by C. G. Cooper
“They gave me something to relax.” He nodded, still wary. “What did he do to me?”
When it looked like he was convinced that I wasn’t about to leap out of the examination chair, he said, “They finalized the testing. You’re a perfect match.”
I didn’t really want to know what they’d done to “finalize the testing.”
“And you know everything?”
“I don’t understand how it all works, not specifically. But yes, I helped draft “The Patriot Protocol” with your father.”
Whatever they’d given me was helping me see things from a more detached perspective. Had my father done that on purpose?
“And what do you want me to do?”
“Well, unless you have any questions, we’ll arrange for your family to join you here. There’s plenty of space, and you’ll be given accommodations and an office to work from.”
“Work?”
“Yes. You’ll help your father coordinate the search efforts.”
I’m not sure if the effects of the drugs were wearing off or if the magnitude of what the president was asking finally hit me.
“You want me to stay here.”
“We think it’s best.”
“To keep me safe.”
He didn’t answer. He knew I was asking just for the sake of asking. I’d been in the security business once. I’d been tasked with ensuring the safety of high-level government officials. There were times when my colleagues and I wished we could have locked our charges in a vault. There were just too many ways to kill a man. That’s what they were doing with me. Keeping me safe. Yeah, right.
“I need to see my family,” I said, easing my way out of the chair. I did a quick physical check of my body. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
“They’ll be brought here as soon as you give me the word.”
“No. I need to talk with them, away from here. They need to know what they’re getting into.”
“Ryker, I understand how you feel, but that’s just not safe at this time,” he said, trying to sound conciliatory.
“I seem to remember you and the former president insisting on making more than a couple of iffy campaign stops on our tour through Los Angeles.”
There was a flash of that old anger, the fiery temper he’d wielded against colleagues and enemies alike as our eyes met. Then he regained control, his aging body probably too frail to deal with the rush of blood. He grabbed a chair from against the wall and brought it close. He sat down heavily and said, “I’m old, Ryker. I’m old, and I’m sick. I don’t want to die before I know that we’ve handed the reigns to someone we can trust, someone who will fight for what we’ve been fighting for these ten long years. I know how you must feel about your father. He and I talk about it often, and he’s expressed genuine remorse for what he put you through. But this isn’t about you and him anymore. This is about all of us, and most importantly, it’s about those still out there, the ones who don’t have any hope left. Will you let them down just because you don’t agree with your father’s intentions?”
If I had a nickel for every time someone had waved a flag in front of my face….
“What makes me any better than the poor souls you want me to save?” I asked. “Something in my DNA? Do you actually believe that? Do you actually believe that certain people are destined for power?”
“I believe there is someone out there that with certain talents who is willing to work harder than anyone else, and this individual would be willing to put others first. I believe someone like that exists. I believe five people like that exist.”
“So why don’t you round up the best prospects and let them prove that to you?”
“Ryker, it’s not my job to decide. We tried it the other way, and it worked for a time. But drastic times, as they say…. We need this, and I think deep down in places you don’t believe exist, you need this.”
“And what happens when, and if, we find the others? Are you just going to give us the keys to this place and let us do what we want?”
He shrugged. “What else can we do? We’ve built this place to be the seed for the future. Your father and I have done our jobs, and now it’s time to hand off the next phase to others.”
My attitude was still laced with meds, but I felt my emotions rising. I was getting sucked in, and it wasn’t my decision. I had made my decision.
“Let me talk with my family. I won’t tell them the details, but I need to talk with them.”
The president gave me a barely perceptible nod. “Fine. But please be careful.”
+++
When I rejoined Gregor, after another golf cart trip, driven by the president’s daughter back to the viper hanger, I found him digging into a stack of inch-thick steaks. He looked up from the platter, a dribble of fat running down his chin as I stepped out.
“What took you so long?” he asked, his mouth still full.
I didn’t have a clue how long I’d been gone, but I was in no mood to extend my stay.
“Long story. You ready to go?”
He was waiting for an explanation, but I was in no mood. Besides, I wasn’t supposed to tell him the secret. That part the president had made clear.
As if on cue, the Viper’s engines kicked on and Gregor nodded. He grabbed his food, followed me into the troop hold, and we were soon in the air. This time I grabbed one of the Viper’s helmets and watched as we rose above the lushness below. It was probably the last time I’d see the place, and I wanted to make sure I stored the images in my memory so I could share them with the kids. They loved it when I described places I’d been. Sybil always asked about the colors and Andrew liked to wrinkle his nose at the description of the smells. I smiled when I thought about being reunited with them. It felt like ages since I’d seen them.
When we reached the top of the cavern, I could finally see that it was encased by a mountain, a huge mountain. When I adjusted the video feed from the top of the Viper, I saw what looked like real sky, and a few seconds later, we were clear of the cavern.
Now I could see where we’d been. We had been inside what appeared to be a volcano, immense and towering over the surrounding landscape. But while the terrain inside The Fed had been green and fertile, the world outside was barren and rocky. I couldn’t see a single tree on the slopes of the mountain, and the place looked as inviting as an ashtray.
