“I don’t know,” said Kurak. “He never shared any misgivings with me.”
“It’s strange how you think you’ve thoroughly vetted a person only to find out they’ve been hiding something terrible from you deep down inside. Then one day they do something monumentally stupid like this.”
“It might have always been there, as you suggest, but he might not have been aware of it,” said Kurak. “Maybe something happened that suddenly brought it forward into the light. Maybe he discovered he wasn’t up to the demands of the task.”
“So we’re all a potential time bomb of conscientious misgivings? Is that what you’re saying?” asked Harken, incredulously. “Are you or I going to have a change of heart? Suddenly throw away a lifetime of work and run across the river?”
Kurak smiled. “No. Not your or I. Like you said, we’re killers. We exchanged our hearts for power long ago.”
Harken gave a light chuckle. Then he raised his glass in a toast and said, “To killers.”
Chapter 37
Guardian Castell threw the military intelligence assessment report onto his desk and stood up. He walked to his office window. The Capitol District, illuminated by the early morning light, sprawled out before him. He looked down, past the Defense Ministry’s sentry post to the pedestrians and cars on the street below. The sounds of honking horns occasionally drifted up to his spacious tenth-floor office. Looking up, he saw a pair of helicopters fly along the perimeter of the Capitol barrier. The Grand Guardian had asked him to increase the number of patrols following the discovery of the Apollo Stone’s theft several days prior. Grand Guardian Harken had also ordered him and Justice Guardian Bishop to cooperate to retrieve it, so Castell ordered more Red Legs to take part in the search, and Bishop cancelled all non-essential travel and ordered a nationwide 8 p.m. curfew.
Guardian Castell looked at the view screen hanging on the wall. He picked up a remote control device and turned it off. For hours, the news headlines repeated the same few pieces of information. A wave of clan attacks had been carried out against developments and towns all along the frontier region while a group of League spies sought to simultaneously sabotage PRA infrastructure targets throughout the country. The worst of these plots, the news anchor repeated every fifteen minutes, was a plan to poison the water supply in the Capitol District, New York, and Boston. Fortunately, Grand Guardian Harken disrupted the plot. People in the major cities and towns were instructed to remain in their homes at night and to conduct only essential business during the day. Intercity travel was restricted to priority-one visas only and all civilian travel to and from the frontier region was prohibited.
Castell heard the sound of a light chime.
He turned and pressed a button on his PDD which lay on his desk. “Yes.”
“General Grier is here, sir,” said a woman’s voice.
“Send him in, please.”
A stout man in a green uniform entered through the office door. He approached the Defense Guardian’s desk and gave a quick nod of his head.
“Good morning, Guardian Castell. I have the latest readiness reports,” he said as he placed a folder on the Guardian’s desk.
Castell sat down and opened the folder. He read for a few seconds and then said, “Please sit, general.”
General Grier sat in one of the two chairs in front of the Guardian’s desk, pulling his uniform jacket down over his round torso.
“I think you’ll see things are proceeding nicely, sir,” he said in a voice made gravely by thirty years of smoking cigars. “The last of the troop trains are arriving in the staging areas, Special Forces Units are in a full state of readiness, and the additional armored units will be in place by tomorrow evening. If everything goes to plan, we’ll be ready to attack within forty-eight hours.”
“Supply depots, lines of communication, alternative routes all in order?” asked Castell, as he leafed through the report’s pages.
“Yes sir,” said Grier, as he once again pulled the waistband of his coat down.
“I detect a note of concern in your voice, general,” said Castell. “What’s on your mind?”
“No concerns, Guardian Castell,” responded Grier.
Castell put the report down on the desk and stared at the general. After a moment, Grier raised his palms slightly and said, “I have an unofficial report from my Special Forces chief, General Pollard.” Grier hesitated.
“Judging from your discomfort, I assume this is about my daughter,” said Castell, slightly irritated. “Out with it.”
“There is an unconfirmed report she was spotted in a small town west of here with the other two cadets. And a known foreign agent.”
