"You are so pathetic, you know that? Stripped of your powers, and you still think you can boss people around. Well you’re wrong."
"No major. You’re wrong."
I moved him to next to the grave stones, and used my sight to observe him. He looked around, with a growing sense of terror on his face, until he saw the sign, with the shovel leaning up against it. I was finally sick of saying the same thing all the time. Hence the sign. I’d added to the message, just a bit.
'There is no food or water for five days. Choose a direction, or dig your own grave with the shovel. If you choose the hole, jump on in, and I'll fill it in when you’re dead. If you choose a direction, or refuse to dig a hole, your body will rot where you fall. Choose now.'
"You can't do this!" he yelled.
'I already did,' appeared in the sand at his feet.
I've never heard anyone scream quite like that before, and I don’t want to again.
Fifty Five
By lunch time it was clear nothing was going to happen any time soon. The admiral hadn't turned up, there was no sign of food, and it was more than likely whatever happened next was dependent on the major turning up to get it started.
I cast around looking for anyone above, and did find several people in the main kitchen. They had food prepared, but it didn’t look very inviting. I suggested to them they bring me lunch fit for an admiral.
About half an hour later, the elevator came down, footsteps hurried along, and the door opened. Two men brought in a tray loaded with a selection of cold cuts of meat, salad, what looked like hot soup, and fresh bread. One of them pulled a bottle out of a shoulder bag, and uncorked a red wine. The other pulled out a goblet from his bag, and I was presented with the goblet, wine bottle going on the table behind the food. They bowed, and left, closing the door behind them. I gave them the impression the other prisoners were all fed already.
The soup was delicious, the bread still warm, the cold cuts and salad quite adequate, and the wine was a very bad idea. I drank some of it with the food, but sent the bottle to Tasha.
"Come home Thorn," I heard her say. "Nothing good will happen if you stay there."
The odd glass of alcohol wasn’t a problem these days. Five years before, I'd had no real tolerance for alcohol, but after years of drinking my own conjured beer, one glass was nothing. And it had been a filling meal. I'm not sure it was up to admiral's standard, but it was good enough all the same.
The afternoon started to wear thin, and I gave up waiting with nothing to do, moving my pad and tablet to the bed, and a brick of water bottles in the corner. Not one used to lounging around in sleep wear, I shifted into my Colonel uniform, vanished the bed, copied a lounge chair into the now available space, pulled a water out, and caught up with what was going on. Which wasn’t much, so I put the pad away, and went back to where I was in my reading.
An evening meal turned up without me prodding them. And this was fit for an admiral. If they noticed the bed was missing, neither of them said anything. They took away the lunch tray, failed to mention the missing bottle, and again with the impression all prisoners had been fed.
I finished my dinner in a leisurely manor, and sent the tray back to the kitchen.
The walls on each side of the cell vanished, as did the beds and tables inside. I copied the lounge chair, and set both of them up so two people could converse in comfort, with a coffee table between them. I figured I’d be visited shortly to remind me of the deadline for joining them. The cell still looked stark and uninviting, so I added a nice carpet to the floor, and hung some art I remembered liking on the walls.
Several hours later, the elevator started its way down again. I set my tablet down on the table, and waited for whoever it was to arrive. In due time, footsteps stopped outside the door, and it opened. A man stepped through, and I slammed it shut behind him.
His eyes went wide as he took in the altered cell.
"Welcome Colonel. Make yourself comfortable."
"I'll stand."
"You'll sit."
He sat.
"I was expecting an admiral."
"He'll be along in the morning. He expected it would take you all night to reach the inevitable decision."
"No, it was never going to take that long."
"You're ready to join us now?"
"No. I have no intentions of joining you."
"What about your crew? He will kill them you know."
"He thinks he will."
"Take it from me, he will."
"Take it from me, he cant."
"Cant?"
"Cant."
"We have them in the cells further along this level."
"You only think you do."
"The kitchen staff told me they were all fed."
"So they think."
He looked around the room again.
"You're not powerless, are you?"
"No. Whoever thought lead would contain me has been reading too many novels."
"Are you going to judge me?"
"Do you need judging?"
He sighed.
"Yes."
I copied paper and a pen in front of him on the table.
"Please make a complete list of all the people involved in this kidnapping. Names, ranks, and positions."
He tried to resist, but the compel I put behind my words had him reaching for the pen. While he wrote, I asked him more questions.
"What are you guilty of Colonel?"
"I authorized the plan for kidnapping you all."
"Do really believe a military coup was the best thing?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"There's a war to be won, and the civilians won't give us the funds to build enough new ships and divisions."
"What war?"
"The one with the orange devils."
"They're your cousins."
"They're aliens. They have to be destroyed."
"Have you killed anyone?"
"No. But I've given the orders."
"Fine. Finish that list for me."
"Yes sir."
When he finished the list, which covered several pages, he looked up at me.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Penal colony. You'll join some of your superiors there."
