The Hidden Society

by R. Chauncey

  Willow said nothing for a few seconds then said, “Listen, Karl, you don’t make it to the top of the Society as a Leader without being real smart.”

  Karl looked up at him and asked, “What are you saying?”

  “Julian knew if he was taken alive, he’d be made to talk. So he chooses two people he can depend upon, trains them secretly for a few years then gives one of them the information needed to expose the Society.”

  “That doesn’t make good sense, Willow,” Karl said.

  “Why not?”

  “Marlene Done was chosen twenty years ago by Julian. Why wait years to choose and train another?”

  “You’re saying this other person was chosen out of the blue?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying, Willow. Julian found this other person somehow, someway, somewhere and gave them the drives they’d both need to get into the Society’s information center and expose all its files to the world.”

  “That’s what’s out here?” Willow asked him. He had the look of surprise on his face. “The Society’s information center and all its files?”

  Karl looked at him regretting he’d mention the information center. “Yeah, Willow that’s what’s out here in this wilderness. But I don’t know where and I don’t want to know.”

  “And this Done woman and the other person manage to get pass Dodge and Betty, and kill Betty and wound Dodge?”

  “Exactly,” Karl said.

  “I wonder who this other person could be?” Willow asked.

  “Probably some man,” Karl said. “He’s smart, resourceful, and willing to take a chance.”

  “And they know if they fail they their families will be at the mercy of the Society,” Willow added.

  “Right,” Karl agreed.

  “Which means they ain’t gonna come barraging in here like some assholes.”

  “Right,” Karl agreed again. “And we need to know more than we do know.”

  *

  Dorothy couldn’t have agreed more with Karl. She had heard everything they said. Putting their com-cells on sleep mode didn’t stop her from activating them without them knowing. Karl and Willow needed to know a hell of a lot more than they knew. And she knew the only person Karl could go to for more information was Derrick. The question was would Derrick be willing to tell them more?

  *

  “How we gonna find out more?” Willow asked him.

  “Leave that me,” he said, getting up and walking toward the edge of the hill. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”

  Willow didn’t want to ask him where he was going. He knew Karl would have to make a demand on a leader, and that was always dangerous. Soldiers were well paid, and well provided for with bonuses that were as common as the wind. But the Society had survived for over a thousand years because members, especially the leaders, had always kept the soldiers in their place. And a soldier making a demand on a leader was definitely getting out of his place. And now he knew where the Society kept its secret files. He didn’t want to think about what that would lead to.

  *

  Derrick was sleeping. He usually went to bed early at home, and he saw no reason for changing his habits just because he was living in a camper in a desert. At first he thought the banging he heard was a part of his dream until it grew louder. He woke up with a start.

  The banging was louder.

  “Who is it?” he angrily cried out.

  “Karl! Open up!”

  The answer surprised him. Soldiers weren’t supposed to speak to a leader in such a harsh manner. It was disrespectful.

  Derrick angrily threw back the covers on the bed and sat up on the edge of the bed. He slipped his feet into his silk and soft black leather slippers, and stood up, taking his black and yellow silk robe from the bottom of the bed with him as he walked toward the door. He glanced at the florescent clock on the wall.

  It was ten thirty-five.

  He put on his robe, tied it about his waist and reached for the doorknob

  “What the hell do you want, Karl?” he snapped at Karl as he opened the door and looked down at him.

  Without a word Karl forced his way into the camper, slammed the door, and walked pass Derrick and stopped in the center of the small living room.

  “You have forgotten your place!” Derrick told him as he glared at him with anger in his eyes.

  “We’ve got a mess, Leader. And I need some answers,” Karl said, turning to face him.

  “You’ve got a mess. And I suggest you solve it.”

  “Betty is dead.”

  “You informed me of that earlier. And that is your problem, not mine.”

  Karl stared at him for a few seconds wondering if he should say what he wanted to say.

  “Well?”

  What the hell, he thought. I’m finished anyway. “We have to contact the Council of Twenty and the other leaders. And tell them what’s going on out here. I think they need a complete report of what we’re dealing with,” he said.

  Derrick looked at him with a hard, serious expression on his face and asked, “Are you insane? I’m a Leader I don’t have to report to the Council of Twenty or anyone else. They report to me.”

  “Never in the history of the Hidden Society has any Leader refused a soldier’s request to report to the Council of Twenty,” Karl told him. “It’s the Society’s law. The Council of Twenty makes the final decision on all matter. Every soldier and member knows that.”

  “That law is no longer in force, Karl,” Derrick told him in a calmer voice as he walked around him toward the kitchen. “Now that I’m awake, I think I’ll make tea. Would you care for some?”

  Karl turned around watching him wondering what was going on? Then he guessed the answer. “There is no Council of Twenty anymore.”