Castell narrowed his eyes. “What foreign agent?”
“A man called Ravenwood,” said Grier.
Castell scoffed. “Ravenwood. He’s a mosquito, a nuisance, not a foreign agent. Where are they now?”
“We assume they’re on foot. We’re focusing our search on all routes leading from the town, sir.”
“What about the reported sightings to the south?”
“We are checking those out too, sir, but they seem less likely to be correct.”
Castell looked away from the general and drummed his fingers on his desk. “General, you understand the urgency here, right?” he asked, returning his gaze to the red-faced Grier. “I need every available Special Forces unit in the country looking for my daughter. I can still convince the Grand Guardian that this as a case of misguided youthful energy. But the longer she is missing, the more difficult it will become.”
“I understand, sir.”
“That’s good. Because if the SPD finds her first, or if they firmly connect her to the missing item, my days as a Guardian are over. That means a new Defense Guardian will be appointed. And new Guardians get rid of the prior Guardian’s staff and install people they know and trust.”
“Understood sir,” said Grier.
“To be honest,” continued Castell, “You and I are lucky to be alive because Harken doesn’t want to risk a leadership shakeup so close to the invasion. That has bought us some time, so make good use of it.”
“Yes sir,” said General Grier.
“Find the girl and the Apollo Stone,” said Castell. “Guardian Bishop fucked up when he lost the stone. That would have placed me in a very strong position to succeed Harken as Grand Guardian. But then my daughter had to screw it up for me. If he recovers the stone and my daughter first, he will have redeemed himself, and I’ll be on the next train to a textiles development with you at my side. If we get them first, he’s on that train. Have I painted the picture clearly enough for you, general?”
“Yes sir,” said Grier, nodding his round head repeatedly. “I’ll put everyone on it.”
“Do that,” replied Castell. “Now get out of my office.”
Placing both hands on the chair’s arms, the general pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the door with short quick steps.
“And Grier,” said Castell as the general reached for the door handle.
Grier stopped and turned to face the Guardian. “Sir?”
“If my daughter dies while recovering the Apollo Stone, it would be a tragic but not unexpected outcome.”
General Grier paused a moment then said, “Yes sir.”
Chapter 38
Logan was in a boat silently moving over calm blue waters. A gentle breeze filled the boat’s sails and pushed him toward a distant tropical island. Looking up, he saw large white cumulus clouds drifting along with him like companions on a shared journey. As Logan approached the island, he could see tall palm trees covered the gently rising slope of an ancient volcano in the center of the island.
But before Logan reached his destination, the sky grew dark and swirling gray and black storm clouds filled the horizons as far as the eye could see. Flashes of lightning illuminated the heart of the storm, occasionally leaping down to the sea below. The waters had become dark and rough. Waves splashed over the walls of
his little boat, pushing it from side to side. Logan reached behind him and took hold of the tiller, but a violent wind shredded the sail, making it impossible to guide the small craft. He looked toward the island to see if he could swim to it, but towering black waves had pushed him far from the safety of its shores. A great wave crashed into the side of the boat, knocking Logan down to the floor.
“Get up,” said a voice from the dark turbulent skies above.
Logan tried to rise up, but his limbs refused to obey.
“Get up!” said the voice again and again.
Logan opened his eyes, only to be blinded by a gas lamp held near his face. “Get up,” said the voice. A boot kicked the edge of his bed. The lamp was pulled away from his face, allowing him to see his surroundings.
“Let’s go, boy,” said a man with a thick black beard. “Queen wants to see you.”
A minute later, Logan was stumbling down the hall, still half asleep. With every third or fourth step, the man shoved him in the back. “Let’s go,” he said. “Queen’s awaitin’. And the Queen don’t like waitin’.”
After they had walked twenty steps, the man shoved Logan to the side through an open door. The room was barely lit, but he could see Ravenwood and the others were already there standing in a line in front of a table. Tamara was sitting in a chair on the other side of the table. Logan could make out the shapes of men standing in the shadows behind Tamara.