“Where do you think we are?” I asked Gregor, who I could see was also taking in the view.
“My guess would be Greenland.”
“You ever been to Greenland?”
“Just on layovers. I thought it would be more…green.”
I laughed, more from the relief of flying away from The Fed than from Gregor’s joke.
“How long did it take us to get here?” I should’ve paid more attention on the flight in.
“Just under four…”
The Viper rocked wildly, alarms ringing in my ears. I gripped the straps holding me against the seat. It wasn’t like there was a pilot to ask but I asked anyways, “What the hell was that?”
“Engine malfunction,” said a mechanical voice. “Please remain seated and secure your belongings,” it instructed calmly. “Emergency landing initiated.”
So much for advanced tech. Even the best tech crapped out on occasion. What was it with me and my luck with flying contraptions anyway?
It felt like the Viper was tilted to one side, but the bird was no longer shaking. I watched as the Viper descended, not to the volcanic center we’d just left, but instead to the slopes below the crater.
“Sure wish we had a human pilot,” Gregor said. “I’d ask him for a full ticket refund.”
The Viper landed with a thump, the jolt shocking my tailbone.
“I’ll second the refund,” I said, rubbing my backside. “I’m gonna take a look outside and stretch my legs.”
“I’ll come with you.”
As soon as I unclipped my harness the technical voice came on overhead, “Please remain seated. Please remai
n seated.”
“Sure pal,” Gregor said, pushing the button on the hull to open the side hatch.
I stomped down the metal stairs, glad to be out of the aircraft, if only for a few minutes. The ground was as coarse as it looked from the air. Volcanic rock of all shapes and sizes ruled the neighborhood.
“I wouldn’t want to be stuck out here for long,” Gregor said, stretching his long arms over his head.
“Yeah, I can see why they picked this place. A real crowd pleaser.”
We’d both left the helmets in the Viper, but I could hear the aircraft repeating, “Please return to the aircraft. Please return to the aircraft.”
We ignored it and walked to the edge of a rock outcropping. The spot offered a panoramic view of the land below. There was nothing but more mountain and rock. Beyond that the cloud cover prevented us from seeing off to the horizon.
“I should tell my travel agent to book a return trip, maybe for Christmas,” Gregor said, picking up a fist-sized rock and chucking it down the slope. It skittered down, triggering a tiny avalanche of similar-sized rocks.
“You think The General’s ever been here?”
“Nope. He said you and me would be the first,” Gregor answered, throwing another rock with a professional pitcher’s fluid grace.
“Did he tell you who he knows at The Fed?”
“Uh uh. The General’s not much for explaining things. Besides, I’m kind of on his shit list right now.”
“For the Camp Cumberland thing?”
Gregor shrugged. “He said he wasn’t pissed, but you know how commanders are.”
“You want me to say something to him?” I asked, genuinely surprised that Gregor would be on The General’s naughty list.
“Nah. I’ve been through worse. Besides, if being on his shit list means more trips to the volcanic desert, who am I to complain?”
Right then I made up my mind to ask The General if I could bring Gregor in as part of my team. My father had his own plans about how I should spend the rest of my days, but that didn’t mean I had to go along with them. I needed to be with my family and with my team, especially those I trusted. Therefore, if I could add Gregor to the mix, so much the better.
I was about to ask him what his plans were once we got back to HQ, but I heard the whine of engines in the distance.
“You think that’s our ride?” Gregor asked.
We got our answer a second later when at least twelve Vipers came into view, all on line, aimed straight at the crater and us. They were still a way off, but I could make them out, despite the distance.
“Seems like a lot of redundancy for two grunts,” I observed. Then I saw more Vipers coming in behind the others, doubling their number.
“Something’s not right here.”
As soon as the words left Gregor’s mouth, two things happened simultaneously. The mechanical-sounding voice from our Viper blared, “Enemy contact, please remain calm. Enemy contact, please remain calm,” and then the first line of Vipers opened fire at the only targets in sight - us.
Chapter 35
For some reason, I just stood there. I saw Gregor move for cover, but then he turned. I guess he saw me taking a stand; however, I wasn’t. I was glued to the spot and I couldn’t move, literally. The only thing that moved were my eyes, and for a horrifying moment, I watched as the Vipers swooped in, led by their air-scorching missiles.
Gregor was now next to me, and he was saying something that I couldn’t hear. He raised his rifle and started firing. It was like throwing rocks at a tank.
Closer and closer the missiles came.
Then it felt like an electric charge flowed through me, leaving my nerve endings tingling and raw. All of a sudden I could move again, and I staggered a few steps before regaining my balance.
What was that?
At first I thought it was just me, that my momentary paralysis had jangled my senses.
No. The ground was shaking. I watched as tiny rocks danced on the ground, bumping this way and that.