  “I prefer my tea strong. How about you,” he asked as he turned on the electric tea kettle.

  “A cup of evening tea should get me back to sleep. My cook always makes me a hot cup of strong tea when I awaken from a sound sleep and can’t get back to sleep.”

  “Do the other leaders know the Council of Twenty is dead?” Karl didn’t see the purpose of asking how they died. He knew Derrick had killed them.

  Derrick opened the cabinet and said, “This desert experience has taught me to do for myself. Something I’m not used to, and I must admit it is somewhat exciting.” He took two cups and saucers out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. “What do you take in your tea, Karl? Milk? Sugar? Lemon? Or do you prefer it plain?”

  “The leaders Turbo and Lighter are dead too, aren’t they?” Karl asked. His voice was calm without a touch of fear in it.

  Derrick slowly turned around to face him. “The Society’ ability to survive more than a thousand years is based upon its ability to change when change is required.”

  Karl stared at him and said nothing.

  “Julian’s betrayal of the Society pointed out that we must change or die. The Society needs one strong leader to make final decisions that will allow it to survive another thousand years and grow stronger. A leader who doesn’t have to ask permission to do what is good for the Society. Three leaders and a Council of Twenty resulted in too much wasted talk and time from people who are only concerned with wealth and the luxuries and pleasures it brings, and not power and how to use it to keep the Society strong. That’s why Julian was capable of betraying the Society. He knew the other leaders and the Council of Twenty would waste time debating his actions if they had known about them, and not acting quickly to prevent the damage he’s done. He knew that by not acting like he was doing anything wrong, the other two lea
ders and the Council of Twenty would do nothing, because they didn’t care as long as they got their share of the Society’s incoming wealth. They would assume he was just running his front businesses, and enjoying his freedom from the responsibilities of being a leader. That’s why he could plan his exposure of the Society and not worry about being discovered. I couldn’t do anything to stop him because I didn’t know what he was doing, and even if I had known or suspected I would have been prevented from finding out what he was doing by Turbo and Lighter and the Council of Twenty. They would have spent days in useless talk while Julian put his plan into action. I understood this and eliminated the others to preserve the Society.”

  “What makes you think the other members won’t oppose you?” Karl asked him. He wasn’t angry anymore because it wouldn’t do any good. He couldn’t go over Derrick’s head.

  “Simple. I control the soldiers. Such as you, Karl. And I will make them all richer. The members won’t give a damn about what I’ve done as long as they are fat, rich, and happy; and they keep getting their share of the money the Society makes. And I shall make them fatter, richer, and happier,” he said, looking directly into Karl’s eyes. “The question you have to ask yourself is will you accept the necessary change I’ve forced upon the Society.”

  “I just remain a soldier?” he asked.

  “The one soldier I know I can rely upon.”

  Karl caught the hidden message. Agree with me or die like the others. Karl knew Derrick hadn’t given the others a choice like he was being given. And he wondered why? But now was not the time to start asking questions. Derrick didn’t have a weapon like he did, but considering Derrick’s power, and the weakness of the members and the loyalty of the soldiers, he didn’t need a weapon. If he pulled out his weapon and killed Derrick the way he’d killed Lawrence, only God would know his fate. And it would not be pleasant.

  “Yes, you can, Leader,” Karl said in an obedient voice, wondering just how much time that bought him?

  “How do you like your tea?” Derrick asked him, looking directly into his eyes.

  “I’d better get back to my position,” Karl said in a mild voice. “No telling when Dodge is going to contact us.” He turned and walked out the door.

  “Good night, Karl,” Derrick said.

  *

  Dorothy had seen Karl banging on Derrick’s camper door and wondered what would have compelled him to do such a thing? When she saw him leave, and saw the blank expression on his face, she knew that whatever had caused him to awaken Derrick no longer mattered.

  She watched Karl return to his position then climbed down off the hill she was on and returned to her camper. For the first time in years she was confused and afraid. She knew what Derrick had done to the other leaders and the Council of Twenty, but she didn’t know what he was planning now. But whatever he was planning it would benefit himself and no one else, and now Karl was behind him because Karl only knew how to obey orders given by a leader.

  As she walked back to her camper, in a round-about way to avoiding the infrared system Karl and Willow were using by masking herself behind boulders, she wondered if her plan was coming apart. All she could do was wait till the killing started, and hope she was still alive when it was all over.

  ***

  Chapter 49

  January 11, 6 p.m.

  Larson parked the Highlander in a spot behind a hill, turned off the engine, and leaned back in the seat and looked out the window.

  “How far are we from the information center?” Marajo asked him.

  “About eighteen miles give or take a mile,” he answered.

  “Closer than the twenty miles you suggested earlier,” she said.

