.”
“Marcus, I suggest you start putting a bug in our dearest Maryanne’s ear about the rumors. That woman can spin the gossip wheel with the best of them.”
“Won’t that tip off the Red Hawks?” he asked.
“I doubt it. If she thinks she can find one little edge to hurt them, she’ll do it, and do it discreetly.” Demetrius started to say something else, then thought better.
“What? Come on, spit it out. What were you going to say?” Maxwell demanded.
“Too many coincidences. Continuity is coming together, guiding our path. I think we need to be ready to act immediately, prepare for the Awakening. This migration has something to do with it. The time is coming very soon.”
*****
“Mother, I know you hate the Hamiltons, but what you’re talking about is treason against the Republic. That would be the Republic that my father helped build, remember?” Eric demanded.
“Oh please, son. Wake up! That’s not the Republic your dad and I had in mind. It’s become some sort of monstrosity, just a way for the Hamiltons to build a memorial to themselves,” Maryanne said with disgust. “They exiled you so you’d be out of the way.”
“Funny you should say that, because Maleah tells me Alex and Sam want me to join them in a triumvirate type government.” He smiled a little as she gasped. “Yeah, that’s right, Rebekah and Maleah have been talking. They figured I would ignore any message from Alex. Of course, that’s on the off chance you would even let me see it. But those two conspired to get us to reconcile, and you know what? I’m seriously thinking about it,” Eric replied.
“How dare you! You ungrateful little brat!” Maryanne yelled. “Your little wife tries to undo everything we’ve built, and you just go right along with it! Haven’t I taught you anything?”
Eric replied calmly, surprising them both. “Yes, mother, in fact you have. You’ve taught me to think strategically. I’m grateful for the lesson, but you’re going to have to live with how I apply my education.”
“Strategic is looking out for us, not the Hunsingers.”
“Before you go accusing Maleah of dirty dealing, remember her family held Harrisburg together just fine before we got here,” Eric countered. “They’ve been a lot more help to Grand Shawnee then we have to them.”
“But they’re Buckle sympathizers! Get in bed with them and ARK and Vincennes will both turn their back on you,” she insisted without realizing the irony of her statement.
Eric’s eyes narrowed. “Do you realize what your friends in ARK are trying to pull off?” He stopped for a moment, realizing with some trepidation how much he had changed of late. Maybe it was marriage, maybe the influence of his well-grounded in-laws who were considerate of the people they led. Eric knew his relationship with the Hunsingers benefited their family’s coal mines and orchards, but so too did their economic experience help Grand Shawnee grow.
“Maleah’s family has shown tremendous resiliency in one disaster after another,” he continued. “We lost Dad…do you know how many of their family they’ve lost? But instead of getting spiteful like us, they just went back to work. Their nephew is in Caliphate territory right now with other Tracker volunteers, while we sit here in our mansion and drink wine. I’m sick of playing king, Mother, I want to actually do something good again. Like Dad. I want to help people, build a real life.”
“I’m sorry, son,” Maryanne said, flipping a switch from tyrant to victim. “I didn’t realize you hated me so much.”
“Come on, Mom! Seriously! It’s not always about you. Don’t you get that? We’re still on the verge of destruction every day. You act like we still live in the old United States, worried about what movie to watch. One bad harvest, a coal mine fire, or especially another attack from someone worse than America or ditchers, and we’re finished as a province. We just don’t have time to screw around playing politics against the Hamiltons anymore.”
Maryanne sat down in a silk-covered chair. She looked around at the ornate woodwork, the beautiful paintings, the intricate sculptures purchased from salvage crews working the dead cities—almost every one handpicked and placed with care. She looked at her son through misty eyes.
His face softened and he knelt down beside her. “Mother, I know how much work you’ve put into making Grand Shawnee. This is not a question of forgetting who we are, or reversing our course; this is an evolution.”
He grabbed her arm gently. “Mother, you have to understand, this bizarre world we live in is forcing us to make a choice. When we first moved here, I would have never dreamed I’d side with the Hamiltons on anything. Not for any reason. But the truth is, Grand Shawnee will never be strong enough to stand on its own, and there’s a fight coming between ARK and the Republic. We’re caught between them.
“Alex has always said that the Olsens are part of the Republic’s DNA. Just as much as the Hamiltons are. He’s right. Even if I wanted to go against him personally, and I’m not so sure I want to anymore, I could never fight against the Republic.”
Maryanne didn’t look at him, just stared down at the pattern of the fine rug below her feet. “Just like Lee fighting for Virginia instead of taking the smart route. You’ll end up the same as him.”
“Maybe. Although if Alex is right and the Caliphate really does attack, I’ll be lucky to retire broke instead of broken,” he chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll be getting ‘peace with honor’ if we lose to them.”
His mood turned more serious. “I’m replacing Demetrius with Skyler Hunsinger. It’s only befitting that Maleah’s family have one of the Republic Senate seats.”
“Why? I guess I understand giving the Hunsingers a seat, but why replace Demetrius?”
“Tri-S has been keeping an eye on him. He’s got something going on, something he’s not telling us. At least, I hope he’s not telling you…” Eric left the question unasked, hoping for his mother’s honest answer.
“No, nothing that I’m aware of,” she said shaking her head. Her head was spinning, trying to grasp what Eric was asking her.
“That’s a relief. Just make sure you and Marcus keep a close eye on Demetrius. Be careful, at least until we know he’s clear. Okay, Mom?” he pleaded.
She didn’t answer him right away, trying to process the sudden reversal in her son’s behavior. “Mom! Are you hearing me?”
“Of course, son. I’ll be extra caref
ul.”
Chapter Fourteen
Akershus Festning (Fortress), Personal Estate of Governor Eric and Maleah Olsen
Rend Lake – Grand Shawnee
Alex rocked back and forth with the uneven terrain under his transport. Springs designed to carry the weight of the armored transport didn’t have much flexibility for luxury. Each bump vibrated up the through the steel plating and settled in the pins still implanted in his damaged bones. The seats did their best to make him otherwise comfortable and he at least had plenty of room to stretch out stiff joints. His folding desk was already upright against the wall, giving him unobstructed views of the rolling farmstead filling the front window. Bulletproof glass distorted it slightly, but even though they were only small rectangles, he could still make out most of the detail.
He glanced over at the chair Bek usually rode in. She had traveled ahead of him, as had several others of his staff. Even for nations a fraction in size of their pre-Reset predecessors, leaders traveled with large entourages. Alex stayed home as long as he could, trying to manage the flow of information coming in from all over the frontier. The Caliphate was moving; he could feel it as much as anything. Governor Eckert of Lafayette had sent his requests about meeting here after learning of a huge Jihadist force moving down old Interstate 75 on their eastern frontier. The horde wasn’t pivoting to attack the Republic’s easternmost province, almost like they were bypassing it.
Nothing made sense yet. There was no attack coming at the American Province from across the Illinois River. There were reports of a large-scale raid up by the Quad Cities—he was still awaiting confirmation of that. ARK wasn’t asking for help for their Mississippi River bases; they seemed to be only interested in their feud with Mt. Horab. Alex was desperate for more information. Desperate to get everyone to work together…
A large horse-mounted statue loomed up ahead, resting on a lowboy trailer. Alex couldn’t remember how tall it was, even though he had approved the specifications himself. Had to be twenty feet tall at least and filled most of the trailer’s thirty-foot length. It was a bit gaudy, but then most statues were. The mounted man had a determined look on his face and a cavalry-style saber in his right hand. A sheriff’s star was oversized on the figure’s chest, and the both front feet of his horse were off the ground.