The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Trilogy Book 1)

by P. M. Johnson

  “We still need your help, Mr. Schaefer.”

  But the forger didn’t respond.

  “Speak!” After a moment, Linsky pointed at the battery and said, “Again.”

  The muscular man in the t-shirt filled the bucket with water from a nearby faucet and dipped the prongs into the bucket. After donning rubber gloves, he flipped a switch on the battery, lifted the prongs, and pressed them against Schaefer’s naked back.

  Schaefer convulsed as he screamed in pain.

  “Why the S.I. code and seal?” screamed Linsky. “Tell me their plans!”

  Schaefer whimpered. “No time for strip. No time.”

  Linsky said, “You had no time for the coded strip so you gave one of them the S.I. code to help them bluff their way past inspectors?”

  Schaefer nodded his head almost imperceptibly.

  “Tell me, Mr. Schaefer,” insisted Linsky. “You must say it! Say why you created the false S.I. document!”

  Schaefer drifted back into unconsciousness. Linsky repeated the demand but did not receive an answer. He smashed the nightstick into Schaefer’s ribs, cracking several of them.

  “Schafer!” He hit his ribs again. “Speak, you fat pig!”

  No response.

  Linsky looked at the muscular man and said, “Lower him. Give him thirty minutes rest and then wake him. Continue the line of questioning about their destination and intentions. And keep pressing on the S.I. code. We need to know their plans.”

  The man said, “Yes sir,” and waved to the large mirror located on a nearby wall. Another man quickly entered the room and assisted him with moving the prisoner.

  Colonel Linsky reached into his front pocket and removed a white handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked at the damp cloth and returned it to his pocket. He watched for a moment as two men lifted the forger and uncuffed his hands. The wet, battered body collapsed to the floor with a thud.

  Linsky looked with disgust at the unconscious man on the floor. He shook his head and exited the room. He walked down the dimly lit corridor lined with metal doors, each containing a small window near the top, until he reached a door at the end. He rapped his knuckles on the door and turned his face to the camera above. The door buzzed and he walked through. Linsky brushed passed an SPD guard without acknowledging him and hit the button to call the elevator. When it arrived, he swiped his identification card through the reader and entered a code into the keypad. The elevator doors closed and he pressed the button for the fifth floor of the detention center. Two minutes later, he was sitting at his office desk drinking a cold glass of water.

  He set the glass down and dialed a number into his phone. He sat up straight. After a moment, he said, “Guardian Bishop. This is Colonel Linsky, sir.”

  “Well, what have you discovered?” asked Guardian Bishop.

  “The forger made three visas, sir. One of them was a Special Investigator visa. We…”

  Guardian Bishop interrupted him. “Why did they need an S.I. visa?”

  “As I was about to say, we have no indication the S.I. visa was intended for any particular purpose. The forger had limited time, so we believe he used the S.I. code and seal in order to give the bearer the appearance of authority.”

  “And therefore receive only a cursory review,” said Bishop, finishing Linsky’s thought. “If that is the case, the strategy appears to have worked. Find out who permitted that train to leave. We must tighten our training and swiftly punish any deviation from standard procedures.”

  “That’s already being done, sir,” said Linsky.

  “Fine. What else have you discovered?”

  “Sir, we’ve confirmed the identities of the two cadets who escaped custody. We also have a description of the forger’s contact, a woman named Attika.”

  “And the third one, the girl cadet?” asked Bishop. “Were you able to confirm your earlier suspicion?”

  “Yes sir. The forger’s description of her is a very close match. He destroyed his records prior to being arrested, but his description and the camera image from the train station leaves no room for doubt.”

  “Don’t mention her identity in your report. Just say there is a third unknown female insurgent. Include everything else, the fact that Chambers was a spy employed by foreign agents, the two other cadets’ identities, the relationship of Chambers and Brandt, the coordinated attack to free them, etc.”

