Marcus gave her a hug as she arrived. Something about the way Ava was acting just wasn’t sitting right with him. He also wondered why she was here and not back at the camp. He was sure that everyone from WWNL would probably still be there. There wouldn’t be any plans to drop bombs on a CMA camp.
Marcus stepped back. “Why are you here, Ava?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“As far as I knew, it was only the top CMA staff that came here for an important meeting,” Marcus said.
She seemed dumbstruck.
“Well...why are you here?” Ava asked.
Marcus was quicker on his feet than she was. “I have other duties with the CMA that you wouldn’t know about.”
Ava burst out in laughter. It almost started to sound maniacal after she continued for so long. Marcus was puzzled. He turned to Will. He and Will both shrugged their shoulders at the same time. Ava eventually calmed back down.
“Oh Marcus,” she said, “there is so much that goes right over your head that you miss.”
Marcus tried to be persistent. “You can talk to Anthony. He’ll confirm it.”
“You are a very good liar,” Ava said. “You just don’t know who you are lying to.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes towards Ava. He studied her. He looked into her eyes. Did she have a much larger role in the CMA than he knew about? She did seem to be absent quite a bit once they moved to the CMA camp. Marcus did plenty of the newscasts without her. He was never really given a concrete reason why she wasn’t around.
Marcus drew in a deep breath. “Who am I lying to, Ava?”
As Ava opened her mouth to answer, a group of four armed security guards quickly rounded the corner. Their guns were drawn and aimed right at Will and Marcus. Ava stepped backward and up against the wall. She gave Marcus a closed mouth smile and held up a small black device. Marcus looked back at Ava. It must have been some sort of communication device that worked inside the mountain.
“It means nothing to you at this point,” Ava said as the guards seized Marcus and Will.
*****
Marcus and Will sat side by side on the one bench against the wall in a cold, gray jail cell. The only other items in the cell were a small, metal sink that was attached to the wall next to a toilet. The sink looked dirty and rusty and had an annoying continuous drip. The bench they sat on was solid wood. It was probably meant as a bed as well and there was absolutely no padding on it. They both hadn’t spoken much since being captured. Marcus was racking his brain trying to figure how Ava played into all of this. Had she just been in the right place at the right time to get some sort of position with the CMA? Marcus wondered if he had never spoken about the reasons behind the poor state of the country on national news if he would have some position like Ava did. Who was he kidding? He had no desire to have any position in the CMA. He would feel like he sold his soul if he tried to climb their ladder of power.
Will was defeated and depressed. He sat with his head lowered into hands. Would he ever get to see Lea again? He didn’t think so. He thought back to their last conversation before he trekked off down the mountain with Marcus. Why didn’t he just tell her then that he loved her? What was he waiting for? He knew the country wasn’t going to instantly return to what it had been before. He shook his head and continued to stare down at the floor.
They both wondered if leaving them here alone for a long time was a part of a psychological mind game. Both Marcus and Will had heard that was sometimes used in police interrogations. A suspect would think too much with all the time they had and then talk more easily after someone finally arrived.
Will finally broke the silence in between them.
“Well,” Will said as he raised his head up, “how many cities do you think they’ve bombed by now?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Marcus said. “Dozens I’m sure...at a minimum.”
“I sure hope the Oakhurst area is spared,” Will said. “I think the worst part of all this is when I think of what it will do to my mom and Lea...me never coming home. I can’t stand to think of what they will go through. I just hope they will all be able to take care of themselves and survive.”
“And to think, Marcus, you had the chance to be on the correct side of all this,” a man’s voice said.
Will and Marcus were startled. They turned from each other and saw two dark figures standing outside of their prison cell.
“I recognize that voice,” Marcus said. “Who’s there?” His voice was filled with anger.
Marcus stood from the bench and rushed to the bars. The two figures stood across from him against the opposite wall. They were still concealed in shadows. They appeared to have their arms linked together at their elbows. Marcus squinted into the darkness. They stepped forward out of the shadows.
It took Marcus a few moments to register who he was looking at.
“You!?” Marcus said as he took a step back from the bars.
Marek Dominski, the billionaire businessman, was standing in front of him with Ava hanging on his arm. Marek was someone Marcus considered more than just some acquaintance. He had interviewed Marek many times over the years. He was considered a hero because his success in business was one of the only things that had prevented the poor economy from completely crashing to rock-bottom. Ava...of course, her boyfriend in the financial district.
“Marcus,” Dominski said. “this is definitely an interesting surprise.”
“Why are you doing all of this?” Marcus asked.
“I assume you are referring to the bombings,” Dominski said. “Of course that would be your question. You see Marcus, this world we live in, this current civilization is broken. If you look to the past, there were civilizations that lasted for thousands of years. It all has to do with organized control.”
Marcus interrupted him, “You are killing millions of people.”
