Two armed goons lurked in the shadows and one leaned sideways to turn a door knob.
Murphy moved towards the door. Nathan and Jake followed him, but Su-Mi was ordered to stay where she was, under the baleful gaze of the other guard.
The room beyond was even more dimly lit than the main room. In the corner lay a figure whose feet and hands were chained to a ring in the wall. It was a young man wearing dirty jeans and a filthy T-shirt.
"This boy is soon to discover what happens to those who betray their family. Not only did he disobey the direct order of his father, but he then tried to harm the man he owes absolute loyalty to."
Murphy stepped across and pulled the tape from the figure's mouth. "This is my son, Lucas. He was ordered to wed your sister, Private Masters, but instead chose to abduct her and flee from justice."
Ice poured through Nathan's veins, and he noticed Jake go rigid.
"What happened to her?" Jake said before noticing the anger on Murphy's face. He added, "Sorry, Mr. President."
Murphy relaxed. "Quite alright, Masters. Loyalty to your family is to your credit, and I value your service to your country given the conflict this must cause."
"No conflict, Mr. President. I fight for the TLX and its leader."
Murphy slapped his shoulder. "If only I had a son like you. But, sadly, I produced the scum that cowers on the floor. Assuming he is my son, of course. I have sometimes wondered if perhaps his mother sought elsewhere for comfort while I was away."
"Don't talk about Mom like that!" Luke spat.
"Congratulations, Mr. Masters," Murphy said with a smile, "those are the first words he has spoken in my presence."
"Your sister, mother and grandfather were safe when I left them," Luke said, looking up at Jake who, despite himself, seemed to relax a little at the news.
"Where are they?" Jake asked.
Luke shook his head. "Believe me, you don't want that monster to know."
With a sickening thud, Murphy's boot connected with the side of his son's head and Luke slumped to the floor.
It was all Nathan could do to stop himself retaliating on Luke's behalf and he could see the shock on Jake's face as he witnessed this brutality.
Murphy saw it too. The rage vanished in an instant and he smiled. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Masters, but some sins are unforgivable. My son here has been following my movements for days now with the aim of harming his father. But he isn't nearly as clever as I am, and I was ready for his move. He will hang in the morning."
"No!" Jake said. "He's your son!"
Nathan saw anger flash across Murphy's face again, but the president mastered himself quickly and shook his head at the guard who'd stepped forward as if to restrain Jake. "You are young, Private Masters, and I hope you never have to endure the pain of betrayal. But let me ask you this, if you were a farmer and one cow became ill with a communicable disease, would you hesitate to destroy it for the sake of the herd? Even if it was your favorite?"
He's talking about people as if they're cattle, Nathan thought. Has Jake noticed?
"I would destroy it, Mr. President," Jake said, glancing at Luke as he lay sprawled on the floor.
Murphy slapped him on the shoulder again. "There, and now you see how it must be. I am sorry for it, but, as president, I must think of the greater good."
"But sir," Jake said. "What disease would your son spread if he lived?"
Murphy's face darkened and Nathan tried desperately to send a telepathic command to Jake to stop talking. But, again, the moment passed quickly and the president smiled. "Insurrection. A contagion that can bring down a country quicker than a pandemic."
Jake seemed to consider this before giving a brief nod. "Very well, sir. I understand."
"Good man," Murphy said, before aiming a final kick at Luke and heading for the door.
Su-Mi stood exactly where she had been, engaged in a staring match with the guard who had moved to within a few feet of her.
"What's happening here?" Murphy said as the door to Luke's makeshift cell closed behind him.
"She's giving me attitude, Mr. President," the guard said.
Murphy grunted. "Typical of her kind," he said. "Can't be trusted. You have my permission to deal with her."
The guard stepped towards Su-Mi, drawing a baton from his waist. She stepped back, raising her fists.
"Mr. President!" Nathan said.
