"He was killed by a North Korean, after all," Nathan said. "Perhaps it'll be enough to unite the TLX behind a new leader. Hatred can be a pretty effective glue, for a time at least. Let's hope they look for revenge in the west."
And so, the three of them headed northwest. Nathan knew that they had a short time to get as many miles between them and the inevitable pursuit as possible.
"I was an idiot," Jake said, finally breaking the silence after what had seemed like hours. "I believed in him, in the TLX."
"You can carry on believing in the TLX, Jake," Nathan said. "And plenty of folks were taken in by Murphy, including me. Don't blame yourself."
"It was when I saw what he'd done to his own son that I realized. And then I thought how he treated Maddie like an animal. I thought he'd honored her by making her marry his son, but he hated Luke. What sort of a father treats his son like that? Mine never would."
The tears flowed then, as Jake spoke of his family—his mother, sister and grandfather who, as far as he knew, were still alive, and his father who had probably died in New York. "I wasn't nice to Pa," he said. "I thought he couldn't wait to get away and go live in the big city. I thought he hated us, but he was a good father. I wish I could see him again."
Nathan put his hand on Jake's arm as they drove north, destination unknown.
Chapter 6
Paulie could taste the blood leaking from her nose as she braced herself for the next blow. It didn't come. Instead, a now familiar voice spoke.
"Is that not enough, Sheriff?" it said in perfect, though slightly accented, English. "Is it not time to cease your stubborn resistance and answer my questions?"
She peered up at him through her better eye. "I've told you everything I know." It was a lie. She knew it and so did he.
He wore the uniform of an officer in the People's Liberation Army. His spotless jacket, with its perfectly pressed creases, hid the sadistic heart of an interrogator. Though he hadn't touched her. She imagined that he would proudly proclaim that he never hurt women. He simply ordered others to do that. Paulie's injuries, therefore, had been inflicted by a large Chinese woman whose overt brutality contrasted with his cold cruelty.
She'd been kept in a basement of the department store since she and Tucker had been captured and brought into this room three times now, to be asked the same questions over and over.
"You have seen the Reaper before, that is obvious from the accounts of my guards," he continued. "I wish to know how this can be since you have clearly come from outside. I am told that you ran away when your town came under attack. Perhaps it took those many weeks for you to find the courage to scurry back and seek to steal from us."
Her gaze didn't flinch as their eyes met. His, like hers, were brown, but there was no sign of a human soul dwelling within.
"You may not be aware, but your comrade, Mr. Tucker, has been quite cooperative."
"In your dreams."
"So, there really is no need for any further…discomfort. We simply ask for you to—what is the word? Ah, yes—corroborate his account."
"What did he say?"
The interrogator shook his head with fake regret. "If I told you that, your confirmation would not be independent, now would it?"
"Let me ask you something," Paulie said.
"Go ahead."
"If I cooperate, what will happen to us?"
His eyes widened, just a touch, as he sensed capitulation. "Your suffering will end, Sheriff."
"In front of a firing squad?"
The expression hardened again. "That is not my decision, Sheriff. But if you wish the pain to end, you must answer my questions. Where have you seen the Reaper before?"
Paulie gazed up into those pitiless eyes. "As I told you, that was the first time I'd seen one. I could see that it was a drone, but that's all."
He looked across at the woman with the baton and gave a curt nod.
As Paulie braced herself, the door was flung open and Custer Petrov, owner of the department store rushed in, flanked by two of his goons. The interrogator spun around as Petrov froze when he caught sight of Paulie.
"What is the meaning of this interruption?" Liang roared, the mask abandoned.
"Major Liang. I apologize. We have trouble in upper floor." Petrov spoke to the interrogator, but his eyes flicked to Paulie.
"You are responsible for internal security, are you not?" Liang said. "My men are not to be used for petty squabbles."
Petrov's cheeks colored as he shook his owl-like head. "There are too many, Major. You limit my forces too much. Only four on duty at one time, you tell me. Not enough."
