Children No More-ARC

by Mark L. Van Name

  "So you want our last act with the boys to be the killing of hundreds of Tumani soldiers?"

  "No, but it'd be better than watching helplessly as Wylak turns them into jungle fighters again."

  "Would it?" I said. "You think I haven't considered this option? What if we fight? Maybe we'll win at first, but they'll send more troops. We can't leave the planet with the boys without bucking the jump station authorities. If we do that, we'll be starting a war with both the Expansion Coalition and the Frontier Coalition. No, we can't fight them."

  "So what do you think we should do?"

  "Trust me," I said. "That's all the answer I have." And I have that much only if Jack and Maggie show.

  I had to stop thinking about what could go wrong, stop worrying about whether others would deliver, and instead concentrate on executing my part of the plan.

  I looked again at the people in front of us.

  Wylak's transport closed to thirty meters away, settled to the ground, and turned off.

  The troops halted. A couple of seconds later, they snapped to parade rest.

  Wylak addressed the party in his hoversled as one holo team took footage of the soldiers and the surroundings and the other documented the conversations of the senators and the generals.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Gustafson and Schmidt were leaning halfway out the door, watching with blank expressions. I smiled at them and faced front again. The smile felt more like a grimace, but I had to work at it; I needed to do a lot of smiling.

  "Walk with me," I said to Lim.

  She shook her head slightly but followed my lead as we stepped ten meters forward and stopped.

  "Why are we waiting?" she said, her hand covering her mouth. "Let's get this over with."

  "Wave," I said through clenched teeth. I smiled and waved at Wylak and his party. Lim joined me a second later.

  One of the holo team members noticed us and tapped Wylak on the shoulder. Others on her team recorded us.

  Wylak turned and tilted his head in question.

  "Welcome, Senator," I said in a very loud voice. "It's so great to see you again. Thank you for coming."

  Lim glanced at me as if I were insane.

  I coughed into my hand and said, "Do as I do. Look happy no matter what."

  The smile she forced wouldn't have convinced anyone who knew her, but none of these people did, so maybe it would pass muster with them. "Senator Wylak," she said, "we're so pleased to see you again."

  Anger replaced confusion on Wylak's face. He knew something was up, and though he had no idea what it was, he didn't like it. He turned to his party, spoke a few words, and motioned them to stay. One of the holo team argued, but Wylak cut her off. All six of the holo crew sat, their frustration and annoyance clear in their expressions.

  Wylak walked slowly toward us, his movements doing a good job of showing a confidence and clarity of focus that his angry face belied.

  "Still no word," Lobo said, "but we're five minutes early."

  Wylak stopped less than a meter away.

  "Lim," he said. "I must confess that your reaction rather surprises me."

  "Why shouldn't we be pleased to see you, sir?" I said. "We share a common goal: To provide the best possible future for these boys." My face hurt from maintaining the forced smile, but I didn't let the expression waver.

  He glanced at me but remained focused on Lim. "What are your thoughts?" he said to her.

  Her neck and face were tight with tension, but her words came out calm. "They echo my aide's, of course." After a second, she added, "You may assume that whatever he says comes from both of us."

  Wylak scowled at the implication that he would have to deal with me, but he composed himself quickly.

  "No!"

  The cry came from behind us. I turned in time to see Bony dart through a gap between Gustafson and Schmidt. Schmidt screamed again, "Get back here!"

  I heard the soldiers moving but didn't turn around to check on them.

  Gustafson lunged after the boy and caught him when he was still five meters away.

  Bony held up his empty hands, the lesson from Nagy not lost on him.

  "More proof you can't control these boys," Wylak said.

  "I said I'd stand with you," Bony said, staring right at me. "I keep my promises."

  Gustafson dragged the boy back toward the complex.

  I didn't like putting Bony at risk, but now that he'd done that on his own, I saw a potential advantage in it. "Hold up!" I said. "Let him come here."

  Gustafson didn't release Bony until Lim nodded her agreement.

  As Bony ran to me, I said to Wylak, "Given that the future of the boys is what we're discussing, I'm sure you won't mind one of them taking part in our talks. Think of him as their representative."