"Silence!" Murphy responded, flashing a glance at the other guard who moved towards Nathan and grabbed his arm.
Su-Mi had been backed into a corner but, as the guard raised his baton, she thrust her fist into his rib cage and he roared in pain and anger, falling away from her and drawing his sidearm.
"Mr. President!" Nathan called again.
"I said silence!" Murphy yelled before turning briefly to the guard restraining Nathan. "If he says another word, shoot him. Hero of the republic or no, I will not have insubordination!"
The guard went for his sidearm and then spun around.
"Put down your weapons."
The voice was calm and assured and the gun was leveled at the president.
"Jake!" Nathan said.
Murphy's face burned red with wrath. "You traitor! You'll die at my hands for this."
"Drop your weapon or the president dies," Jake said to Su-Mi's attacker.
At a nod from Murphy, the gun fell to the floor with a metallic thud.
Jacob Masters held the sidearm he'd pulled from the guard's holster. "Enough is enough," he said. "Nathan, will you deal with the guards and bring Luke out? The president is going to show us the way out."
Chapter 5
Luke staggered along, leaning on Su-Mi's shoulder as Nathan held his weapon at the base of President Murphy's skull. The sheer lunacy of the situation gave it a dreamlike quality, but he knew that there was nothing to do other than see it through to the end. He wasn't concerned about anything other than the next minutes and getting off the base alive.
The shout went up as they shuffled out of the president's room. Nathan kept so close to Murphy that he could mumble instructions into his ear. The biggest risk was that one of the guards would try to shoot him without hitting the president, so he kept Murphy between him and them as much as possible.
He could feel the man shake as he held on to his jacket with his left hand, though he couldn't tell whether it was with fear or rage or, more likely, both.
"Stand down!" Murphy croaked as guards drew their sidearms.
"Tell them to throw their weapons into the corner," Nathan said.
Murphy gave the order and Jake, who'd given his gun to Nathan, stooped to retrieve one for himself and a second for Su-Mi.
Jake went a few paces ahead and opened the outer door. The sounds of normal life on the base drifted in—people walking to and fro, snatches of conversation and the rumble of vehicles on the road that ran alongside the historic fort. They'd struck lucky with that, at least. The president's sense of the theatrical had led him to choose an unwise location that was far less secure than a modern military base.
Nathan scanned the area outside and pointed at a black SUV. The driver, who sat smoking with the door open, leaped out as the group approached, shadowed by a growing number of base personnel.
"Just give it up," Murphy said over his shoulder. "You can't get away."
"It's too late for that, John," Nathan said.
"Too late for you."
Luke stumbled and Jake ran back to help Su-Mi support him. Revulsion spread across his face as he tried to avoid touching the slick of blood that stained Luke's shirt. He shot a glance at Murphy that was so full of hate that Nathan barely recognized the naive young man he thought he knew. With his spare arm, Jake kept his handgun pointed at the president's head.
They moved toward the SUV, stepping in pools of light created by the construction lamps dotted around the parking lot. The air smelled of diesel and cigarettes and a gentle breeze brought a wet cool from the coast to tickle their skin.
A voice called out of the darkness, "What are you going to do with him?"
"If he behaves himself, we'll let him go."
"You know the commies are comin', don't ya? But maybe you're a commie lover. Maybe you don't care if the reds take over the country."
Nathan turned the key in the car. "Listen, bud, I've seen them upfront and I've killed my fair share. If you want to be a patriot, then send forces to the west. Colonel Martinez needs you."
He rolled the window up and stepped on the gas.
No one spoke for what seemed like hours. Nathan was desperate to discuss where they should go and how they'd get away, but they couldn't do it with Murphy sitting there. And a burning resentment filled the space between him and his son as he sat with his eyes on the back of Luke's head.
"They're following," Su-Mi said, glancing behind. "A long way back, but sometimes I see lights moving."
"It seems they ignored your warning," Murphy said.