“Ah, our final guest has arrived,” said Tamara. “Stand here next to your friends.” She pointed at a spot next to Cap. Logan complied.
“As you all know, we Greenspurs are the leadin’ clan here in the Gap,” said Tamara. “We’ve been the leadin’ clan for a long time, and that ain’t easy. There’s always someone tryin’ to knock us off the high perch. Now, a big part of stayin’ in charge is doin’ what’s right for the Greenspurs and all of the Mountaineer clans.”
She looked at each of their faces before continuing. Then she said, “Now you all came up on us pretty sudden last night. Ravenwood and Kane here are wanderers of sorts. You know that just from lookin’ at ‘em. We’re used to their kind passin’ through.”
“But you three,” she said, pointing at Logan, Lena, and Cap. “You three are quite rare in these parts. You ain’t Travelers. You ain’t runaways from some development. You ain’t SPD visa dogs. You ain’t Flat Foots. You ain’t Red Legs. That makes me wonder what the hell you are.”
No one spoke.
“Now when in a perplexing situation like this, a good leader seeks advice,” she continued. “But you’ve seen what I’ve got to work with here. My people are good folk, but they don’t understand much of what goes on beyond these mountains. That’s why I contacted an old friend down in the lowlands who helped me understand just what I’m dealin’ with here”
She looked Logan in the eye, and then she said, “You and your two friends are wanted worse than whiskey, and they were comin’ for ya anyway. I had to make a trade. I’m sure you understand. My people come first.”
She stood and stepped back toward the wall. As she did so, a man in a blue uniform emerged from the shadows.
“Mr. Brandt and Mr. Caparelli,” said Colonel Linsky. “You failed to keep our earlier appointment. I’m so glad I could catch up. And I see we have a new friend. Ms. Castell,” he said with a slight bow. “Your father will be so relieved when he learns we’ve found you.”
Several Red Legs armed with M-35s emerged from the shadows. Others entered the room through the door behind Logan.
Logan swore under his breath. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He and his friends had traveled hundreds of kilometers, most of it on foot. They’d crossed rivers and climbed mountains to get away. Yet, despite all of their efforts, here was Colonel Linsky standing right in front of him.
Linsky took a few steps toward Ravenwood. “You must be the Ravenwood person I’ve heard so many rumors about. I had expected something more…regal,” he said as he looked with disgust at the man’s filthy tattered green coat. “I was told you were some kind of wise man, but you look more like a wild-eyed prophet who wanders in from the wilderness to warn everyone they are going to die a fiery death.” Linsky gave Ravenwood a mocking wild-eyed look and waved his hands around as he spoke. Then he lowered his hands and smiled pleasantly.
Ravenwood returned the smile and said, “As a matter of fact, unless we change the course of events, we are all going to die a fiery death. You think you know what you have. You think it will give you superiority on the battlefield. Perhaps it will for a time. But what you fail to understand is that the person with whom you have struck your bargain will exact a terrible price from all of us. The Sahiradin don’t make deals with humans. The Sahiradin kill humans.”
Logan noticed a fleeting shadow of doubt cross Linsky’s face, but he quickly recovered his composure.
“Mr. Ravenwood,” said Linsky. “I don’t know what you are talking about, but we’ll have plenty of time together to explore this theme in depth.” He looked at Kane, whose face was an impassive mask. He smiled and asked, “And who are you?”
“I’m the man who’s going to cut you to pieces,” replied Kane in a serious but matter-of-fact tone.
Linsky raised an eyebrow but did not appear to be intimidated. Logan realized the SPD officer had probably heard a thousand similar threats throughout his career. Linsky looked at his Red Leg companions and pointed to Kane. “I don’t think we’ll need this one. You expressed interest in killing him. Be my guest. I’ll take the others with me back to the Capitol District.”
Special Forces Colonel Dornicz stepped forward and said, “No. We’re taking all of them to HQ. You’re forgetting you hitched a ride on our chopper to get here. You can ride back with us to HQ or stay here. Your choice.”
