I might miss but he won’t.
Ripper’s eyes suddenly widened in recognition of the older man who stood before him. He recalled the driver of the dilapidated Ford who had just days earlier taken a young girl from his gang and then fled, leaving a trail of broken bikes and bodies in his wake.
“IT’S YOU!”
Rage engulfed the gang leader as he lifted his handgun and prepared to fire. Inside the RV, Sabina watched as the stranger flung his gun at Ripper and then began running away from him.
“Load the rifle, Jackson! Hurry!”
Jackson’s fingers fumbled at the box that contained the few remaining shells they had left. He withdrew one and jammed it into the hunting rifle and then his mother grabbed the gun at the very moment two gunshots erupted from outside.
He’s out of bullets! I have to try and save him!
Ripper stood no more than twenty feet from the RV’s broken side window. Sabina aimed the rifle at his back just as Ripper took aim and fired off another round at the stranger who had taken refuge crouched behind one of the motorcycles.
Ripper missed.
Sabina Markson did not.
Ripper gasped as he felt the bullet enter the back upper portion of his skull just above his left ear. He took two unsteady steps forward and then crashed face-first into the pavement below where he remained unmoving as a pool of his own blood formed beneath him.
I killed the bastard. I actually did it!
Sabina let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding and then stifled a sob that almost escaped her half open mouth as a powerful wave of relief washed over her. She was alive but far more importantly, so were her children.
Thanks to him.
The stranger emerged from his place behind the motorcycle and held up both his hands to show he was unarmed. His saw Sabina’s face peering out from the RV and gave her a subtle half smile.
“Nice shot.”
Sabina found herself smiling far more broadly than she would have thought possible at such a moment as she blurted out a reply.
“Thanks!”
The stranger took a few slow steps forward, still trying to assure whoever was inside the RV that he meant them no harm.
“Everyone ok in there?”
Sabina wiped tears off of her cheeks.
“Yes…yes we’re ok.”
The man nodded.
“Glad to hear it. Those were some particularly bad apples after you.”
Sabina cleared her throat and then motioned for her kids to stand up.
“I don’t know who you are, but I want to thank you for what you did for my family. We owe you our lives.”
The stranger shook his head.
“No, ma’am, you don’t owe me a thing. I was just doing, well…what I used to do in a life that seems a thousand miles ago. I’m just glad to have been able to help.”
Sabina placed another two bullets into the hunting rifle and then whispered to her son as she handed him the weapon.
“You be ready just in case.”
Jackson nodded. He looked ready even as he winced from the shallow flesh wound across his shoulder. Sabina’s eyes widened as she realized her son had been shot.
“Are you ok? Let me look at it!”
Jackson gently pushed his mother’s hand away.
“I’m fine. I can barely feel it and it’s not even bleeding…much.”
Mika looked from Jackson to her mother and then shrugged.
“Mom, Jackson is a badass now and you’re just going to have to accept it.”
Sabina shook her head and marveled at how quickly Mika could recover from such a terrifying experience with a touch of her dry wit and determined resolve. She wished Jack was there to witness how amazingly strong his kids had become.
Mother, son and daughter exited the RV and stood outside looking more closely at the man who had just saved them. He had a short, grayish beard that matched the battle between gray and brown that sat atop his head, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Prominent lines framed an almost-wide mouth, above which were found a pair of deep-set blue eyes that appeared to have been devoid of happiness for some time. Sabina instantly recognized the look in those eyes, having carried a similar pain with her since her husband’s sudden death. Whoever the man was, she knew he was familiar with such emotional trauma as well.
The stranger took a step forward and extended his right hand toward Sabina Markson who took it into her own. He looked directly at her and repeated the same subtle half smile from earlier.
“My name’s Tom – Tom Dolan.”
Sabina found it impossible not to smile back.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tom. I’m Sabina Markson and this is Jackson and Mika.”
Tom nodded once to Jackson and then again to Mika. His eyes then looked over their heads toward the RV.
“Is there a Mr. Markson?”
Sabina shook her head.
“No, it’s just us.”
The look Tom Dolan gave Sabina let it be known he understood the implication, which in turn confirmed for Sabina her belief he had recently suffered a personal loss.
“I can’t believe you managed to keep us alive against all their guns. That was just…just incredible, Mr. Dolan. Thank you again.”
The corners of Tom’s mouth curled downward as he ran a hand over the top of his head, a gesture that emphasized his belief he wasn’t worthy of such praise.
“You were the one who got off that last shot that saved my skin. You’re the one who should be thanked, not me. Besides, it don’t matter how many shots ring out, but rather how many find their mark.”