  “Yes, it is,” he said. “But it’s easier walking eighteen miles than twenty.”

  “Think we should start now?” she asked, looking out the passenger window. “It’s dark out.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “We should take food, water, and the medical kit.”

  “There’re two medical kits,” she said. “We should each take one in our backpacks.”

  “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go and destroy the Hidden Society.” He opened the driver’s door and got out of the Highlander.

  Marajo got out and closed her door softly as if she was afraid someone would hear the door close. She walked to the back of the Highlander.

  Larson slammed the driver’s door shut and said as he walked around to the back of the Highlander, “If they’re close by, Marajo, they already know we’re here.”

  “I’m just being cautious,” she said, reaching for the latch of the rear door.

  “I understand,” Larson said. “I’m scared, too. So scared I don’t give a damn anymore.”

  “You still don’t really believe in the Society, do you?” she asked, raising the rear door.

  “Oh, I believe in it, Marajo, I just don’t want to believe in it. I want to be home, clean, and comfortable, and wondering what the hell I should do with the rest of the night. Read, write, or call a girlfriend.”

  “You have a girlfriend?” she asked, looking at him with a smile on her face.

  “Yeah, I had a girlfriend.” He reached into the Highlander and removed two of the backpacks and opened them up. “We should carry an equal amount of food and water. One quart bottle of water in each of our backpacks and another quart bottle in our hands.”

  “What type of woman was she?” she asked, taking one of the backpacks and filling it with food and water and one of the medical kits laying on the floor of the trunk.

  “Beautiful,” he said.

  “Young and sexy I bet,” she said, smiling at him.

  “Sixty-three, sexy, in great physical condition, and hot to trot,” he said.

  “An older woman?” she asked. “I would have thought a successful writer like you would be into younger women like all of them old actors who try to act young.”

  “Only those who are foolish enough to think a younger woman would be interested in a sixty year old writer,” he said. “Why are you surprised to learn I prefer women my own age?”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I guess it’s because I haven’t had a love life since I disappeared twenty years ago.”

  “If we succeed, I suggest you start thinking about a real life. The love part will come along soon enough.”

  Marajo stopped loading the backpack and stared at him as if he’d made a suggestion that seemed impossible. “I suppose you’re right, Larson,” she said. “If we succeed, my whole life will change.”

  “Afraid?”

  “Yes, I am,” she said. “I’ve gotten used to living and waiting for a violent death.”

  “Better bring extra socks, underwear, and pants with you, too, and toilet tissue,” he said. “Plus let’s each take one of these blankets. Wrap it around the outside of the backpack like a horseshoe.” He took one of the blankets and rolled it into a tight roll and strapped it to the top of his backpack. “Like this,” he said. He used the straps on the backpack to tie the blanket to it.

  “Let’s not forget the binoculars,” Marajo suggested. “We won’t be able to see much at night with them, but we probably won’t reach those mountains until day break.” She did the same thing with the blanket she’d chosen.

  “I’m wondering if we should take that electric map in the glove compartment,” he said.

  “I don’t know,” she replied.

  “No, better not,” he said. “It probably gives off a lot of electrical energy and the soldiers waiting for us will probably have electric detectors.” He looked at the extra bottles of water in the plastic container and
said, “We should drink as much was as we can before we start.”

  “It’ll help stretch the water we’re carrying,” she said.

  “Right.”

  They each took a bottle of water from the container and drank half of it then put the unfinished water back in the container.

  Ten minutes later they were ready.

  “What direction?” she asked. The backpack felt a little heavy on her back.

  He noticed her moving her shoulders around and asked, “You okay with what you’re carrying?”

  “Yeah, I’m oaky.”

  Larson took out his com-cell and brought up a map of the area. He looked at it for a few seconds and said, “South. Straight ahead.”

  She closed the hatch and started to lock the Highlander’s doors.

  “What are you doing?” he asked her.

  “Locking up.”

  “For what?”

  She understood it wouldn’t matter if the Highlander was locked or not. There was no one around to steal it. If they succeeded and came back to it, they could just get in it and drive off. If they failed, they’d have no need of it.

  “Let’s go,” he said as he started walking south.

  She fell in beside him and they walked quietly for a few minutes before she spoke.

  “I wonder if there are any deadly animals in the desert?” she asked.

  “About twenty miles ahead of us,” he said. “They’re called humans, and they are the most irrational and cruel animals on the planet.”

  “Well, let’s hope we don’t run into any until we’re ready for them.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I wonder if they have some other way of detecting us,” Marajo asked.

  “Detecting?” he asked as a thought passed through his mind.

  “Yes, you know. Determining how close we are to them.”

  “You got your com-cell with you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Turn it off,” he said, taking his out of his pocket as he walked and looking at the map on the screen before he turned it off. He put it back in his pocket.