"Do I get to say goodbye to my wife?"
"You have your pad with you?"
"Yes."
"Use that. Be quick."
He was quick. As soon as the connection was ended, I moved him to the center of the island. Without his pad.
Fifty Six
The admiral turned up first thing the next morning.
But then, the cell was back the way it'd been. I'd spent a comfortable night in a large soft bed, eaten a really good breakfast, and set things back.
Knowing I'd be leaving soon, I checked the rest of the place out for other prisoners, but found no-one. Higher floors looked like they hadn't been used in years. Which is probably why this group had chosen the place.
The list was on the prime minister's desk, with the recommendation she have all of them arrested for treason, and brought to a single location. I'd actually left them at the foot of her bed, and being an early riser, she'd moved them to her desk. Her aide had already taken a copy.
The admiral when he turned up, turned out to be more senior than I’d expected. He wore three wide stripes. The Colonel's list had ranked him simply as admiral, and his position as 'retaliation fleet command', which made him the boss of the secret fleet. It explained why he'd not been caught up with the high command already. And now I thought about it, there hadn't been a three star admiral in the whole group. Now I knew why.
Once again, entry was quick, and the door was closed behind him, and until he had it closed, he hadn't taken the time to properly look at me. When he did, he found me in full uniform.
Before he could say anything, I moved us both to the desert, not far from the graves and sign. I did a double-take when I saw the sign, as it was lying flat on the ground
. The shovel was nowhere to be seen. However there was a slightly larger than shovel size of disturbed sand, so I assumed the major had buried the shovel. There was no sign of him. A blink later, and the sign was up again, and the shovel leaning against it.
"Shit!" exclaimed the admiral.
"Not around here, but I can organize some if you want it."
"Smart arse."
Two lounge chairs appeared, and I waved him into one. The sun was hot, and he was already wiping away sweat from his balding head. He grunted, but sat all the same. He was surprised, but not yet defeated. I wondered why.
"Whose idea was it to use lead?"
"Mine."
"You read a lot of super hero books then?"
"My son did. But you're no hero."
"I never said I was."
"Could've fooled me. The way the PM was going on about you. Might as well be wearing tights and cape."
"Not my style. Besides, I don’t do rescues."
"You'll wish you did soon."
"But not today."
"The day is young. Why bring me here?"
"It's become something of an office for me."
"You like the heat?"
"Not as such. But a judge should be under some discomfort while judging. Don’t you think?"
"No. The judges I know all like their creature comforts. As do I."
"Maybe they need judging too."
"Am I being judged?"
"Should you be?"
I added as much compulsion to tell the truth as I could. He fought it.
"Yes."
The word was drawn out.
"Have you killed anyone admiral?"
"Of course I have. I've sent men into battle. There are always casualties."
"Ever sent a ship on a suicide mission?"
"Yes."
"Ever killed someone yourself?"
He fought it again.
"Yes."
"Then you are guilty."
"Yes."
"Anything to say before I pronounce sentence?"
He looked at his time piece. And smiled.
"You're too late to save your friends."
"How so?"
"My instructions if I was not on the elevator coming back up within five minutes, was to put a mini-nuke down the elevator shaft. I assumed you would have killed me, like you did the major and colonel, both of whom haven’t been seen since they visited you. It will have gone off by now."
"If you thought I'd kill you, why come down at all?"
"Your friend the PM forced me to retire yesterday. I came home expecting to be head of the new high command, and I get retired. Some thanks for a life of service. I figured I had a chance yet to get back on top, if you agreed to join us, or if not, I'd go out with a bang."
"A life spent in unnecessary killing."
"So you say."
"What of the men working above ground? The cooks? Security guards?"
"Collateral damage."
I looked at him.
"If I gave you a big red button, which if pressed, would destroy everything, would you press it?"
His face came alive.
"To have that sort of power? To end everything with a single finger? YES! I would press it."
I wasn’t surprised. I looked at him, as he slowly brought himself back to reality. But I was actually looking at the place where we'd been held. There was nothing there now but a very large hole in the ground. Emergency services vehicles were beginning to arrive, but they couldn’t get close. There was nothing at all left of the entire base.
"That was more than a mini-nuke, wasn’t it?"
"I asked for what would do the job. If someone overestimated it, it's not my fault."
"Not your fault? For killing cooks and guards?"
"And your friends."
"You didn’t kill my friends."
He sighed.
"When did you move them?"
"Minutes after I woke up yesterday."
"Well, it's your fault those men are dead."
"You're a monster."
"Takes one to know one."
He had a point. And I was glad he was the last one I had to deal with.
Fifty Seven
"About time," said Tasha as we appeared on the beach.
The admiral went sprawling in the sand, since I'd added the intent to the move, he fall face first into the sand on arrival. He groaned, and tried to get up.
Jen arrived like a whirlwind, and kicked him in the head so solidly, he was flipped over, and passed out.
