by Ricky Sides
Chapter 16
On the sixth floor, the battle still raged. The peacekeepers there reported heavy resistance despite the presence of the drones. The captain told the sergeant reporting the situation to do the best that he could do but not to take unnecessary risks. They had time on their side since they had already rescued the known victims. He told the man that the minute the first floor had been taken he would move sixteen of the outside guards inside the structure to guard the eight exits and transport the remaining thirty-four men to reinforce the sixth floor. Meanwhile fifty of the second floor men were fighting their way toward the sixth floor.
The sergeant reorganized the men into a more cohesive fighting force to deal with the determined sixth floor defenders. They were fighting from individual rooms and not seeking to group together at all. What’s more, they all seemed to be experienced fighting men who knew how to stay alive in the firefight. They didn’t make the common mistakes that were the norm of men not conditioned to combat. For example, they did not stand in doorways to fire but instead they hugged the floor and waited for targets to present themselves before firing their weapons. Luckily, they seemed to be armed primarily with handguns and seemed intent upon chest shots. This gave the peacekeepers an opportunity to roll with the impacts in their body armor and return fire.
But fighting in this manner was slow business. You had to take one room at a time, and often that brought you into the line of fire of another room. Already two peacekeepers had been wounded and the medic had patched them up. They were waiting in a secured section of the sixth floor for the Constitution to pick them up, but the doctor was in the first floor examining some patients.
An hour into the battle for the sixth floor, the peacekeepers finally cleared the last room on that floor. They found no evidence of prisoners there so they moved to begin the assault on the fifth floor.
The captain sent word that the Constitution was bringing the reinforcements and to pick up the wounded. He also said that he was sending the extra ammunition and munitions that the sixth floor peacekeepers had requested. He further informed the sergeant that he was withdrawing the drones from the first and third floors and sending them into the fifth to assist in the assault. That would put an additional four drones inside the fifth floor. The two already there were struggling to keep the cult members from reaching the stairwells so they were of imminent need where they were. However this limited how much damage they could inflict on the enemy since they could not abandon the staircases.
But when the additional drones arrived they encountered a problem almost immediately. A tall man wearing a black cloak stood behind two young women who were kneeling on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. Strips of duct tape covered their mouths and they both had terrified expressions on their faces. The man was holding an infant in his arms, assuming correctly that this would prevent the peacekeepers from firing at him for fear of hitting the child. “Peacekeepers!” he roared. “Stop your attack and let us leave or these two die!” the man said. “Get these little robots out of here now!” he demanded.
The drones all stopped and hovered in place while the operators conferred with the captain. With a satisfied expression on his face the man said, “I want the men on the floor above pulled back away from the staircase. If we see one this girl will die,” he explained and patted the top of the head of the girl on the left. She scrunched her eyes tightly closed and shivered in terror. “And get your men beneath us out of the building so that we can leave,” he ordered.
In the monitor, Bill saw the tears roll down the terrified girl’s cheeks. He estimated that she was thirteen, maybe fourteen years old. “Pull back the drones. Tell him we will fly the ones at the staircase behind him around the long way. Tell him we will not attack with the drones. I don’t want him to perceive the withdrawal as an attack. Drone operators, circle the halls and exit that floor through the window, and do not attack,” Bill ordered.
“Holly,” Bill said, “Radio the men on the sixth floor. Tell them they are to pull back out of sight of the staircases. Explain that there is a hostage situation and I am trying to figure out a way to save the hostages so we are stalling for time. But under no circumstances are we going to let them leave that building.”
Holly relayed the messages and said, “Messages sent, sir.”
“Get me Sergeant Carter on the line. I need to talk to him,” Bill explained.
***
Sergeant Carter stood half way up the last flight of stairs that ended at the fifth floor landing. “Thanatos!” he shouted. “My captain says that if we are to meet your demands then you must have access to a radio so that you can give your demands. I am to deliver a radio to the top of the stairs and return to the lower floors. This is not an attack! I am alone and will leave once I place the radio in position for you to take it without exposing yourself to the stairwells.”
“Leave the radio peacekeeper. But if you try any tricks these hostages will pay for your foolishness,” Thanatos said in a menacing manner.
“I’m just a delivery boy this trip,” the sergeant assured him. The sergeant walked slowly up the steps and held the radio out in plain sight before stepping out into the view of the cult members.
“Stop where you are peacekeeper. Leave the radio on the floor and get out of my sight,” Thanatos said menacing the baby in his arms.
“I’ll take the place of your hostages,” the sergeant offered.
Thanatos shook his head and smiled. “I’ll not trade three for one, and I’d not trade three for three if they are peacekeepers. You people wouldn’t hesitate to attack us if the hostages were peacekeepers. You have no regard for your own safety. Now leave before you make me kill this child.
The sergeant had tried but he could see that Thanatos wasn’t about to release a hostage at this point in the standoff. He gently set the radio on the floor and turned to leave.
“Peacekeeper,” Thanatos said stopping the sergeant. “I want you and all of the peacekeepers below us out of this building in ten minutes.”