  Bony stood to my left. He put his right hand on me, as if leaning.

  "This is most irregular and inappropriate," Wylak said. "I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm getting rather tired of it. It also certainly cannot help this young man's progress to have to participate in such adult discussions."

  "Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Bony said. "I hear you."

  I patted Bony on the back, glanced down, and shook my head.

  "No game at all, Senator," I said as I faced him again. "We're here to meet you, as you requested."

  He clenched his fists and tilted his head slightly. I don't know whether my story or my treatment of his orders as a request annoyed him more, but he was no longer trying to hide his anger.

  He faced Lim again, as if by ignoring me he could make me disappear. "Are you ready for the inspection?" he said.

  "No," I said. "More to the point, we see no need for any inspection. You know we haven't had enough time to complete our work. There's really nothing to see that you haven't already seen, so we should skip the formality entirely and save all of us some time."

  He raised his hand as if he was going to hit me.

  I shook my head and pointed at his hoversled.

  He forced a smile, turned, and waved to the people waiting there. When he faced us again, his eyes were wide and his words clipped. "Do you see those soldiers behind me?"

  "They're pretty hard to miss," I said.

  "More than I've ever seen all at one time," Bony said.

  Lim chuckled and said, "Of course, Senator."

  He opened his mouth and leaned forward as if he was going to scream, but he didn't. He tilted his head slightly, blinked, and stopped. He settled back, crossed his arms, and nodded as if we'd all just agreed on a key point. "I don't understand your behavior," he said, "nor what you think it's going to accomplish. Other than wasting a few minutes and making me momentarily angry, however, I can assure you it will have no effect on what happens. So let's get to it, shall we?" He raised his right hand and ticked off points on his fingers. "I represent the government of Tumani. You are holding captive some young Tumani citizens. We authorized your work with them after trusting your promise that you would produce satisfactory results on a timetable acceptable to us. You have not delivered what you promised."

  Lim stepped so close to him that their chests were almost touching. "That's a lie, and you know it."

  He didn't move. Instead, he smiled and said, "It's not my fault that you cannot remember your commitments and are incompetent to fulfill them."

  Before Lim could react, I put my hand on her left shoulder, squeezed hard enough that she wheeled on me, and hugged her as she turned. As I pulled her to me, I whispered, "Stop reacting. It's what he wants. Do as I do." I let her go and said to Wylak, "My apologies for our behavior. We're overcome with happiness and gratitude for all you've done." I leaned around him and yelled to the people on the hoversled, "Thank you all so much!"

  "Are you crazy, Big Man?" Bony said.

  Wylak smiled—a real, genuine smile—and said, "I was about to ask the same thing."

  Lim glared at me.

  "As I'm sure my colleague will agree," I said, "we have a
great deal to thank you for."

  Wylak stared at me for several seconds. "You want to ditch the boys? If so, perhaps I've misjudged the situation and our interests coincide more than I'd expected."

  "Not at all, sir," I said, "not at all."

  "What then?" he said.

  "Maggie's made contact," Lobo said over the comm. "She told me to tell you that Jack said, 'It will be quite something.' She and Jack are less than two minutes out. We'll hear them in ninety seconds."

  I didn't have to force the smile this time; when I felt the huge grin coming, I went with it. I shook my head and chuckled.

  All three of them looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.

  "I'll need to explain quickly," I said, "so that we're all on the same page."

  "What are you talking about?" Lim said.

  Bony shook his head.

  Wylak said, "Should you be foolish enough to consider some type of attack on me personally, you should know that I'm armed and quite confident I can take care of myself for the few seconds until my troops overrun you."

  "Hurting you is the farthest thing from my mind, Senator," I said. "No, I don't want to harm you." I thought I heard a faint rumbling to my left, but I couldn't be positive. "No, sir, what I intend to do is honor you."

  "What?" Lim said.

  "Excuse me?" Wylak said.

  Now I was sure: They were indeed approaching from my left. I turned forty-five degrees in that direction, stepped back a bit, and leaned out as if wanting a better view of the people on the hoversled.