  “Yes sir,” said Linsky. After a pause he continued. “But if I may, sir, information provided by the Special Forces soldiers who encountered the insurgents outside Frederick will no doubt help them identify the girl.”

  “Yes Linsky. I realize they will eventually put the pieces together,” said Guardian Bishop. “But I want to reveal her identity during the next council meeting with the Grand Guardian. The effect will help divert Harken’s attention away from this embarrassing error of losing the item, your error.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “I have my doubts whether you do understand, Colonel Linsky,” replied Bishop angrily. “You were entrusted with managing the greatest weapons project in human history, but you allowed the top scientist to be turned by foreign agents and steal an object of incalculable value right from under your nose. If his co-conspirators successfully smuggle the item out of the country, the People’s Republic of America will face the threat of annihilation. Annihilation, Linsky!”

  Bishop’s voice grew steadily louder as he unleashed his pent-up anger.

  "The magnitude of your failure cannot be understated,” continued Guardian Bishop. “Quite frankly, your familiarity with the item and the lack of time to appoint a suitable replacement are the only things keeping you in your present position. Whether you successfully retrieve the item and arrest or neutralize those responsible for its theft will figure prominently in how I decide to punish you for this debacle. Needless to say, you will never be promoted, but you may avoid a long prison term or worse if you can undo the damage you’ve caused.”

  There was a long pause before Guardian Bishop spoke again. “Now do you understand, Linsky?”

  “Yes sir,” said Linsky, his face pale.

  “Good. Now get back to work. Update me immediately if there are any developments, no matter how small.”

  “Yes sir!”

  Chapter 28

  Colonel Dornicz ended the call and dropped the phone on the hood of the MPV. “Captain Dreyfus!” he yelled.

  A woman in camo with the Republican Special Forces insignia of a red skull on the left shoulder of her uniform quickly walked to where Dornicz was standing. She saluted and said, “Yes sir!”

  “Captain Dreyfus, I just got off the phone with a weasel SPD colonel named Linsky,” said the Colonel. “He’s on his way here to help coordinate the search for the three prisoners he lost. With all these SPD patrols running around with their panties on fire, I guess they want to make sure we don’t accidently shoot any of them, not that it would be much of a loss. Captain, your task is to fully cooperate with this Linsky piece of shit when he gets here. And by ‘fully cooperate’ I mean keep him the hell away from me. Take him on a few helicopter rides. Make him feel like he’s doing something.”

  “Yes sir,” replied Captain Dreyfus. “I’ll handle him.”

  “Good, now give me an update on our search.”

  Dreyfus placed a paper map of the surrounding area on the hood of the MPV. “Sir, we’ve broken the territory into five-by-five kilometer quadrants and we’re searching each one with air and ground units. We’ve already cleared these four.” She pointed at some grids that had been drawn on the map. “We’re moving on to the next ones. We’ve also placed units at all road intersections and bridges within a twenty-kilometer radius.”

  “Okay,” said Dornicz as he surveyed the map. “Be sure to round up as many Travelers as you can. Those field rats always know what’s going on in the countryside.”

  “Already gave the order, sir,” replied Captain Dreyfus. “We’ve got a dozen alre
ady. No information yet.”

  “Kill one of them,” said Dornicz casually without looking up from his examination of the map. “Be sure the rest see it. They’ll shit their filthy pants and tell us everything they know.”

  “Yes sir,” said Dreyfus.

  “Now, what about the man who’s helping the prisoners?” asked Dornicz, fixing his gaze on the captain. “He killed two of my men and I want him.”

  “Sir, based on one of the surviving soldier’s description, we think he’s a terrorist known as Kane.”

  “Local or foreign?”

  “We think he’s from west of the Mississippi, but he spends a lot of time causing trouble on this side.”

  “Try to get him alive,” said Dornicz. “But don’t hesitate to put a slug in his head if you need to. Take the three fugitives alive.”

  “Yes sir.” Captain Dreyfus saluted and went to carry out the Colonel’s orders.

