From Within

by Brian Delaney

  Marcus and Will exited the car and a cool mountain breeze hit their faces. They had been surprised by their surroundings as they arrived. It was a slightly upscale neighborhood. It was gorgeous. It was hilly and green and full of established trees. All the yards were beautifully landscaped with large decorative rock and well-trimmed bushes. Deep red mulches contrasted the gray river rock. And it was all surprisingly close to the entrance of Cheyenne Mountain. If it weren’t for the thicket of trees, they’d probably be able to see the entrance into the mountain. It was most likely that it could be seen from some of the second-floor rooms of the large homes in the neighborhood.

  The car that picked them up hadn’t been what they expected either. There was nothing military about it at all. It looked like an average family sedan. The man that drove them had no signs of being in the military. His hair wasn’t short like the typical military standard. It was a bit overgrown and might be considered shaggy. He had a few days of growth on his face. His clothes were average; khaki pants and a sports t-shirt. He also didn’t speak. His head was like a bobble-head doll. He constantly checked mirrors and looked directly out the side windows. He made seemingly unnecessary lane changes which actually had a purpose. He was trying to detect any surveillance activity following them.

  As they approached the massive custom home, Ray burst out of the front door. He and Marcus rushed up to each other and grabbed one another for a tight squeeze. They spoke a few words to each other that weren’t loud enough for any of the others that had gathered around. They pulled away and kept their right hands locked in a perpetual handshake. Tears were beginning to form in Ray’s eyes. They both had wide smiles stuck on their faces. Ray cleared his throat in an effort to prevent the tears from beginning to fall.

  “You look like hell,” Ray said.

  “Thanks,” Marcus replied. “You too.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Ray turned from Marcus. “This must be Will,” Ray said.

  “I am,” Will said. “And you are...Private Ray?”

  Ray’s face became grim. He shot a glance at Marcus that could have burned through a solid concrete wall. Marcus let out a mischievous laugh. Ray turned back to Will.

  “It’s General. General Braden to pretty much everyone. Marcus is the only one that can call me Ray.”

  “Oh...,” Will began, “I’m sorry, General Braden. My only reference was from Marcus.”

  “Clearly,” General Braden said. He shot another glance at Marcus.

  General Braden brought Marcus and Will into the house. The inside of the home was filled with extravagant woodwork. There were hardwood floors, wood trim, and what appeared to be hand-carved crown molding. It was an elegant western look. Will thought something like this must cost a small fortune.

  “I see you admiring all the woodwork, young man,” a man with a southern accent said as he approached Will. “Once upon a time, the economy was much more...lucrative for everyone. It was during that time I had this home built.” The man looked up to the high vaulted ceiling in the room Will and the others had just entered. “I’m Matt Madison,” he said extending a hand to Will. “Originally from Savannah. I decided like the great adventurers of old to head west and try my hand at a fortune out here. I had a slight advantage being that my wife and I were already inheritors of her Stainbrook family fortune, but don’t tell anyone. Either way, I was a big construction name in Georgia and continued that success here. It’s not as easy in today’s world. I’m guessing pretty much impossible now that most industries are controlled by a government corporation. Also known as a militaristic, communist, tyrannical nightmare.”

  General Braden approached, “Will, don’t mind him. He’s probably the most vocal and passionate person you’ll meet in our cause. Perhaps more than Thomas Allen, our leader. Mr. Madison has been most gracious to allow us to use his home. We are lucky that is about half a mile away from the enemy. He’s been a part of the cause for years, both in advertising the cause on his own and helping to support it financially. When he found out that Cheyenne Mountain was where all the enemy went into hiding he called immediately to get us out to his house.”

  “Thomas!” Marcus called out, surprising everyone.

  “Marcus,” Thomas said as he stood up from a couch in the large room, “good to see you are alive.”

  The two shook hands. “This is quite the surprise,” Marcus said. “Will and I thought we were coming out here to fight them alone. I had hoped you all had a plan.”

  “Well,” Thomas said, “once we got word from Blake that all the important people from the CMA were heading to Cheyenne Mountain, we started heading this way. We unfortunately only have about five to ten percent of our people here with hardly any of our military equipment here yet.”

  “Oh,” Marcus said in a disappointed manner.

  “I know, I know,” Thomas said. “You had become our greatest information asset. We were getting some information here and there from a few of our other insiders, but you were right there in the thick of it. Anything we found out from others was always minuscule to what you would pass on to us. It’s difficult to plan a war based off of some of that information. The CMA definitely had a well planned out course of action.”

  “It seems so,” Marcus said. “What can we do? I’m beginning to worry that we can’t wait for the rest of your people.”

  They all settled down onto the couches. Marcus filled them all in on his harrowing story of the plane crash and Will and his group finding him. They were all shocked after hearing the story that he was even alive to be here. Marcus clutched his chest and told them that he didn’t escape completely uninjured.

  Thomas moved on and explained the ARF’s plans. Their plan was, unfortunately, to wait for at least seventy-five percent of their forces and assets to arrive before moving against the CMA. Even then, they worried that they could be easily surrounded. The bulk of the manpower of the CMA was still spread around the country in camps and could be called to the area much quicker than the ARF had abilities to do.