  "Explain yourself now," Wylak said, "or I will have my men remove you and proceed with the inspection."

  "It's show time," Lobo said.

  CHAPTER 64

  On the road outside the former rebel complex, planet Tumani

  The rumbling rose into a roar. For a moment, everyone scanned the ground to my left. Almost as one, Wylak and Lim and Bony and the generals and the soldiers turned their gazes to the sky. Many of the troops pointed their weapons upward.

  "Tell Jack to dampen the noise and announce himself," I subvocalized to Lobo, "or he'll get shot."

  "Done," Lobo said.

  Wylak glared at me. Sweat beaded on his temples. "If you think the presence of this boy will stop me from using my soldiers," he said, "or if what I hear is the beginning of an attack you think will buy you time, you have gravely misjudged your situation. I can assure you that I'm willing to use force." He clenched his fists. "If we end up in a battle, I will personally kill you first."

  My body tensed involuntarily at the threat, but I didn't let myself move. Instead, I held up my hands. "I promise you, Senator, that no one will attack you or anyone else today. As I said, I'm here to honor you."

  "Ten seconds," Lobo said.

  The rumbling stayed low. In the distance, lights danced crazily in the sky as the morning sun reflected off the oncoming metal.

  "Senator," I said, "You and Lim should shake hands to seal the deal."

  "What deal?" he said. "Are you agreeing to the inspection?"

  A ship half the size of Lobo hurtled toward us, slowed abruptly, swung about, and settled to the ground twenty meters to our left. A commercial transport, it showed no signs of weapons. A hatch opened in its side. A giant holo of Wylak, Lim, Bony, and me popped into the air above it.

  Half a dozen other ships zipped into view and swung about similarly, but they remained hovering. Logos I didn't recognize played on their sides as more hatches opened. A few people stuck their heads out of two of them.

  The front ranks of the soldiers circled the hoversled and aimed their weapons at the ships.

  "The deal in which you arranged to save these boys," I said. "Tell the soldiers to put down their weapons; you don't want an accidental shooting to mar your shining moment."

  "What?" he said. "You're not making any sense."

  I ignored him and said, "Lim!" I nodded toward Wylak.

  She scowled at me but grabbed his hand and pumped it.

  "Hug him," I said to Bony.

  The boy shook his head but obeyed. He threw his arms as far around the large man's waist as he could reach.

  Wylak started to push them away but stared again at all the ships and let his arms hang at his sides.

  Jack appeared in the open hatch of the landed ship. A three-person holo team crowded around him. Multiple recorders captured him and everything in front of him. "Sorry I'm late, Senator!" he said. He leaned back for a second, said, "Bring in the others!" and faced us again. "Senator, Ms. Lim, young man: Hold that pose for a few more seconds, please."

  "Let go of me," Wylak said quietly, his lips barely moving.

  I turned my back to Jack and said, "You don't want them to do that, Senator."

  Jack and the holo team stepped out of his ship. The other vessels jockeyed for landing areas as they settled to the ground in the cleared area behind him.

  "Just a minute, folks!" Jack said. His amplified voice filled the air as he smiled and waved at all the ships.

  He ran to us, clapped Wylak on the back, and leaned in so only we could hear him. "Go with it, Senator, and you'll end up a hero. Fight it, and you'll only look bad—and I'll still keep praising you."

  Wylak opened his mouth to speak, but Jack turned and walked away from us. Jack positioned himself three meters in front of Wylak. He motioned two of his recording team to his left, where there was more free space, and one to his right.