"Or maybe they don't really care what happens to you," Nathan responded as he turned onto the interstate. He didn't believe that for a moment—if they truly didn't care, they'd either have left the president to his fate or they'd have driven them off the road already.
No, they were following but at a distance, and that gave Nathan an idea. Quite suddenly, he turned off the headlights and cut left across the road and onto the stony desert sand. With a scraping thud, the car burst through the wire fencing that lined the road here and headed at high speed across the scrubland.
They were thrown around as Nathan engaged the four-wheel drive. Luke moaned in agony as the front right tire hit a rock and he was thrust upwards against his safety belt.
"What are you doing?" Murphy called, unable to hide the fear in his voice.
"Losing us in the desert," Nathan responded. It was a lie—he'd driven the 10 before and he knew that it connected with the 385 heading for San Angelo. He had no plan beyond getting away and heading northeast , away from the North Koreans, the Chinese and the TLX. The places he'd called home his entire life were now either under occupation by invaders or in the hands of the despot sitting in the car behind him.
Nathan slowed a little once they were well beyond the interstate. He didn't dare turn on the headlights yet as the land was flat here and they could be seen for miles around. The moon gave scant light as it sat behind the clouds, so he was reduced to picking his way through the desert, inching their way westward.
"How long are you going to keep me hostage?" Murphy said as they rejoined the highway.
"Haven't decided yet," Nathan said. "I'd get comfortable if I was you."
Su-Mi touched his shoulder. "We should pull over soon, Nate. Luke needs tending."
Nathan gave Luke a nudge. "You okay, Luke?" There was no response.
Cursing under his breath, Nathan turned on the headlights and put his foot down. "Keep your eyes open. We're looking for something off the main road where we can hide the car. Damn it, I wanted to get a lot more miles ahead before stopping."
"I know, but if we don't take a look at him, he might bleed to death."
"There!" Jake called.
The headlights had bounced off what looked like a barn with a rusty corrugated iron roof. Nathan turned onto the little lane that led to it and brought the SUV around the back.
"You wait here," he said. "Keep a close eye on our guest."
Nathan jumped out of the car, and, finding a flashlight in the trunk, drew his Glock and ran to the barn. The metal doors had been forced open and whatever had once been inside was now gone, leaving just the acrid aroma of cow manure. He flicked on the flashlight, being careful to keep the beam facing down and away from the road. The place was filthy, but a stack of hay bales lay on one side that could be fashioned into a makeshift bed. It would have to do.
Su-Mi covered the president while Jake and Nathan carried the unresponsive Luke into the barn. They laid him down on the bales while Jake took over watching Murphy.
"Do you have any medical training?" Nathan asked Su-Mi.
She shook her head. "Nothing beyond what I learned in basic," she said, "but I know a sick person when I see one. He's had quite a beating."
Nathan pulled Luke's shirt apart while Su-Mi shone the flashlight on him. Blue-black bruises spread across his chest, culminating in a seeping wheal on the right side of his ribs.
"How could you let this happen?" Nathan said to Murphy. "How could you let someone beat your flesh and blood like this? And then leave him without medical treatment?"
"He did it himself," Jake said. "I bet he did."
Nathan locked eyes with the president and knew Jake was speaking the truth. Murphy had, at the very least, allowed it to happen but from his cold expression as he looked down on his son, Nathan could see not a hint of compassion. And this was the man they expected to unite them against the invaders.
Nathan realized he should have known that this was the nature of their leader. His treatment of Maddie and Luke as a breeding pair to further his dynasty and then his abrupt abandonment of his son once the boy rebelled should have been evidence enough. But Nathan had selectively ignored the deliberate policies of separation and authoritarianism that would have signaled Murphy was a sociopath to anyone willing to listen. He'd decided that the president was the lesser of the evils facing the fledgling TLX and ignored the mounting evidence that he was a monster.