“I take my orders from the captain, Thanatos. You’ll have to speak to him.” Turning to face the cult elder, he added, “But I’ll give you some advice. The only thing keeping me from killing you this second is the fact that you have these hostages. But if you kill one, or even seriously harm one, then I guarantee you that I will be ordered to kill every last cult member in this nest. If you’d kill or maim one then the odds are none of them will escape this alive. We aren’t fools. Your only chance of getting out of this alive is keeping them safe. But your problem is your lack of credibility. We don’t believe you’d release them unharmed if we let you go. So at some point, Thanatos, you will have to trade them for me or work out some way to convince the captain that you will release them. Give me the baby now, or one of the young women. That will convince the captain that he may be able to trust you.”
Thanatos thought about that for a moment and frowned. He knew the peacekeeper had a point. He had to establish that there was a possibility that he would release the hostages or the peacekeepers might just storm the floor. Smiling wickedly he saw an opportunity to accomplish that goal and simultaneously torment this irritating peacekeeper. “Alright peacekeeper. Choose one, but not the baby. She protects me from your snipers,” he said laughing.
“Tell me peacekeeper, how does it feel to play god? You have the power to choose which girl lives. Do you choose the most beautiful? What is your criteria? Perhaps you will choose the one who appears the most brave, or will it be the one who cries fearfully as we discuss their fate? Can you live with your decision or will it cause you many sleepless nights?” taunted Thanatos.
“Why not release them both and keep me in their place?” the peacekeeper negotiated.
“No,” Thanatos said. “I think the peacekeepers would see that trade as an acceptable trade and then attack. I think they would view the loss of the babe as acceptable under the circumstances. So choose peacekeeper. Choose now or leave my pres
ence.”
Sergeant Carter stared sadly at the eyes of the brave girl. “I’m sorry,” he said. Turning to the girl who was crying he said, “Release her.” He chose the weeping girl because he was afraid that her crying might set Thanatos off on a murderous rage, if he chose the other girl. The other girl seemed better able to cope with her situation, and was therefore less likely to trigger the homicidal maniac’s wrath.
Thanatos reached down with his free hand and grabbed the girl’s hair. He pulled her to her feet. The sergeant angrily took a step toward the cult leader but Thanatos said, “Will you let your anger cost this girl her life when it is in your power to save her? Come then peacekeeper. Take me if you can,” he said laughing as he shoved hard pushing the girl in the sergeant’s direction.
The sergeant caught the girl as she stumbled toward him off balance. He stopped her and turned to look at the other girl. He winked and said, “We’ll get you out of this mess. You just hang in there Ma’am.” The girl’s eyes seemed to convey her understanding, and strangely, a sort of gratitude that he had selected the other girl. She winked back with a smile in her eyes and the sergeant’s heart went out to the young woman.
“Leave now!” Thanatos said. He was angry that he hadn’t been able to get a real rise out of the sergeant. Somehow, the peacekeeper had defeated him and denied him that simple pleasure.
The sergeant led the girl down the steps to the fourth floor. Once they were safely away from the staircase, he stopped and gently pulled away the tape from the girl’s mouth. “Thank you for getting me out of there,” the girl said sniffling.
“I need to see your teeth young lady,” the sergeant said.
“Well that’s the first time a boy wanted to play dentist with me. They usually want to play doctor,” the girl said but she bared her teeth in a smile. “When will you get my sister out of there?” she asked.
“Now I need to see your fingers. Unclench your fists,” the sergeant said and stepped behind the girl to examine her fingernails.
“Oh you’re afraid I am one of those freaks,” she said finally understanding.
“Just being careful Ma’am. The doctors and nurses acted normal too,” he explained.
“Those freaks are in this too. The woman doctor came into our neighborhood and put up signs that young women should come here if they needed medical exams and birth control. The signs said the medical care was free. The hospital is closed but the sign said a few dedicated professionals would be able to treat patients. My sister and I came here seeking medical care. So did several other girls but I haven’t seen the others in days,” the young lady said.
“What’s your name young lady?” the sergeant asked as he cut the ropes binding her wrists.
“I’m Ginny. Ginny Kellum. My sister is Annie,” she explained.
“How old are you girls?” the sergeant asked.
“I’m thirteen. My sister is sixteen,” she responded.
“Ginny why haven’t your parent’s come looking for you?” the sergeant asked.
“They did. These freaks captured them. One of the nurses told me that they are alive in the first floor emergency room,” the girl said and then she said, “Take me to them please. I’ve got to talk to them.”
A cold knot rolled in the sergeant’s stomach. He turned away from the girl and said, “First we have to get you checked out by our doctor. You’ve got several nasty cuts that could get infected,” he said.
The sergeant escorted the girl to the ground floor and past the door guards out into the night. He radioed the ship and asked Holly to pass along his request for the captain to meet him in the cargo bay when they landed to pick up the girl. Moments later, the sergeant led the girl into the cargo bay where the captain and the doctor greeted them. Sergeant Carter pointed to the women’s latrine and said, “You may want to visit the ladies room before the doc fixes you up Ginny.” She thanked him, walked into the latrine, and closed the door.
“Good work, Sergeant,” the captain said.
