by Ricky Sides
“Thank you mister,” the man said appearing relieved.
Pete called Jim aside and they walked out of earshot. “I’ll take this man and you go to the other team holding the other man. Interrogate him. When you are finished, we will compare notes before we execute them. If they give us the same story then the odds are that it is true. They will have earned an easy death, but they die no matter what. Is that agreeable?”
Jim didn’t like the necessity of executing prisoners but there was little option. They couldn’t simply let them go. If they did so, then they would be morally responsible for the future victims of the Marauders. There was no judicial system to speak of operating in the country now. There were no longer state run and operated prisons. Therefore, he had no choice but to agree.
Jim signaled his men to accompany him and they left Pete and his men guarding the man Pete was about to interrogate. They walked over to the squad guarding the uninjured man whom they had sitting on the ground about fifty yards from Pete and his small group. Jim told the lieutenant to take notes on the man’s answers and then he squatted down to regard the man face to face. “I want the name and location of the man who sent you,” Jim said in a firm tone of voice.
The man sullenly ignored Jim. Reaching out with his right hand, Jim grasped the man’s left shoulder at a cluster of nerve endings near the base of the neck and applied pressure. “You think that can make me talk?” the raider asked.
“I think it already has,” Jim answered but he continued to maintain the pressure in the grip and the man’s face twisted into a grimace as the pressure increased. “I want the name and location of the man who sent you,” Jim said again.
“If I tell you he’ll kill me!” the man said as the pain became more than he could bear.
Jim increased the pressure again and reached forward with his left hand to grab the cluster of nerves on the other side of the man’s body. “You have to tell me. Now I’ll ask again. Who sent you after Lina? Where is the man who sent you? Why were you sent?”
Jim could tell from the look in the man’s eyes that he was near the breaking point. He stepped up the pressure another notch and noted as the man’s face contorted in agony. “Wild Bill sent us!” the man gasped.
“Where is Wild Bill?” Jim asked.
“He’s in middle Texas, east of Abilene, near a town called Eastland. He sent us because of what the damned girl did!” the man shouted the last in anger as Jim maintained the pressure.
“What did the girl do?” Jim asked and eased up on the pressure that he was applying to the nerve clusters.
Sullenly the man replied, “She ambushed, and murdered Wild Bill’s brother is what I was told,” the prisoner said.
“What is the slave zone?” Jim asked, being careful to note the man’s reaction to the question. Around the two men who were the focus of the group, the other men looked at each other in wonder at that question.
The man refused to meet Jim’s eyes then and stared at the ground as he replied, “I have never heard of a slave zone so I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in response.
Without warning, Jim applied an extreme amount of pressure and the man cried out sharply in pain. “Okay, I’ll tell you!” he said and Jim relaxed the pressure. “When the disasters struck, some of the prisons were damaged. Many inmates got free and those freed others. Many of those prisoners went out on their own, but the majority stayed together to form a new empire. We rule that section of Texas now, and we are spreading east. We need farms to feed us, and factories to manufacture some of the things we need. Wild Bill came up with an idea to gather a workforce free. We enslaved the people in the area and constantly capture more to replace the ones who don’t last.”
Turning to Lieutenant Wilcox, Jim said, “Get me a detailed map of Texas. Get two copies. Make sure Pete gets one and I get the other. I need them ASAP. And you’d better bring two pens.”
One of the men who’d searched the vehicle said, “Hey, I found a map in the car.” He handed the map to Jim.
Jim unfolded it and looked at the map carefully. He began to smile then and said, “Lieutenant, I won’t need the maps. It would seem we have an excellent map of the trouble area already.” Looking at the man who’d handed him the map he returned it to him and said, “That’s an excellent find. Please take it to Pete and report your find at once.”
“Yes, sir!” said the man happily.
Squatting before the intruder again Jim asked, “How many slave farms and factories are you people running in Texas?”
For a moment, it appeared as if the man might not answer Jim so he reached out with his right hand. “Three farms and two factories,” the man replied sullenly.
“How many slavers at which locations?” Jim asked.
“Now that I can’t answer no matter what you do to me. Men come and go you know. It’s not a set number,” replied the slaver.
“I see,” said Jim. He believed the man. His statement held a ring of truth as if Jim should have known that such men come and go as they please. Jim asked, “Which farm has the most slaves?”
“Wild Bill’s of course. Got to be at least two hundred field hands and another fifty or sixty women are kept to keep the men satisfied.” He said this last with a lascivious gleam in his eyes.
“You’re making women sex slaves?” asked Jim.
“Only the pretty ones, the ugly females are cooks and cleaners,” the man explained.
“What are you manufacturing in the factories?” Jim asked.
“Ammunition,” replied the man.
“In both?” asked Jim.
“Takes a lot to take over a country the size of the United States you know,” the man replied.
“That’s a pretty ambitious goal for a small group of cons,” Jim said.
“Small group? There are probably nearly two thousand of us all told and we have help coming soon. A lot of help from what I’ve heard,” the man said smiling at Jim’s surprised expression.
“Give me the best estimate possible for the disposition of the men,” Jim demanded.