"Very well. Use whatever means necessary to regain full control. And I expect you to punish the transgressors severely. That is the only means of ensuring discipline, Petrov. You understand?"
Petrov nodded, and then his eyes moved to Paulie again.
"Custer," she said.
"Be silent!" Liang snapped, turning on her.
"I hope that whatever they're paying you is worth it," Paulie called, looking past the major. "But maybe treachery comes cheap these days."
"I had no choice! Cooperate or die, and others die too."
"Get out!" Liang said, as his carefully choreographed interrogation fell apart.
"You're quite the hero, Custer," Paulie called to his retreating back. "I'm sure the People's Republic is very proud of you."
The door slammed behind him and Paulie heard the heavy footsteps of the big woman with the club.
When she was pushed back into her cell, she found she wasn't alone. Strong arms grabbed her as she stumbled. "Sheriff!"
"Marvin?" she croaked, allowing him to support her weight.
Tucker cursed under his breath, then held her upright to examine her. Pain spread across Paulie's face from one side to the other. "Animals! Looks like your nose is broken, Sheriff."
"Paulie," she managed. "Call me Paulie."
She looked into his face and saw that he'd been beaten almost as thoroughly as she had. She felt her eyes water and they embraced, each drawing strength from the other.
"They kept askin' me about somethin' called a Reaper," he said as they rocked gently. "Wouldn't believe I didn't have the first clue what they were talkin' about."
Paulie withdrew and looked into his kind eyes. "They asked me, too. They seem to think they're the only ones who've got Reapers. I got us into this mess, Marvin, I'm sorry. But I was so amazed when I saw it there."
"So, you really have seen one before?"
Paulie gave her head a tiny shake before reaching up and grabbing her ear lobe. It took some theatrics before Marvin understood. The room might be bugged. Perhaps, having failed to extract the information through brutality, they'd decided to opt for something more subtle.
"No," Paulie said out loud. "I don't know any more than you do."
Tucker helped her over to the single cot against the wall. She collapsed onto it and wiped her eyes. Paulie reckoned she and Tucker had been the two toughest SOBs in Arbroath before the attack, but everyone has their breaking point.
"What d'you think they're planning to do with us?"
Paulie gave a grim chuckle. "Oh, I think we'll be lined up against a wall, Marvin. And sooner rather than later."
"And that don't scare you?"
She looked up at him. "Of course it does, Marvin. Unless you've got some genius plan to get us out of here that you can communicate to me in sign language."
"Afraid not, Sheriff. I was hopin' you'd pull somethin' out of your butt."
She shook her head and Marvin came to sit beside her as they waited in silence for the next act of the play.
Paulie woke from a doze as Marvin nudged her. "Someone's coming."
Footsteps stopped outside the door which then opened to reveal Custer Petrov. Beyond him stood one of his bodyguards and a Chinese soldier, but he left them both behind as he came inside, and dragged the solitary wooden chair to the center of the room. The door slammed shut behind him and he sa
t looking at them silently.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick you into the afterlife, Petrov," Paulie said, feeling the rage rise again.
He put his hands up as if surprised at her vitriol. "I do not command here. Major, he ordered torture," he said. Paulie had noticed that the more stressed he was, the stronger his Russian accent.
"You were quick enough to be the puppet leader when Arbroath was taken."
"What else could I do? They say I run the place or they do. I protect people. What do you think would happen to ones who cannot be moved? Hospital is full of old and weak."
Marvin scoffed at this. "And you're the great savior, is that it? Come off it, Custer, if there ain't a dollar in it, you ain't gonna do it."
"You're right," Paulie said. "He's screwing the people he's supposed to be protecting. But tell me, Custer, now we can all see each other for who they are, what are you doing here?"
Petrov pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and wiped his forehead. "The major, he will kill the patients, one by one, if you do not tell him what he wants to know. He thinks, maybe, you speak easier to me than him."