  Chapter 29

  Logan, Cap, and Lena walked in silence behind Kane. Twice, they heard the sound of a nearby helicopter, and each time they quickly got under their reflective covers. As soon as the danger passed, they pressed on, not resting until the sun lit the eastern horizon, when Kane took them off the trail and found some downed trees. They used the logs and the reflective covers to create low shelters to rest under.

  “Get some sleep,” said Kane. “We still have a long way to go, and you’ll need your strength. There’s some dried meat in your packs. Eat some of it. No one gets out of their shelter while it’s light unless I say so.”

  Logan got under his shelter. He ate a little and closed his eyes, trying to go to sleep, but he couldn’t. His mind raced with the implications of what had happened over the past few days. He placed his hand over the coat pocket containing the small sphere. His grandfather had smuggled it out of his laboratory at great risk to himself. If he had been discovered, he would have lost his position and his freedom, maybe even his life, so it was clearly a very important item. But why did he do it? What was this thing?

  Logan pulled the sphere out of his pocket and looked at it closely. It was made of a perfectly round, smooth, bronze-colored metal. It fit easily into his hand, like a small apple. There were no markings of any kind on its surface. He estimated it weighed about one kilo. Rolling it around in his hand, it felt cool despite having been in his inner coat pocket during the preceding night’s march. It didn’t seem to warm up after he held it for a few moments, either. He wondered if there was some kind of mechanism inside moderating its temperature. If that were true, what was the purpose of keeping it cool? Logan looked at it a bit longer, then returned it to his inner coat pocket. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.

  A hand gently shook Logan’s shoulder. He woke up and saw Lena’s face. She held her finger to her lips, then pointed toward the trail. Logan slowly crawled out from under his shelter and stood up to a crouch. He saw Cap and Kane hiding behind a thick log, watching something on the slope below. Logan quietly followed Lena as she crept forward. When he reached the others, he peered over the log and through a cluster of bushes to the trail fifty meters below. He saw Red Leg soldiers in camouflage and a female SPD officer slowly walking along the trail. The SPD officer was holding a long piece of metal in one hand and methodically waiving it left and right. She stopped. Then she swung it in the direction of the fugitives.

  Logan’s heart skipped a beat. He looked to his right and saw Kane slowly easing his rifle to his shoulder, its barrel hidden by the surrounding brush. The woman took a few steps up the slope, pressing an earpiece with her hand while she read a display screen on the long metal instrument. She stopped and adjusted the display. Then she shook her head and pointed down the trail toward Point of Rocks. The soldiers slowly walked on, and a minute later they disappeared from sight.

  Kane whispered, “Get your packs. We’ve got another hour before nightfall, but we can’t stay here any longer.”

  Soon they were walking in a line behind Kane as he led them along the faintest of game trails. It took them up to the ridge line, which Kane was careful not to go over in case someone should see their silhouettes. As the sun set they reached the edge of a small clearing giving them a view of the Potomac River winding its way to the southeast. A patrol boat was slowly making its way downstream and two helicopters appeared upstream, one on each side of the river valley. They flew past the patrol boat and continued southeast, periodically hovering over a section of the river before moving on.

  “What was that thing the SPD officer was holding?” asked Cap in a hushed voice.

  “I’m sure it was something to detect the sphere,” answered Lena. “It must give off some kind of signal or radiation.”

  Logan was tempted to take it out of his pocket but resisted the urge. “I was holding it this morning,” he said. “It was cool. It should have warmed up a little in my hand but it didn’t.”

  “Keep quiet and move,” said Kane as he led them along the edge of the clearing, just inside the tree line.

  A few hours later, Kane allowed them a brief rest. They all drank a little water and ate some dried meat.

  “The forest ahead thins out and the terrain becomes open grassland,” said Kane. “There are a few farms here and there – some occupied, some not. Good places for the SPD to watch for people on foot traveling west. We will need to cross the river where there’s more cover.”