Sabina felt the hairs on her neck stand up as she recalled her daughter’s dream that had the old silver-haired woman saying the very words Tom Dolan just did. She turned around and saw Mika standing behind her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes searching her mother’s for an explanation as to how such a thing could possibly be.
“Is everything ok, Ms. Markson? Did I say something wrong?”
Sabina turned back around, looked up at Tom and shook her head as her smile once again demanded it make a return performance.
“No, Mr. Dolan, you most certainly did not.”
--------------------
EPISODE FORTY-ONE:
Radio Transmission:
And so it begins, America, our second Civil War. It has been a long time coming, but that time is now.
I speak today especially to those of you locked away behind the fortified walls of our great cities. You sought safety and security, but in doing so lost everything else that matters – namely your freedom and the freedom of your children.
The gun is pressed to your collective heads and the monster awaits its order to pull that trigger.
Who among you is willing to fight? Who among you will stand up from the muck and mud that tyranny has made into your bed and cry out, NO MORE!
They thought to silence me, but I am legion. My voice is many for it is the cry of rebellion, dissolution, forged in the hearts of those who will not bend, nor yield, nor give up – EVER.
Evil has a name and it is Fenwick Sage. We shall turn the gun upon him and see the job done. He looks down upon all of you from his Chicago tower of arrogant contempt and believes himself exempt from your deserved justice.
Prove him wrong!
Make him and all those who would serve him, pay for the wrongs they have committed against the promise that was America – a promise that will one day be kept for all who would call it home.
We come for you, Fenwick Sage…
“What the hell is this?”
Dr. Sage could not hide the fear in his eyes as he looked up from his desk at Agent Rydel after listening to a copy of the radio transmission for a second time that morning. It was Rydel who had brought the broadcast to Sage’s attention.
“It’s just what I said it was, Doctor. It began broadcasting late yesterday and continues to be repeated via shortwave broadcast throughout the country.”
>
“And you are certain it’s the general’s voice?”
Rydel nodded.
“Without a doubt the voice you hear is that of General Meyers.”
Sage closed his eyes tightly and then re-opened them, looking as if he was trying to push away the lingering effects of a bad dream.
“But General Meyers is dead, Agent Rydel.”
The EPA agent again nodded.
“I assume the message was pre-recorded and then given to someone to ensure it was transmitted regardless of whether the general was alive or not.”
The doctor’s small, clenched fist slammed onto the top of his glass desk.
“Why?”
Rydel grunted, willing to openly indicate his surprise at the doctor appearing unable to figure out the likely motivation behind the posthumous message from General Meyers.
“Hope.”
The doctor snarled an overly animated rebuke. Rydel knew much of the doctor’s histrionics were the direct result of his worsening fear the message had created within him.
“That message, as you call it, is a direct threat against me, Agent Rydel! I want to know where the transmission originated from and the person or persons responsible dealt with – immediately! Am I understood?”
Rydel stood unmoving next to Sage’s desk.
“What is it, Agent?”
Rydel cleared his throat, pausing for a few seconds before delivering yet more bad news to his superior.
“I was informed Admiral Briggs is aware of the transmission, sir.”
The corner of Sage’s right eye began to twitch as he silently fought the urge to scream out loud. When he next spoke, the words came out in a seething hiss.
“And who was it who informed you of that, Agent Rydel?”
Rydel’s chin moved upward an inch, an insignificant distance and yet an all too visible sign he felt himself above the fray that was Dr. Sage’s ever-preening complaints.
“Admiral Briggs was the one who inquired about the transmission, sir. It was just this morning shortly before I arrived at your office.”
Fenwick Sage’s smile was a manic grimace as he stared up at Rydel.
“The admiral is communicating directly with you?”
The EPA agent nodded, looking far too smug for Sage’s comfort.
“From time to time, yes sir. He is in charge of the new government, after all. I didn’t think it wise to ignore his request for information.”
The doctor reached across his desk with his left hand and pressed own upon a boxed red button.
“Ms. Green, could you come in here please…and bring your pen.”
Agent Rydel gave Sage a quizzical look.
“Are we done, sir?”
Dr. Sage shook his head slowly as he waited for his office door to open.
“No we are not, Agent Rydel. Remain right where you are.”
Glenda Green entered Sage’s office face-first, looking as impeccable as ever in her white blouse and dark skirt. She closed the door behind her and then looked at both the doctor and Agent Rydel.
“Yes, Dr. Sage, what can I do for you?”