Marek looked at Marcus in the cell for a moment before continuing. “Sometimes sacrifices need to be made when you start thinking in the long-term, Marcus,” Dominski said. A smug grin formed on his face. “Now, more importantly, why are you two here?”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lewis guided his truck through the last section of trees and turned onto the trail. The day before, Alejandro had mustered the energy for the twenty-mile round trip hike to search Beth’s property again. This time, he searched the inside of the house and only found evidence of activity from days before. Nothing gave him the indication that someone had been there too recently. He did the same at Lewis’s property. He had walked along the main road one last time as well to get a view of the other couple of properties that were along the road. He thought he couldn’t be too careful. This group was obviously willing to kill in their search to steal other people’s supplies. They had discussed it upon Alejandro’s return and concluded that they must have run out of places to ransack and moved on to another town. It was time to return home.
It took about an hour to navigate down the rough four-wheeling trail and arrive at Lewis’s. On the drive down, they had decided that Lewis’s house would be where they all lived for now. They still worried about the possibility of the group returning and it seemed most likely that they’d return to Beth’s. Plus, Lewis’s crops went untouched by the large group’s vehicles and tents.
After unpacking the bed of the truck and getting settled in Lewis’s house, Beth, Alejandro, Juana, and Lea decided they should make a trip back to Beth’s house and hopefully be able to salvage some of their things there.
Beth and Lea both seemed to be on edge ever since Will took off with Marcus. They understood, but at the same time, they both couldn’t believe he would leave them behind like that. For Beth, she sometimes still thought of Will as her little boy. She knew better, but couldn’t help it sometimes. Lea too easily descended into her anxiety attacks. Will had become a steadying anchor for her and now he was gone. She almost didn’t know what to do with herself if she had any free time.
Ale
jandro made sure everyone still had weapons on them. Lewis laughed when he found out his fuel went untouched. He refueled his truck and lent it for their short journey to Beth’s. If they were able to recover any of their things, the truck would make the trip back to Lewis’s much easier.
Beth drove and Alejandro sat in the passenger seat with a rifle sitting partway out of the window. Lea and Juana sat in the back. They arrived after a few minutes and all started to get out of the truck. Without any warning, a helicopter passed low over the trees and then directly over the house. The sound must have been muffled enough by the trees and its low-flying altitude for them to not hear it until it was right upon them. The helicopter climbed slightly as it made a wide arc around them. It descended in a clear area and touched down.
“I bet that’s Will!” Lea yelled over the loud whine of the turbine engines and still-rotating helicopter blades.
She took off full speed towards the helicopter. Alejandro hadn’t gotten all the way out of the truck yet and tried yelling to his daughter. He had to pull his rifle out of the window before opening the door. A couple of soldiers stepped out of the side door of the helicopter. They were in all black garb. They looked like they were a special forces unit or possibly S.W.A.T. They all held rifles at half ready. Alejandro could see the two men yell something to Lea as she approached. The noise was too great and Alejandro was too far away to be able to hear it. Alejandro started towards the helicopter. He thought for a moment that Lea might be correct and they were bringing Will back home.
All of a sudden, the two soldiers took Lea by her arms and took her into the helicopter. Alejandro started sprinting towards them. The two soldiers took aim at Alejandro from inside the helicopter and he immediately stopped, nearly tripping. He threw his hands up in the air in surrender and dropped down low to the ground. Wave after wave of turbulent air from the helicopter’s rotors blasted his face. The two men never fired. The helicopter engines wound up higher in pitch and it took off. Dust stung Alejandro’s eyes as he kept them stuck on the helicopter. The soldier at the door kept his gun trained on Alejandro as the helicopter passed above the trees and disappeared out of sight.
The whole situation took place in maybe a minute or so. Quiet returned to the area. Beth and Juana ran up to Alejandro. Juana was wailing for her taken daughter.
“What just happened?” Juana cried out. “What do we do?”
Alejandro was in shock and full of confusion. He still knelt on the ground staring at the point above the trees where his daughter just disappeared, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.
Chapter Forty
Marcus was fuming. His world had just been rocked. Marek Dominski, a man he considered a friend, was behind the Central Management Authority. Marcus realized it meant that Dominski was behind the attempt on his life. He babbled on about the country and the entire world needing to return to a more structured method of governing. He said that he was sure the country became so divided by the freedoms people were given. Marcus eventually decided to keep his mouth shut. Perhaps not talking would save him. From Marcus's perspective, Dominski was an already powerful person that was hell-bent on gaining ultimate power. The model that the CMA was acting out proved his theory.
Dominski tried all he could to find out why Marcus and this random other young man were here in Cheyenne Mountain. Were they trying to stop the bombings? Were they trying to survive the bombings? Marcus and Will kept quiet. Dominski became visually upset at their silence. Ava screamed curses at them. Dominski told them they would regret their decision and then they were left alone again in the cold cell.
Hours upon hours had passed. They weren’t quite sure how long they were in the cell. It could have been a whole day for all they knew. They took turns getting whatever sleep they could on the uncomfortable bench. At times they were both awake, they had discussed in whispers the fact that it seemed the explosives went undiscovered. They had been captured with a detonator and a spool of wire sitting at their feet. Did the guards simply rush them off and not even check into what they had been doing? Had Ava completely missed it as well? She saw them both kneeling down working on something. She must have been more focused on the fact that Marcus was alive in order to blank that from her memory.