  Hatches in the other ships opened. Men and women streamed out of them and ran toward us. Logo-based credentials scrolled and blinked and flashed and danced on activefiber shirts and hats. Several people wore old-fashioned badges and carried faux notepads with pens I doubted they had any clue how to use. I recognized the logos of three major newstainment megacorps that served the Expansion Coalition and two that worked the Frontier Coalition planets. Both fed off-planet news to many Tumani outlets, so the story should hit the local media before Wylak or any of his people could try to spin it; Jack had done an excellent job. Other familiar logos included those of several green activist groups no doubt seeking the "save the planet" angle to the story, a couple of EC financial management firms figuring that every new foundation brought with it a new money-management opportunity, and three different religious conglomerates that actually might be trying to help. Woven through the crowd like dull support threads in a light-emitting jacket were at least half a dozen men and women with unfamiliar logos that all featured children in various poses of distress; either Jack had tapped into a set of related cause-groups that were new to me, or they were shills he'd paid to bulk out the crowd and get us more off-planet media coverage. Either would work for me. A tall thin woman with brown hair that fell in a straight line to her waist sported a rotating holo badge with "Pets 4 Life" wrapped over a small globe across which cats and dogs and ducks and creatures I didn't recognize ran rapidly. She had a pair of Basset Hounds on a bifurcated leash; each dog wore brown leather goggles with large black BassetCam trademark symbols.

  I had to give Jack credit: He'd delivered the size crowd we'd needed, and as best I could tell, he'd done it without ever alerting the Tumani media. I hoped that Wylak wasn't studying the individual reporters and newstainment personalities as closely as I was. I checked him: He was whispering and glancing back at his hoversled.

  Standing next to the Basset woman was a tall woman who looked like Maggie but with short, black hair. She made eye contact with me, tilted her head toward the hounds, rolled her eyes, winked, and faded backward until I couldn't see her face again. It was definitely Maggie.

  "The Senator's willing to have me answer a few questions right now," Jack said to the people in front of him, "but only a few before we move inside."

  When the first people had closed to within two meters of him, Jack held up his hands and said, "Please, give us some room. After all, we don't want to force the Senator to have all these soldiers protect him from us." He smiled. All the shills laughed on cue. Others in the crowd chuckled a moment later.
<
br />   At least two dozen people signaled they had questions, but one voice rang out. "Senator, why so many soldiers?" It was Maggie; I could no longer see her in the crowd, but it was definitely her voice.

  Holo crews leaned closer and held recorders above their heads.

  Jack nodded, his expression thoughtful. "That's an excellent question," he said, the ship amplifying his voice so everyone in the area could hear it. "Senator Wylak could have sent the transport craft on their own—" Jack paused and pointed above and behind the other ships, where two huge vessels floated toward us, "—but they would have been at risk of attack from the rebels, who have recently been quite active in this area. By bringing all these troops, he insured the safety of those ships and, more importantly, of the boys who are and were his primary concern." He smiled broadly. "Next?"

  "Why the comm blackout over the area?" a woman on the far left asked.

  Jack faced her. "Though I was obviously able to persuade the Senator to let us see the evacuation of the boys, he wisely insisted that we keep the news under wraps until the last minute, so that the rebels could not learn of the move. That's also why no Tumani media outlets are here; the rebels have contacts everywhere."

  A man's voice I didn't recognize said, "Why won't Senator Wylak answer us himself?"

  "He will," Jack said, "but as you can probably tell from my earlier comment and from the look on his face, the Senator didn't call this conference. He didn't want it at all. Isn't that right, Senator?" Jack glanced at Wylak, who glowered for a moment, forced a smile, and nodded. "No, I was the one who insisted on it. When his foundation, ChildSave, hired me to document the sad story of these boys, I agreed on the condition that we publicize its great work so that others could learn from it and, we all hope, one day emulate it. What the Senator and his team are doing here is simply too important to stay private. That said, when we move inside, the Senator will answer your questions personally."

  "Then let's go!" another voice said.

  "We certainly will," Jack said, "but I wanted us to begin here so you would all have a full appreciation of the obstacles this project faced. Look around." Jack spun slowly, his arms out, his face concerned and a bit sad. "This compound sits in the middle of a huge clearing teeming with mines, each of them a danger to current and future generations. Only in these small, cleaned areas are we safe. In the forest beyond this clearing, armed rebels prowl—the same rebels who forced these hundreds of young men to become soldiers. Tumani is not a rich planet. With the drain of the war on its citizens, its government, and its economic resources, the massive investment necessary to retrain and reintegrate these children would have been a huge burden." He shook his head for a moment. His eyes filled with tears.