“Wild Bill has the largest group at his place. Probably nearly fifteen hundred but the numbers change daily. The smaller farms have a lot less, but most of the times a lot of those men are in town. Both factories are in the same town but on different sides of the city. The rest of the men stay in the town to guard the factories,” the man explained.
“Who are the other people that you expect to help you?” asked Jim.
“I don’t know and that’s the simple truth. Wild Bill knows, but he keeps that quiet. Only those really close to him are aware on that score, but I have heard rumors. You want that?” asked the captive.
Shrugging Jim said, “Yes, tell me what you heard,” Jim responded.
“I heard that several military units went rogue right before the big quakes hit. They took their weapons, gear, and then they deserted. A bunch of those people linked up in Florida. From there they moved west across the country to California and linked up with more rogue units. They mean to link up with our boys when we push east. Rumor is we get Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and they get Florida, and from Alabama on east to the coast.”
“Any timetable on that move?” Jim asked.
“Officially no, but rumor has it the push will be in the spring,” the man replied.
“Don’t the people of Texas know that you are enslaving people? I ask because I’m surprised no one has organized to fight you.”
“If anyone finds out about us they are enslaved or killed.”
“Why did you try to sneak into this base? Surely, you knew that there was no way you can get to the two people you are after.” Jim asked this out of curiosity. It simply made no sense to him.
Shrugging the man said, “We figured they would come out of that bunker tonight and we’d shoot them. Wild Bill would accept that we had to kill them. He’d never accept that we just turned tail and ran. We didn’t count on that flying machine. Slipping out past pat
rols would have been easy for us. We had a lot of time to ponder escapes in prison.”
Jim stood then and told the guards to watch the prisoner carefully. He took the notes the lieutenant had taken and he walked over to meet with Pete who saw him coming and walked out to meet him halfway. They compared notes and found that the information that they had obtained was very similar.
Folding his own set of notes Pete stared sadly at his friend. “I’ll execute them both. I know how distasteful you find this.”
However, Jim just shook his head and said, “I know it has to be done and I’ll not ask another man to do something I find unpleasant in my stead.”
“In that case you want to execute the man I interrogated?” Pete asked. “I spent a lot of time looking into his eyes to see if he was telling me the truth,” Pete said by way of explanation.
“Thank you Pete,” Jim said with feeling. “I was afraid I’d see my man’s eyes in my sleep.”
In a rare revelation of his own deeper feelings Pete admitted, “Sometimes you do Jim. I know I have in the past. But whatever you do don’t look away. Might make you foul the shot,” he finished with a sigh and then said, “Remember my promise to the man. He is not to know when or see it coming. To that end, I will wait for you to fire first. Be sure to cock your pistol before approaching him.”
Pete walked away then and Jim glanced at the man whom Pete had sitting up to facilitate the execution when it had to take place. He walked toward the base a few steps until he was behind the man’s line of sight and then Jim pulled his pistol. He flicked off the safety and quietly cocked the weapon. He approached the man from the rear and kept Pete’s promise. The man wasn’t told when, and he never saw it coming. Pete’s shot rang out a millisecond after his own.
Jim’s hand shook as he flicked the safety on and holstered his pistol. He vomited then, and the other peacekeepers near looked away. They all understood. No one liked the seemingly cold-blooded executions. No viable alternative was available that didn’t endanger innocent people. For Jim, it was a first. He’d killed men in battle before but that was vastly different. Shaking his head, he thought of the men who used to earn their living executing prisoners and he didn’t know how they could do such a thing.
Chapter 8
Maggie and Lacey went to check on Robert first since his room was on the way to Lina’s but they found Robert sound asleep. Apparently, the man was so physically exhausted that the perimeter breach alarm had not disturbed him. They slipped quietly out of his room as five more men reported to the two sergeants Pete had assigned to guard duty.
They made sure the men knew which rooms to protect and then they moved on down the hall to Lina’s room. Lina was awake when they entered and she greeted them both saying, “Welcome back ladies. I take it the slavers have found us again.”
“Don’t you worry about a thing, you are perfectly safe here. There are dozens of heavily armed peacekeepers between you and any intruder,” Maggie assured her.
“You know I’m starting to feel a bit better,” Lina stated. “I actually think maybe I could hold down some food if I had it available.”
“I’ll see what I can rustle up for you then, Lina,” Lacey volunteered.
“Make sure it is bland and liquid only for now,” Maggie reminded Lacey who nodded her understanding and left with a smile.
Maggie walked over and examined Lina with a critical eye. She checked her chart and regarded the IV bags, carefully noting the contents of both the large and the small bags. Having finished her examination, she then turned to regard the patient carefully. She asked, “Would you mind if I ask you a personal question, Lina?”
“No I don’t mind,” Lina responded.
“Do you want to live?” Maggie asked.
“What sort of question is that to ask a person Doctor?” Lina asked in surprise. “Of course I want to live,” she said answering Maggie’s question.
“It’s not half as odd a question as you might think. I have treated trauma patients in a major hospital in Chicago. I’ve seen patients live who should have died and I’ve seen the opposite. I’ve seen patients who had every chance of pulling through just give up the will to live and die,” Maggie explained.