"Why would I want to speak to a collaborator?" Paulie spat. "You work for a monster; do you know that? A monster who won't believe that I don't know the answers to his questions. A monster who would do this to me." She ran her hand across her bruised face.
Petrov brushed the sweat from his eyes and shook his head. "I do not like to see you hurt, Sheriff. Not good to hit women."
"And yet you allow it to carry on? Are you waiting for us to be beaten to death or lined up in front of a wall? Then you can forget we were here?"
"No, it is not like that. Friedman and Rutz, they not talk either. I could not save them."
"What happened to them?"
"Rutz is dead. Friedman is in hospital bed. She will be first to die if you not talk."
Paulie slumped and wrapped her hands around her head as she felt the darkness rising to engulf her. She felt Marvin's hand on her back.
"We ain't talkin' Custer," he said. "But maybe it's time for you to decide which side you're on."
"What can I do?" he blustered.
Paulie raised her head again and looked into his frightened eyes. "Be a man, Custer. Be a man."
The door burst open and two Chinese soldiers ran in, grabbed Petrov under the arms before marching him out of the room. As he left, his head twisted back to where they sat on the little bed.
"I am sorry," he called as the door slammed shut again.
An hour later, the door opened again to admit Major Liang flanked by four guards.
"Are you ready to answer my questions, Sheriff?"
"I can't," Paulie said, feeling adrenaline surging again at the sight of the man. "I've answered all those I can, Major."
He sighed, then signaled to the guards. Two dragged Paulie to her feet and the other pair grabbed Marvin and hauled him upright.
"Where are we going?" she asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice.
Liang ignored her, merely spinning on his heels and leading them out of the room that had become their cell. Paulie found herself wishing she'd had the courage to relieve herself in the bucket with Marvin there. Just one more source of discomfort and pain in a body that felt as though it had nothing left to give.
They were marched along a dark corridor in the basement, up a flight of metal stairs and out into the bright daylight. Paulie shivered in the sudden chill after the stuffy warmth of the cell and allowed herself to be guided around the corner to the side of the building. She felt as though she were in the middle of a dream, just waiting to wake up and find that this was all nothing but a nightmare.
Nicky Friedman stood against the brick wall. She was clothed in a hospital gown and leaned back as if needing the wall's support to remain upright. Paulie gasped when she saw the ruin that Friedman's face had become, her all-American good looks and blonde hair destroyed. But not her spirit. Friedman expressed no surprise when she recognized Paulie and Marvin. Her face remained impassive, as if she had been dosed with sedatives.
At a nod from Liang, two of their guards detached themselves and went to join the pair who were lined up in front of Friedman. They stood at attention, awaiting the command.
Custer Petrov was also there. Paulie assumed he'd been given the job of bringing Friedman here to face her death. His round face was gray with terror as he beckoned to his two guards to follow him.
"No, Petrov," Liang barked. "You will remain and witness what happens to those who oppose the People's Republic of China."
Petrov slunk into a position behind the firing squad as Paulie and Marvin watched from just behind the major.
"Now, you have one final opportunity to answer my questions, Sheriff. I believe you, at least, know something of our secret weapon and I require you to tell me or your deputy here will die."
"You expect me to believe you'll spare us if I tell you what you want to know?"
An evil smile crept across his face. "No, you at least will face the firing squad, Sheriff. But if you satisfy me, I will order the release of your deputies."
She felt Marvin tense. "You don't believe this maniac, do you?" he murmured as Liang turned back to the firing squad and barked an order in Chinese. The soldiers raised their weapons.
Paulie exchanged a glance with Marvin, trying to point to the guards behind them with her eyes. It was a desperate move, but she wasn't prepared to stand and watch her friend die without trying to intervene. She thought he gave a tiny nod, but then Liang raised his hand to the firing squad and called over his shoulder, "This is your final warning, Sheriff. Cooperate now, or she dies, followed by your accomplice."