The sergeant shook his head sadly and explained everything that he’d learned. The doctor said that he’d break the news to the girl after he’d treated her wounds. He said he’d let her know that the medical staff responsible had been executed. He also stated that she didn’t need to know what her parents had endured and how their bodies had been abused by the cult. The sergeant and the captain agreed.
Ginny returned and walked up to the sergeant. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him and the sergeant awkwardly returned the hug. “Thank you for rescuing me,” she said as she stepped back. “I don’t even know your name.”
“My name is Maxwell Carter. My friends call me Max,” the sergeant said. “I’ve got to go now. These are good people. You’re safe here Ginny. Now I’ve got to find a way to get your sister out of there.”
“The Alabama is on the way here now, and the Peacekeeper will be here soon as well,” the captain informed the sergeant. He walked the strike force leader to the cargo bay ramp and walked down it with the man. He paused at the edge of the ramp and said, “We have orders from the council. This is what we are to do,” he said and then he explained the brief plan. Afterwards the sergeant departed to carry out his orders.
Chapter 17
“Thanatos, this is the captain of the Constitution,” the captain said into the microphone.
“I’ve been waiting patiently, Captain, but my patience is almost at an end,” the cult leader stated.
“Listen to me carefully, Thanatos. We don’t have much time. The peacekeeper council is en route here in their ship the Peacekeeper. They have destroyed Clarissa’s nest. The Alabama destroyed the dormitory nest. When they get here, the council will order an all out assault on your nest. They have a no negotiation policy, but I don’t agree with that policy. Are you alone so that we can discuss a deal? Quickly, man, they will be here soon,” the captain said, his voice betraying a feeling of urgency.
Thanatos motioned for the others to step away from him so that he could speak in private. He knew the peacekeepers had destroyed Clarissa’s nest and that she had escaped. She’d managed to get a message to him as she ran for her secret lair. If the captain was willing to reveal that truth to him, then maybe he was being honest. “Go ahead, Captain, I am listening,” the man said.
“The council is mad because Clarissa escaped. They mean to get you, but I am willing to trade you your freedom in exchange for the hostages. That deal is for you and you alone. If I let your group go I’d be shot for treason against humanity,” Bill said playing the role. “I want the baby and the other girl, so here’s the deal. I’m ordering my men out of the lower floors and aboard the ship. You can watch them board if you like. Then you send the girl out with the baby. And you can walk away unharmed. I’ve already had a car parked beside the curb for you. This is your only chance to get out of this alive. You can ditch the car and enter the city sewer system. Once you’re in there we’d never find you.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Thanatos asked.
“Look out the window. I already ordered the peacekeepers in the lower floors to leave and they should be boarding by now,” Bill responded.
Thanatos walked over and looked out the window that the drones had destroyed earlier in the day. Down on the street he saw peacekeepers flooding out of the entrance and heading for the bay door of the huge ship. It did not escape his attention that they were running full tilt for the ship. Their sense of urgency filled him with a sense of impending doom. Glancing to the right he saw an old black Chevrolet sedan sitting beside the curb. Walking back away from the window he spoke quietly to Bill again saying, “Why are you willing to let me go?”
“Don’t flatter yourself Thanatos. I wouldn’t risk one hair on the heads of those two hostages for a chance to kill you, or take you captive. But the council doesn’t see it that way. They look at the bigger picture. Letting you go could produce another cult elsewhere that will torment people. But I think people can change, Thanatos. N
ext time you’ll be too smart to start a cult that attracts our attention. Not if you want to stay alive. So I’ll make this deal. My officers are loyal to me. They don’t like this deal I’m offering but they will say nothing to the council. Decide Thanatos. The council is now fifteen minutes out.”
“Alright, I’ll take the deal,” Thanatos said. What the captain said made sense and conformed to everything he knew about the peacekeeper council. To his knowledge they had never made a deal of this nature. He’d leave but he would live to fight the peacekeepers another day.
“Make an excuse, tell your people that you are going to negotiate with me. I don’t care how you do it, but leave as soon as possible. Once you reach the ground floor cut the girl’s hands free and give her the baby,” Bill said.
“I cut her free but I give her the baby once I am in the car. Hurry, Captain. Your council is swiftly approaching. If you want to save them both, then take my deal. I also want all the aircraft parked with their rears toward the car and the pilots out,” the cult leader said. Pressure worked both ways, and it was time for him to apply some in this negotiating process.
“Agreed. They are already landing as you requested. No more talk. If you don’t leave within two minutes you’ll never make it out before the council arrives. What’s it going to be, Thanatos? Life or death?” Bill asked.
The cult leader rushed to the window and saw that the fighters and drones were landing with their tails toward the car, as he had demanded. “Life,” he said.
“I think I can make a deal with the captain of the ship,” Thanatos explained to his people. “I’m going down to meet him to try to save us all. Guard the stairwells. Kill anyone who tries to approach if this is a trap. I’m taking the hostages to keep their snipers from killing me. You better stay clear of the windows. This could be a trap,” he said and raced toward the stairs before the cult members had time to tie him up with questions. Time was now a critical factor for Thanatos.