  “You see,” General Braden said to Marcus and Will, “we are already risking a lot, from a military perspective, by bringing everyone here. We can only hope that most of their personnel aren’t in it because they believe in this cause of total control over everyone’s lives, It’s practically a system of slavery they have in the works. I think the men they have are in it for the money and security. The economy has been worthless for at least a decade. Everyone is desperate to make sure they can feed themselves and their families.”

  “Well, why don’t you leave it up to Will and I then?” Marcus asked.

  Will’s head snapped to Marcus. “Why would we do that now that we know they are here?”

  “Because we have a fairly solid plan and we can’t afford to wait,” Marcus said.

  “Fairly solid?” General Braden asked. “What plan do you have?”

  Marcus took the next few minutes to explain his plan. The others slowly inched forward in their seats as they listened. They all finally sat back in their seats after he finished.

  “You think you can pull all that off?” Thomas asked.

  “We thought we could do it before,” Will said.

  Everyone turned and looked at Will.

  “Of course, there are the few things we need help with,” Marcus said. “I’d also like to get cleaned up and shave. I think he needs it too.” Marcus lifted his eyebrows and nodded his head towards Will.

  “Hey!” Will said and then laughed.

  Marcus turned back to the others, “You know, we were able to get onto a camp and manage to have them fly us out here,” Marcus paused for a moment, “all to fight them. In addition, it was all after I was supposed to have died in a fiery plane crash and the news had announced it nationwide.”

  The General, Thomas, and Matt all looked at each other. Thomas took a deep breath.

  “This seems quite risky,” Thomas said. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with this.”

  “Can w
e afford to wait?” Marcus asked. “Do you know why all their top people went into hiding in one of the safest places to be in the U.S.? They are deep inside of a mountain now. A mountain that can keep them safe from a bomb hitting it. I can’t remember every place on that list, but I’d say Colorado Springs has a pretty good sized population. They also have a camp not too far from here. I’d bet it’s on the list otherwise they wouldn’t be hiding inside of a mountain.”

  Thomas began to continually nod his head. “I see what you mean.” He sighed.

  “This needs to be done and it needs to be done now,” Marcus said.

  “There are all kinds of military bases in the area,” Matt said. “I bet we can find what you need fairly quickly. Some the people we already have in the area are military from these bases. General, do you think we can gather what they need quickly?”

  “The CMA has taken over a lot of the assets in the area,” General Braden said. “If we can get in contact with our insiders right now, we might be able to move on what we need tonight. Marcus, there’s a chance that you and Will could get going on your plan tomorrow. No guarantee. It might take an extra day.”

  “I hope it doesn’t,” Marcus said. “I really do believe that I am right. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already started bombing areas. One lady was ready to bomb L.A. a few days ago.”

  “Get the word out then,” Thomas said. “This plan is better than waiting around for the country to be blown to bits.”

  Their meeting concluded. General Braden left to start getting in contact with the military personnel in the area to start working on getting the items that Marcus and Will needed. Matt showed Will to a room he could stay in and get cleaned up. As Marcus was about to find where his room would be, Thomas stopped him. He held him by his arm.

  “Marcus,” Thomas said, “you do understand that this will be very dangerous for you, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Marcus answered. “No different than what you had me doing before.”

  “Yes, but now you have a young man with you who seems gung-ho,” Thomas said. “What did you tell him to come along with you like this?”

  “I told him everything I’ve told you,” Marcus said. “Thomas, this guy has a passion for his country and his family. Even his friends. He knows that he is fighting to maintain freedom for his family, his girlfriend, for friends, and for millions around the country that he doesn’t know. They haven’t had it easy out in the woods. He’s dealt with danger. I think this young man knows what it takes to complete this and what risks he is taking.”

  Thomas nodded his head. “Just so you are sure. I can understand sending trained soldiers to fight, but it’s just much more difficult to send someone without the training.”

  “You do know I wasn’t some sort of trained spy before you tasked me with the job?” Marcus asked with a smile.

  “Point taken,” Thomas said. He sniffed in Marcus’s direction. “I would suggest getting cleaned up before you do anything else...anything at all.” Thomas laughed at his own joke. “Whew!”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The military arm of the ARF, unfortunately, could not procure all that Marcus and Will needed to start the next day. They were, however, impressed with what they did get in only one night. The delay gave them a little more time to plan things out more efficiently. Matt took Will to another house in the neighborhood where they took Will’s picture and came up with forged credentials that looked like a perfect match to Marcus’s.

  Once Will and Matt returned, Thomas took Will and Marcus aside to tell them about another contact.

  “Once inside, you need to try to find a man named Jackson,” Thomas said. “I don’t know exactly where he’ll be. He’s been doing similar work to what you were doing for us, Marcus. He has been with some of the top members of the CMA for years. He hasn’t been able to pass much information to us, though. His job is something like a butler...I think. To the best of our knowledge, he never gets to hear any of the important meetings. The most he has been able to tell us is that these people are on the move. There is a slight chance that the CMA is on to him due to the fact he hasn’t given us much information. We think he is rarely allowed to be alone.”