  He drank a few gulps of water and looked into the darkness, momentarily lost in thought. He wiped his whisker-stubbled chin with his hand and continued. “Deep Pool is about fifteen kilometers from here as the crow flies, but we’re taking the most remote trails I can think of. If we can cross the river tonight and avoid the patrols, we’ll make it to Deep Pool by midnight.”

  Cap shook his head. “With all of the patrols searching these hills, how can we be sure Deep Pool is safe? It seems like they have a good idea where we are. They’re eventually going to corner us.”

  “No,” said Logan. “They don’t know we’re here. They know we headed south from the train because they probably found the MPV in Point of Rocks. But as far as they know, we’re heading southeast to the coast or southwest toward the Southern Union border. They might even think we swung north to Canada. They’re pouring resources into this search and looking in every direction.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right,” said Kane. “But we know they haven’t been in Deep Pool. At least not yet.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Cap. “Been talking to the Grand Guardian?”

  Kane looked at him and gave a wry smile. “No. A Traveler told me.” He walked a few meters to a large boulder at the edge of the trail. “See these marks? Someone put these here less than an hour ago.”

  They looked at the rock where Kane was pointing. In the light of the moon, they could see that someone had scratched some symbols and numbers onto the rock. “This tells how many troops the Traveler saw, where he saw them, and which direction they were headed.” Kane pointed at another set of symbols. “These tell me what path he thinks is clear and what sanctuaries should be safe.”

  “You can tell all that from a few marks on a rock?” asked Cap, looking closely at the symbols. “What’s this one at the end?”

  “That means ‘safe camp’, followed by the symbol for Deep Pool. But getting there is not going to be easy. We’ll make for Williamsport, about two kilometers from here. There’s an old bridge there we can use to cross the Potomac.”

  “Won’t the bridge be watched?” asked Logan.

  “Probably, but there’s no place to ford the river for at least sixty kilometers and we don’t have boats. That leaves the bridge.”

  He picked up his pack and started walking, touching the Traveler symbols with his hand as he passed. The others scrambled to catch up. They followed Kane until they came to a creek that flowed swiftly downhill into the Potomac River below. They followed the creek until they reached the river valley. Looking upstream, they could see the isolated lights of a
few homes.

  “Okay,” whispered Kane, pointing at the lights. “There’s Williamsport. That black shadow going across the river is the bridge.” He reached into his pack and pulled out a field scanner. “I don’t see anyone on the bridge, but I’ll bet you all a hot meal and a cold beer that there are SPD or Red Legs hidden in the town watching the bridge. Probably a few on the other side too, just to be safe.”

  “I still don’t understand how we’re going to get across the bridge if it’s being watched like you say,” said Cap.

  Kane smiled and said, “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?”

  “Not really,” said Cap.

  “Good,” replied Kane. “Quick to trust, quick to die. Okay, we’ll be going into the water. Crouch low and make your way upstream. Your bracers and swords will be okay in the water, but your M-35s should be kept dry, so hold them above the water line. Your packs are waterproof, so they’ll be okay as long as you don’t let water in from the top.”

  He took another look at the bridge with his field scanner. “There you are, tricky bastards.” He pointed to the head of the town side of the bridge. “An SPD officer just walked across the street.”

  “That’s pretty far away,” said Lena. “How do you know he’s an SPD officer?”

  “Because he walks like one,” answered Kane. “All right, the moon has set so it’s good and dark. If we keep low in the water, we’ll be below the crest of the riverbank and they won’t see us. Pray any SPD on the other side aren’t looking this way.”

  Kane looked at each of their faces and smiled. “Ready children?”

  Cap looked at Logan and Lena and said, “We should think about this. Are we sure we want to go this way?”

  Kane didn’t wait to hear what the others had to say. He stood into a crouch and crept to the river’s edge, where he eased into the water and started moving upstream.

  “Looks like the discussion’s over,” said Logan as he watched Kane. He looked at Lena, who got into a crouch and followed Kane.