Friedman let out a desperate moan as she seemed to finally register the guns pointing at her and shrank against the wall.
"Very well," Liang said, before drawing in a deep breath, "Hu—"
Paulie stabbed back with her elbow and caught her guard in the midriff, the man folded with a moan and fell to the floor as Marvin's fist connected with his guard's jaw.
In the same instant, Liang's arm fell and shots rang out. But Friedman still stood cowering against the wall as two members of the firing squad fell to the ground. Paulie leaped at Liang, but he slipped out of her grip as Marvin wrestled with one of the guards for control of his weapon.
As Liang spun away, Paulie grabbed his handgun and felled her guard who was struggling to his feet. All this had happened in a few seconds and the surviving members of the firing squad were taking cover. More shots, and now Paulie could see that they were coming from the window of the room they'd hidden in two days before.
"Wally!" she called.
Two huge shapes emerged from the shadows, followed by Custer Petrov. They fell upon the remaining soldiers, beating them with their bare hands and shouting curses in Russian as Petrov grabbed their weapons.
Marvin silenced his opponent with a final mighty punch and then looked up. "He's getting away!"
Paulie aimed at the retreating back of Liang, but her shot with the unfamiliar Chinese weapon went wide.
"Cease fire!" she called, waving to the open window that hid Wally Hammond who, it seemed, was a deadly accurate shot. Four Chinese soldiers lay dead and two others wounded.
"Marvin, deal with the survivors," she barked.
"What d'you mean, Sheriff? Finish 'em off?"
"No! Tie them up and throw them in one of the shops opposite, we'll deal with them later."
She ran over to Friedman and embraced her. "It's okay, Nicky," she murmured. "We're here. You're safe."
Wally's friend Maggie came scampering across the street and guided Friedman away.
Paulie broke off and ran back toward the department store entrance, a sudden dreadful thought cutting through every other.
"Where are you goin'?" Marvin called.
"We've got to get Liang!" she replied. "Petrov, bring your men! Come on!"
In her mind's eye, she saw the Reaper. Liang would have the codes t
o activate it and if that thing got loose, they would all die.
Chapter 7
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base had been transformed since Solly had last been there on his journey back from Arbroath. Where it had once been a rump of its former self, with personnel occupying only one small defensible corner, it had now expanded outwards as the call to arms was answered by service personnel, veterans and volunteers.
"I'm sorry about the boy," Colonel McBride said as he watched his assistant, a young lieutenant by the name of Khan, pour the coffee.
Solly sighed. "I appreciate your doctors taking a look at him. At least we know it's unlikely to get any worse."
"Or any better," McBride said. "Do you wish to leave him here in our care?"
"I do, but he won't even consider it."
McBride sipped at his coffee. "Does he have a choice in the matter?"
"Call it cowardice if you like, but I'm not going to refuse to take him along with me. Last time I did that, I lost someone I loved dearly."
"Janice. Yes, I understand the desire to keep family close."
The colonel's normally impassive face softened and Solly thought he saw his eyes moisten. "So many people have lost so much," McBride continued. "But we must look to the future, such as it is. Will you do as I ask?"
"I will. We're heading south and I'm happy to leave a trail of transmitters behind us."
"Good. Sheriff Ramos has done a good job to the west and we have others heading to all points of the compass. Events are moving quickly, Mr. Masters, and we must have information if we are to act. We are the ears and eyes of the new government."
Solly swallowed a mouthful of coffee—hand roasted if he was any judge. "What's the latest from DC?"
McBride's eyes narrowed a little. "Well, I suppose I can be frank with you. I'd be happier if you were a military man, Mr. Masters—"
"Oh, I doubt that, Colonel," Solly said with a smile. "I think I'd make a pretty lousy soldier."
"Once, maybe. The first time we met, I dismissed you as just one more agent of chaos I didn't need, but you have changed. The fact that you came here rather than taking the direct route to Texas proves that you are thinking more strategically and of more than just yourself."
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