  “He’s been with the CMA for years? They’ve been around for years?” Will asked, surprised.

  “It hasn’t always been called the CMA,” Thomas said. “In fact, we believe Central Management Authority is the first name its ever had. They’ve existed in some form for possibly a couple of decades. They played the long game on this one. That is why they were so easily able to take over the government and the whole country. They’ve been planning that long. Jackson has passed us names of possible leaders and members for the last nine or ten years. I really hope they aren’t on to him. He has always had the hardest time of all of our information gatherers to get word back to us. He works in circles of very rich and powerful people who have always been on top of their own personal security.”

  “So, these people who are doing all the destruction to the country are already rich and powerful and they want more money and power?” Will asked.

  “You’ve hit the nail on the head, son,” Thomas said. “For whatever reason, what they’ve had isn’t enough. The information Marcus passed to us, where it sounds like they are going to enslave anyone they don’t kill off, just baffles us. We always thought they had just wanted a completely different style of government. It appears that was our mistake to assume as such. The world has a history of this sort of thing, though.”

  “What do you mean?” Will asked.

  “The power-hungry stopping at nothing to rise to the top,” Thomas said, matter-of-factly. “Their deep down desire to be god-like. World history tells us that it should always be expected. The United States of America’s founders knew it. They built us a pretty good system of protections. We call them checks and balances. Someone rises to the top and millions upon millions throughout history have died...killed so they can try to maintain that power...that absolute control.”

  Will could see emotions rising up in Thomas as he spoke.

  “Assuming we can stop them, what will happen next?” Will asked.

  Thomas’s emotions subsided a little and he shifted in his chair. “Very good question. I wouldn’t be surprised if this country broke up into smaller countries. It was already happening. People coming together and breaking away into new counties or claiming to no longer be a part of their state. There is such great polarization. We will just have to stand for what we believe and try to convince people that what our founders put together was pretty darn good. What has happened over the last decade and since the CMA took the reigns should be a helper for our cause...hopefully. It’s sometimes hard to believe what people have bought into the last few decades...as far as politics go.”

  Will nodded. He wanted to say more and ask more, but he wasn’t sure of what to think about it all. He had considered some of these things on a smaller scale. He had thought of how law and order and justice should be handled in his small town. How were they going to reorganize an entire country? Were there going to be enough people still alive with the knowledge of how local and state and federal governments ran?

  “I’m glad there are people like you thinking about this kind of thing,” Will said. “I get a headache thinking about how this will be solved.”

  “You better get over that,” Thomas said. “It is going to have to be people like you that get things back in order in your cities and counties and states. The ARF and groups like it can’t do everything in every locality. Anyway, I’ve rambled too much. You got me. I like to talk. Obviously, I’m quite passionate about this subject. If you can find Jackson, he should be able to help you. Most importantly, we’d like you to get Jackson out of there with you. He’s worked hard for our cause for so many years that we’d all hate to see him be a casualty for it. We understand that in war there are casualties, but we definitely want to minimize them.”

  “How do we find him?” Marcus a
sked.

  Thomas laughed for a few seconds and then sighed. “Look for the guy that has the name tag that says ‘Jackson.’”

  “What? You don’t have anything more than a name?” Marcus asked.

  “Not exactly,” Thomas said. “Our contact with him has always been electronic. I can’t tell you what he looks like. I hope that Jackson is his real name.”

  “That doesn’t sound too promising,” Will said.

  “I understand,” Thomas said shaking his head. “Do what you can. We are trying to get a hold of him so he can help you while you are in. It’s not like we are picking up the phone. Marcus, you know how difficult it can be to pass information with conditions like this.”

  “Ugh,” Marcus groaned. “You don’t even know the stories of how stressful and difficult it was to get information to you. Based on the fact that they attempted to kill me in a plane crash, I wonder if they knew I was passing information somehow.”

  “They could have,” Thomas said. “I guess it doesn’t matter now. That makes me wonder, are you sure you are going to be able to move around that facility once inside?”

  “Obviously, I’ve never been inside,” Marcus said. “However, I think the hardest part will be getting in. As long as people think you belong, you can get away with a lot, even in a place like that. You wouldn’t believe some of the places I’ve worked my way into throughout my career in the media business. I’ve done stories on military bases where I was unescorted and didn’t have any official permission to do so. I’ve been in some high-tech corporate labs where they don’t even allow workers to bring their families. And,” he paused for emphasis, “I brought a camera.”

  “I like your confidence,” Thomas said.

  “Me too,” Marcus said back with a smile.

  The three sat back in their chairs to relax. Will couldn’t help but admire the exquisite items that were everywhere in Matt’s home. They were sitting in expensive leather chairs. There were large, real paintings all over the walls. One covered nearly the whole wall. Will’s experience with art was usually reprints of a piece. Another entire wall was a bookcase. Will had repaired a nice bookcase for someone in his town and the few pieces of hardwood it required were more expensive than he thought they’d be. He couldn’t imagine the cost of a bookcase that was an entire wall.