"I think he's bleeding internally," Su-Mi said. "He hasn't lost that much blood from this wound, but I think something's been ruptured inside."
"What can we do?" Jake asked, keeping his eyes on the president.
Su-Mi looked up at him. "We can make him comfortable and give him fluids, but he'll either heal or he won't."
Nathan could see from her expression which of those was the more likely. They didn't have time to sit at the sick man's side to wait for him to expire. Every minute they stayed here increased the chance they'd be discovered but there was no question of moving him. And no question of them abandoning Luke. Because they weren't monsters.
Jake had drifted off to sleep as Nathan sat watching Murphy dozing. Luke's breathing had become more and more shallow and the first hints of the approaching dawn could be seen through gaps in the metal roof.
With a heave, Luke choked and cried out. Nathan sprung to his feet, and Su-Mi stirred, taking Luke's hand as he tried to sit up. "No, Luke. Rest!"
Luke looked around in the gloom, his pale face a stark contrast to the darkness around them. "Father," he whispered.
Murphy looked up at Nathan who nodded and helped him to his feet.
Raising his hand, Luke's face twisted in pain.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Jake asked desperately.
"Father!"
Murphy stepped towards the hay bales on which his son lay and took Luke's hand.
"I'm…sorry…" Luke said.
The president leaned down as if he were going to plant a kiss on Luke's forehead.
He spat on his son's face.
"No!" Jake leaped at the man, grabbing him around the neck and forcing him to the floor. Murphy rolled over, his greater bulk and training giving him an immediate edge. He sat across Jake who brought his knee up and, with a roar, propelled Murphy from him before scrambling across the floor to where his handgun lay.
He swept up the sidearm, pushed his right hand down onto Murphy's chest and pressed the gun against his temple.
"Stop!" Nathan said, pushing Jake to one side.
Jake leaped up and rushed at Nathan, flailing out at him in his fury. "You saw what he did! Let me kill him!"
A cry echoed around the inside of the barn and Nathan rolled away to see Murphy rising from behind Jake, holding the handgun he'd dropped and leveling it at the boy.
>
"You know what the penalty is for attempted assassination of a president?" he hissed.
A shot punched the darkness. "Put the gun down, Murphy."
Su-Mi stood with her gun pointing directly at the president's head. "Your son's dead," she said. "Which makes you a murderer. What is the penalty for murder in the TLX? Now, put the gun down."
Murphy slowly raised his arms, stepped back a little and dropped his sidearm to the ground, his face contorted in hate.
Helping Jake up, Nathan pulled the boy to him. "You should have let me kill him!"
"Not you, son. Not you," Nathan said, gently. He locked eyes with Su-Mi and they exchanged a tiny nod.
Su-Mi's weapon spoke and the President of the TLX fell lifeless to the floor.
She stood over him and touched his throat. "'Do not suffer a monster to live'," she hissed. "It is an old Korean proverb, from one traitor to another."
They didn't have time to give Luke the decent burial he deserved, so they dug a shallow grave in the sand and gently lowered him into it.
Nathan filled in the grave with Jake while Su-Mi watched beyond them to the road.
"You know, he was the unifying force here. We've just made it much easier for the Chinese and North Koreans by taking him out."
"Maybe," Su-Mi said, "but some crimes cannot be forgiven. He fatally wounded his son and then, when the boy wanted comfort, Murphy spat on him. The more power a beast like that has, the greater his crimes will become."
Luke's body disappeared beneath the sand and stones as they worked. When they'd finished, the sun appeared on the horizon and they stood for a moment in silent contemplation of a young life lost.
"What happened to your old uniform?" Nathan asked.
"It's in my pack," Su-Mi said, surprised. "Why?"
Nathan threw his shovel down and began to walk back to the barn. "We need to leave a message for whoever finds him."
And so, as they drove back onto the main highway, looking for a side road into the desert, the body of President John Murphy lay with a red star pinned to his chest.
The Long Night Box Set Page 69