A door opened and the hallway in front of the cell brightened temporarily as light from another room was let in. The door shut behind two men that walked up to the cell door. They retrieved Will and left Marcus behind. Marcus slumped back onto the bench. He had an overwhelming sense of guilt come over him. This young man, Will, could still be safe in the woods if it hadn’t been for Marcus dragging him along. Maybe he should have died in the plane crash. He placed his face down into his hands and wept for the first time in a long time.
*****
Will had a growing feeling of fear and anxiety building up inside of him. He tried to hide the feelings and appear brave to the two men that held him by his arms and guided him through the maze of hallways and up a set of stairs to a second level. They brought him into what looked like an interrogation room. It was a dull tan colored room, floor included. A single metal table sat in the center of the room with a few chairs sitting around it. Another few chairs sat along the wall by the door. They forced Will to sit down at the table. The men tied his hands behind him and secured him to the chair. Afterward, they walked out of the room. To his right, a large mirror was built into the wall. Will was sure that it had to be a piece of one way privacy glass.
The man that Marcus had told him was Marek Dominski walked into the room. Will only slightly recognized him. Marcus had expected that Will should know much more about the billionaire. Dominski sat directly across from Will.
“Mr. Richards, is it?” Dominski asked.
Will remained silent. He still tried to hide his fear. He shifted slightly in his seat and looked off somewhere beyond Dominski.
“Will,” Dominski said, “I think you are going to want to cooperate with me. What are you and Marcus doing here?”
Will kept up the stubborn act.
“I would talk to Marcus, but his anger for me seems to not allow civilized conversation at the moment,” Dominski said. He paused for a few moments hoping Will would finally give in and start talking. “I see that you are taking too many cues from Marcus. The man might have been a well-known and trusted name in news, but you should soon understand that whatever delusions he’s put in your head are just that...delusions. Is his one-man fight against the inevitable worth joining, Will? Are you really willing to put your life at risk? Are you willing to put...Lea’s life at risk?”
Will’s eyes shot open wide and he snapped his head towards Dominski. The stubborn, silent look on his face disappeared. His skin reddened as anger boiled up inside him. At the same time, he was also slightly confused. How did he know about Lea? The confusion must have been revealed on his face.
“You do recall that you were speaking about Oakhurst and Lea before I came to talk to Marcus,” Dominski said as an evil grin formed on his face. “I was standing right in from of you two. It doesn’t take too long for an organization like mine to figure out where you lived...where Lea was hiding out.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Will said. “If you do anything to her or any of my family-”
Dominski cut him off, “What? What do you think you could do to me?” He lifted his arm closest to the one-way glass and twirled his forefinger around a couple of times.
A bright light was switched on in the adjacent room which revealed the view through the one-way glass. Lea sat in a chair in a room similar to the one he was in. She was watching through the glass with tears continuously streaming down her cheeks. Will could tell she had been crying for a long time due to the puffiness surrounding her eyes.
Will struggled against his tied hands that were also tied to the chair. He was attempting to stand but the bindings wouldn’t allow him to do so. Dominski twirled his finger again. Will had been so focused on Lea that he hadn’t seen the guard in the room. The man wa
lked over to a switch on the wall and Will’s view through the mirrored glass was cut off.
“I’m going to make this decision easy for you now,” Dominski said. “You are going to tell me what you two are doing here and who, if anyone, you are working with. The Liberty Army? The American Rights Foundation?”
Will’s face must have given away something when Dominski mentioned the ARF.
“That’s right,” Dominski said, “I know all about these stupid little groups. I’ll assume you are working with one of those two. Those are the two largest. I couldn't imagine any of the small-time militia groups could figure out how to get inside here. After you tell me everything I want to know, I will spare you by letting you and your precious Lea go to one of my camps. They are such nice and homey places to live. Quite quaint. You’ll both have to work, of course. It’ll probably be different camps. I’ll be honest, you will probably never see her again.”
Will couldn’t believe how arrogant this man was. How did Marcus ever consider him a friend?
“The alternative,” Dominski said as he pounded a single fist down on the table, “is that you get to watch me, personally, kill your girlfriend over there.” He pointed to the glass. “I’ll make sure it’s a painful death. Then, I’m not going to kill you. You heard me correctly. I won’t kill you. That’d be too easy, wouldn’t it? You’ll be sent to a camp in, let’s say, a remote and barren part of North Dakota. We can have you dig trenches in the frozen ground for absolutely no reason at all and then fill them back up again. All the while, you get to relive your decision to blindly follow Marcus and let Lea die.”
There was spit flying from Dominski’s mouth as his emotions were erupting. Will was beginning to see this man as a psychopath. Although that was already obvious from what he was doing to the country. Will’s anger and rage matched what he saw in Dominski, but what could he do? Dominski had all the upper hands. Will was just some idiot tied to a chair. He had nothing. No cards up his sleeves. In fact, at this point, he had no cards at all. His mind was racing trying to figure a way out. He couldn’t come up with anything. The only two options that he had been given were both horrible. Of course he would choose the one that kept Lea alive. Either way, he was beginning to think the last time he would see her already happened a minute ago. The view of her through the glass crying would be stuck in his head forever.
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