“Well I aim to live and return to Texas and help the people there escape from their enslavement,” Lina said with a fierce glint in her eyes.
“Robert told us about your ordeal,” Maggie informed Lina. “You two were put through hell. It’s remarkable that you both survived.”
“Robert’s a good man. I hope he finds a woman worthy of him one day,” Lina said with tears in her eyes.
“He loves you. Do you know that?” Maggie asked.
“Yes but what can I offer him Doctor? A body that was abused by so many men I lost count?” Shaking her head, Lina’s voice quivered when she said, “He deserves better Doctor. That man is a saint. He took beatings for me to save my life more than once. He saved me from freezing in a cave. Did you know he kept me warm with his body heat that night? He held me as if I were a decent woman,” she said this last with a tone of amazement in her voice.
“Lina, did you volunteer to become a sex slave?” Maggie asked.
Lina’s eyes hardened and she said, “Doctor, your bedside manner sucks.”
“I’ve been told that before, Lina,” Maggie said grinning impishly.
“Well I can see why,” Lina said and began to smile a little despite herself.
“The point is that you are not responsible for what happened to you. You survived, and if you love Robert, you need to tell him, because frankly he loves you. But the man feels he’d never be able to satisfy a younger woman at his age,” Maggie said honestly. She was interfering in the couple’s affairs in a dramatic way but she was a firm believer that the will to live, played a very significant role in whether or not the severely traumatized lived.
Lina looked thoughtful for a moment and then she said, “Where is Robert now?”
“In his room sleeping,” Maggie said and then she added, “Which is what you should do as soon as you eat.”
“You think he really loves me?” Lina asked skeptically. “I mean it’s not one of those, ‘mutual admiration because we survived together,’ type things?”
“I could ask you that same question you know,” Maggie said, smiling.
“In my case it’s not. I grew to love Robert months ago as I saw him sacrificing his own safety for me time after time and he never asked a thing in return. He never even complained.” Then looking at Maggie she said, “Yeah he’s older. Old enough to question his ability to please me you say?”
“He admitted as much in front of me yes. I do trust you won’t tell him I mentioned that. He was terribly embarrassed by the admission,” Maggie cautioned.
“Maggie, would you be a dear and go wake him? I want to see him, and for all I know I may die tonight and never see him again,” Lina stated.
“I’d bet on you surviving if I was gambling on the outcome, Lina,” Maggie said, but she went to the door and out into the hall. She met Lacey in the hall and explained that she was going to get Robert because Lina was asking to see him. She reminded Lacey to feed Lina slowly and to mind that the soup wasn’t too hot for her mouth.
In Robert’s room, she found that he was now awake. She explained that the intruder alarms had sounded but that he was perfectly safe with dozens of heavily armed men between him and any possible intruder. Then she said, “Lina is asking to see you.”
“She isn’t dying?” Robert asked leaping to his feet.
Maggie placed her palm on his chest and said, “No, Robert. Indeed, she appears to be slightly better but she still isn’t out of danger. She just wants to see you.”
“Lead on please Doctor,” Robert said, ready and willing to go.
They returned to Lina’s room and found her slowly eating the soup that Lacey had brought. Lina held up her hand for Lacey to pause in the feeding for a moment and turned to Robert. “Did you ever eat Hun?” she asked the ma
n.
Robert was smiling happily and he said, “Yes. Pete, Maggie’s husband, coerced me into eating. He threatened to have me fed intravenously if I continued to refuse.”
“Still hungry? I’ll be happy to share mine,” Lina said smiling.
“I’m still stuffed, Lina. I think maybe my stomach drew up or something,” he said still smiling because he was pleased to see Lina looking a bit better.
“I wanted to thank you, Robert. You saved me so many times on the trip here and never once complained.” Lina’s voice broke at that point and she wiped her eyes irritably. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to cry, but I just wanted you to know that I love you Robert. I don’t feel worthy of you after what I had to do to stay alive, but I can’t help how I feel about you. I’ll understand if you don’t want me.”
Robert walked across the floor and took her hand in his as she weakly reached out toward him. “I never wanted anything in my life more than I want you, Lina. But I’m an older man. You could do much better.”
Lina smiled shyly and said, “Robert, you have no idea what I see when I look at you.” Shaking her head she said, “I see the man who took two beatings when the food I was smuggling to weak men was discovered. I see the man who carried me across half of Texas like a baby in his arms because my leg was cut so bad I couldn’t walk. I’ll bet you didn’t tell anyone you did that either,” Lina said, guessing correctly. “I see the man who dressed my wounds and shared his body heat with a woman who had slept with strange men to save her life, just as if she was a decent woman.”
“You are, and don’t you ever say that to me again! You did what you had to do to survive, Lina, and saved many men who would have died without you. And I’m one of those men,” he added with emotion evident in his voice.
Looking at Lacey he said, “I can feed her the soup if you two will give us ten minutes alone please. I’ve something I’d like to ask her.”
“Ten minutes, but no more, Robert. She needs to rest as soon as she has eaten. She’s getting better, but she’s not out of danger yet,” Maggie warned the man.