Rydel stood silently wondering why Sage had thought to bring in his office assistant.
Surely the woman’s limited classified clearance wouldn’t warrant such inclusion.
Sage stood up from his desk and motioned with his right hand toward Rydel.
“Ms. Green, I was just conversing with Agent Rydel about yet another one of those radio transmissions. During that discussion, Mr. Rydel admitted to having direct communications with Admiral Briggs regarding the matter.”
Glenda’s eyes flared ever so slightly as she held her gaze for several seconds upon the EPA agent who found himself surprisingly uncomfortable as he fought the urge to look away.
“I am sorry to hear that, sir. It appears loyalty means less to some than others.”
Rydel’s face reddened as he glared at the woman he considered to be nothing more than Fenwick Sage’s glorified secretary.
“You speak beyond your place, Ms. Green, and your opinion of my loyalty means nothing to me, so shut your mouth, woman.”
Sage began to chuckle and was soon joined by a particularly cold and assured smile from his assistant.
“Agent Rydel, I would request caution from you at this point. Ms. Green is someone whose opinion I value greatly. So much in fact, I am now very curious as to what she thinks my response to your disloyalty should be.”
The upper right corner of Rydel’s mouth curled into a snarl as he held both fists clenched at his side.
“What? Don’t accuse me of disloyalty, Doctor. I am following orders but if someone with the authority of Admiral Briggs makes a request for information, I damn well intend to respond! Failure to respond would only bring further oversight from him onto you. You want your department crawling with military? My actions were intended to prevent that. You should be thanking me, not condemning me!”
Sage sat back down and folded his small, thin-fingered hands in front of him.
“Please, Ms. Green, would you share your thoughts regarding this…discrepancy?”
Glenda nodded her head while she continued to stare directly into Rydel’s eyes.
“Of course, Doctor. As you know, I recently completed a comprehensive performance review of Agent Rydel. That review has established him as being a somewhat less than fully competent operational asset to this department. The recent attack by insurgent forces upon the Gettysburg Detention Center is but one example of his many shortcomings. I would also remind you of his failure to capture or terminate the Marion, Illinois police chief who somehow escaped our operatives despite months of preparation and surveillance.”
The EPA agent pointed a finger at Ms. Green.
“Now wait a minute, that’s not fair! And besides, we didn’t need him! The Race Wars went on without us having to use him as a scapegoat. The guy’s probably long dead by now.”
Rydel turned to Fenwick Sage with a face embattled by the outrage he felt over the accusations Glenda Green was bringing down upon him.
“Sir, you know I’ve been doing everything you’ve asked of me. We have an army on motorcycles out there right now armed to the teeth and doing our every bidding! Chaos, mayhem, death, destruction, it’s all going according to your plan! Don’t let this…this bitch try and tell you otherwise!”
Sage’s eyes flashed indignation as they moved upward to meet the EPA agent’s wide-eyed rebuke of the woman the doctor had come to both love and admire.
“I warned you, Agent Rydel. I told you of my respect for Ms. Green’s insights and I find your attitude to be appalling.”
Sage then gave his assistant a warm smile.
“Please, Ms. Green, continue.”
“Thank you, Doctor. As I was saying, Agent Rydel’s field performance was middling at best, but it is his penchant for outright betrayal that I find most concerning. This latest radio transmission is being used as an excuse by Admiral Briggs to push for yet more intrusion into your own authority, Dr. Sage. That excuse has clearly been aided by the involvement of Mr. Rydel, a most unfortunate circumstance that requires your immediate attention.”
Rydel lifted his hands upward as he shook his head in disbelief.
“You have got to be kidding me! Enough of this shit! Doctor, with all due respect, this woman has no idea what it is I do. I’m not going to stand here and listen to her---“
Sage cut off Rydel.
“ENOUGH!”
The EPA operative appeared quite ready to storm out of Sage’s office.
“Agent Rydel, are you familiar with the phrase, the pen is mightier than the sword?
Rydel’s eyes narrowed as he lowered his hands and then clasped them tightly behind his back.
“Yeah, sure…”
The doctor’s mouth widened into a shark-like smile - all teeth and ill intent.
“Good.”
Sage looked over at his assistant with the same smile still fixed upon his face.
“And did you remember to bring your pen, Ms. Green?”
Glenda gave the doctor a faint, knowing grin. Her eyes gleamed with the anticipation of something Agent Rydel knew was not in his own best interest.
“Of course, Dr. Sage.”
RACE WARS: Season Seven: Episodes 37-41: MOLON LABE Page 6