"I was wondering why we'd not seen this piece of shit."
I looked at her seriously, but the girls were grinning.
"And he is?"
"The bastard of all bastards."
"Colourful, but not particularly enlightening."
"Who do you think cuts all the orders?"
"Any in particular your problem?"
"Friends sent on suicide missions. Friends sent to hold a line with no retreat orders. Good people sacrificed on his alter of military ambition."
"So he's a bad guy?"
She kicked him again.
I changed my mind about feeding him to the sharks here. He was a shark. He'd probably eat them. Besides, I had no beef with sharks, and poisoning them wasn’t fair on them.
I looked up the beach, and a shuttle appeared. I made its engines vanish, removed the life support, and ensured it was air tight. I looked at the admiral, still out, and moved him into the pilot's seat. The seat restraints engaged around him, and I made sure they couldn’t be removed.
I looked around at the girls.
"The sun looks good today," said Jen.
I nodded, and the shuttle vanished. The move command had included a push after the move, and the shuttle started moving towards the center of the sun. I figured he'd come too, just in time to find he didn’t have much air left, and with the entire view in front of him being hot angry sun. He'd either run out of air first, or be vaporized by the sun. I really didn’t care which.
"You were right," I said to Tasha. "I should have come back yesterday."
"What happened?"
"He blew up the whole base we'd been taken to. People died."
"You can't blame yourself for that, my love."
She hugged me, and I hugged her back.
"Yes I can," I whispered.
She pushed me away, but held me at arm's length.
"Then go fix it."
"How?"
"You know."
I did know.
"It's risky."
"I know. Worth it."
I stepped back from her, and looked at the others. Jen smiled, and nodded.
"Be back soon."
I jumped.
Fifty Eight
I overshot by about half an hour.
Or at least it was that long I waited for the admiral to arrive. He came in a convoy of a car and two trucks. I watched him from a vantage point as he watched the first truck being unloaded.
I'd already located every person in the area, and now I added the soldiers who were now wheeling a large box towards the entrance. They vanished inside, and I followed them with my sight.
At the elevator, the box was opened, a much smaller device was extracted from it, and laid on a small hand trolley. The admiral stood over it, bent down, inserted a key, and tapped it with his finger a few times. The key was removed, and he went to the open elevator doors. Holding them open, he waited while the bomb was wheeled inside.
"Wait for me outside."
I startled. He'd told me he'd given orders to drop a nuke down the shaft if he failed to return. The bastard had lied!
I watched him heading down the shaft, and at the bottom, he wheeled it out, turned to the left, and took it into the first cell he came to. Door closed, he started walking towards me.
Now I saw what he was planning. Had I decided to work with them, we'd have left together, and the bomb would have killed my friends. Or so he thought. If I’d told him no, o
r killed him, we'd have all been killed. Or again, so he thought.
I looked at the device. I had no idea how to disarm it. So my options were moving it, vanishing it, or leaving it alone. Moving it could have all sorts of unknowable consequences. Leaving it would destroy this base.
I was about to vanish it, when I suddenly started shivering.
"Oh fuck me!"
What the hell was I doing? I’d almost sent a nuke back to where my vanished stuff went, and maybe killed everyone I knew in my first life. Maybe this was why my second life civilization had vanished? Maybe up until now, the course of events had always led to this moment of stupidity, and resulted in wiping away a whole civilization, and thousands of years of history.
Fortunately there was no-one nearby to hear me swear.
I brought my sight back, and started moving everyone to an open field a good distance away. Last of all, I moved myself to be between the men and the base, and put up a force wall in front of me. I didn't have to wait long.
The bomb exploded, and the force of the blast whipped around and over us, but leaving us untouched. Buildings and trees around the now smoking hole were not so lucky, but as far as I could tell sweeping my sight around the whole area, no-one had been hurt.
The men behind me were all stunned. A few of them looked more surprised to still be alive. Some of them started running towards the crater, and I moved myself before they came too near. There were sirens in the distance.
I found a comfortable place to sit, and watched the girls on the beach, until I showed up with the admiral. I winced when Jen kicked him, as from this vantage point, it looked a lot more damaging than I'd thought. I kept watching, and when the shuttle vanished, I shifted my sight to space, and watched it melt some way short of the sun. No engines, so no shields, so heat melts metal. I made a point of not looking at what happened to the admiral, but with no life support, which included cooling, he must have cooked inside the metal shell, long before it melted.
If he was lucky, he never woke up. Unlucky, and his last moments must have hurt. I found myself hoping Jen had kicked him hard enough he never woke up.
With nothing left to do, I jumped to the prime minister's office. She wasn’t there, but one of her minions informed me the people on the list were being rounded up. They were apparently being asked if they preferred a trial and life captivity at hard labour, or if they would much rather go to a penal colony. Would I be so kind as to check in later in the day, to take the colony choosers away? I said I would.
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