I looked over at Gregor, and I could see that he felt it as well, although he hadn’t stopped firing.
“Got one,” he said. It didn’t matter. The missiles were too close now. There wasn’t a thing we could do. We exchanged a look, and then I raised my own weapon and began firing. Might as well go down shooting.
No sooner had my own rounds begun their pitiful flights against the much larger enemy munitions than I felt what can only be described as a strong breeze at my back. A split second later, something—rather multiple somethings, tore by while aiming straight at the incoming missiles.
I stopped firing and watched. There were too many to count, and they were moving too fast for me to determine what they were. They went out further until the strangest thing occurred. I focused on the closest incoming missiles. The yet to be determined objects that had flown by us and veered in the direction in which I was looking. The first one made contact two hundred yards away. As my eyes swept down the line, so did the smaller munitions.
Two beats later, that entire line of missiles had disappeared. A handful of good guy missiles, if that’s what they were, still cruised towards the Viper formation. Just for the hell of it, I focused on one Viper, and the pilot must have seen his doom coming because he tried evasive maneuvers only to be felled by the remaining rounds.
“What the hell was that?” Gregor asked.
As if in answer to his question, I heard the whine of engines again, but these possessed a higher pitch than the Vipers. I turned and what I saw made me flinch. They looked like a swarm of locusts streaming out of the volcanic crater. There were rows upon rows of cybots, with the closest now flying directly overhead.
“My God,” I said, openmouthed, remembering with horror the same sights I’d seen years before, flying cybots swooping in to terrorize the world.
Some stacked in front of Gregor and me, to the point where I could barely see beyond the cybots’ wall. Left and right they flew, at first in tight formations and then fanning out, firing as the Vipers opened fire. They didn’t stand a chance.
I saw a couple of cybots downed by Viper fire, but the remainder hit their own targets with the same homing missiles that had protected us moments earlier. That took out a quarter of the enemy fighters, angry flaming balls crashing to the volcanic earth on the lower slopes.
My blood surged, and then the destruction really began, the slaughter on full throttle. The cybots attacked the Vipers head on, latching onto their hulls, tearing them open and firing into the poor bastards inside. Some of the enemy tried to get away, and I saw bodies falling to Earth, flailing as they plunged to their deaths.
And then it was over. The battle had turned in the blink of an eye. Every enemy aircraft was downed, yet the remaining cybots continued to rain down munitions in an effort to destroy any survivors.
I recoiled at the sight. There were actual people down there dying. The killing stopped at my recoil, and the cybots flew straight up into the air, ending in perfect hovers, awaiting someone’s command.
“Holy shit,” Gregor said. “Who do you think they were?” Meaning the enemy.
“I don’t know.”
My stomach turned, and I felt the bile in the back of my throat. So many dead. What had prompted the attack? It didn’t make any sense. Death was nothing new to me, but to watch annihilation like that…
Then it did make sense. My blood went cold. I turned and walked back towards the crater, back to The Fed.
“Where are you going?” Gregor asked.
“There’s someone I need to talk to.”
+++
The president and my father were waiting. I stomped in, seething, with Gregor coming in right behind me. He wasn’t supposed to be there, but at this point, no one was going to stop us.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, pointing a finger at my father’s image.
“We had to take certain precautions,” the president answered instead, moving closer. I shot him a glare that wa
rned him to stay away. He stopped in his tracks.
“What kind of precautions did you take?” I asked, again to my father.
“While you were sedated, the first thing we did was test you. We had to know for sure that your DNA matched the founders. That was always part of the plan. The five patriots would be linked by their DNA to The Fed. It will be how you each control your fifth of the resources and the cybots.”
“So, you put something inside me?”
“Yes,” my father answered.
“I want it out, now.”
“Ryker, you have to understand that it’s not safe for you out there,” the president interrupted again.
“I’m not talking to you, Mr. President,” I said icily. “This is between my father and me.” I turned to my father. “Take it out.”
I didn’t see a shred of remorse on his face. He thought he was right.
“Don’t you understand the power we’ve given you? You took out an enemy squadron without even knowing you could. Imagine what you’ll be able to do now that you know how!”
“You make me want to puke,” I spat back. “You think this is a gift?!” I wanted to pull my hair out; I was so furious. “Who were they anyway, more of your puppets?”
“Probably The New York Zone,” he said. “They’re always making trouble.”
“Why were they coming here? What did they want?”
My father shrugged. “I don’t know, but they probably came for food. They’ve had a bad run of it lately.”
“But you have The Ark. Why not give resources to them?”
If a Zone was desperate enough to attack a fortress like The Fed, they had to be hungry and desperate.
His eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you hear anything I told you before? There is a plan, a fair allocation of resources to the Zones. The New York Zone doesn’t want to play by the rules. They want something for nothing. It’s not our responsibility…”
“To take care of them? You’re the fucking federal government! It is your responsibility to take care of those people. But now it’s too late because they’re all dead, or at least the ones whose bodies litter your precious outer walls.”