Linsky seemed perturbed for a moment, but then he smiled and said, “Fine. We will fly back to your HQ.”
Colonel Dornicz walked past the table and stood face to face with Kane. “You and I are going to get to know each other real well.”
“Lookin’ forward to it,” said Kane.
The Red Leg soldiers began tying the prisoners’ hands behind their backs with plastic cords. As the soldiers worked, Linsky leaned close to Logan and opened his coat slightly, revealing the bulge of the sphere in his coat’s inner pocket.
“This stays with me,” he said softly and winked.
Logan looked around the dimly lit room but could find no evidence of the medallion. “You’ll need the medallion if you want to be sure it’s in there,” he said. “The old woman probably has it.”
Linsky looked at Tamara. “You took a medallion from these prisoners. Hand it over.”
Tamara looked at Logan with contempt in her eyes. She pulled the medallion out of her pocket and gave it to Linsky, who looked closely at it in the dim light.
“Some sort of key, I would assume,” he said as he placed it in his breast pocket. “Dr. Chambers’ ingenuity continues to astound me even after his death.”
Tamara looked at Colonel Dornicz and said, “Okay, okay. Now that our business is complete you boys can be on yer way.”
“Why?” answered the Red Leg. “You in some kind of hurry to get rid of us? Maybe we should stay for a while.”
Tamara smiled and said, “You can stay as long as you like, Colonel Red Leg. Take yer boots off. Have a snooze. We’ll make it so nice you’ll never leave.” The smile disappeared from her face.
Dornicz chuckled and said, “You’re a tough old bird, aren’t you. Thanks for the invitation, but we’re expected back at HQ. We’ll stay longer next time. I promise.”
Looking at one of the Red Leg soldiers, he said, “Take this trash to the helicopter.”
The soldiers led the prisoners into the hallway and turned toward the Great Hall. Colonel Dornicz and Linsky led the group. Two Red Leg soldiers walked on each side of the prisoners. Four more walked behind. Logan pulled at his bindings, turning and twisting them, but he couldn’t free his hands. He looked right and
left, desperately searching for some opportunity for escape, but there was nothing. As they passed a small room, he looked through the open door to see their swords and bracers on a table. Tamara broke away from the group and went into the room where a fellow Greenspur was guarding the weapons.
Suddenly, a lightbulb hanging above them burst in a shower of sparks. Then the next one burst. And the next one and the next one until the hallway was completely dark. The guards began to yell and fumble to get ahold of the prisoners. Dornicz shouted for Logan and the others to be taken to the helicopter. Someone grabbed Logan’s arm and pulled him through the pitch black and slammed him against one of the walls.
“Don’t move,” Ravenwood whispered into Logan’s ear.
The plastic cord fell from Logan’s wrists. He tried to make out what was happening around him, but except for the faint light filtering past the edges of the door to the Great Hall, everything was completely black. He heard a man’s voice to his right. He slid along the wall in that direction and found the doorway to the little room where he had seen their weapons. He slipped inside and groped for the table in the darkness. He bumped into someone. A hand grabbed his arm and swung him around. He pushed back and heard a man grunt. He felt someone’s arms go around his shoulders, then try to push him to the ground, but Logan pivoted and broke free of the man’s grasp.
Logan turned toward where he heard someone breathing. He held his hands out in front of him, keeping his elbows close to his hips and legs about shoulder-width apart, one foot slightly forward. He heard the sounds of fighting coming from the hallway but focused on his opponent in the room. He heard a foot scraping against the stone floor. Logan quickly swung his open hand in that direction and felt an arm slip through his grasping hand. He immediately swung with the left hand and caught his opponent by the neck. Logan placed his left heel behind the man’s leg and took him down with a thud. The man grunted and swore, but Logan was on him before he could get up. Logan placed a knee on the man’s chest, held his neck with his left hand and began smashing his face with his right fist. The fourth punch knocked the Greenspur unconscious.
The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Trilogy Book 1) Page 21