“Oh, you fucked up now, old man.” Cole took a stance.
The calm man just looked at him, and pointed toward the south as though to say, “Go!”
Even without her inner sight turned on, Jenny could see Cole had some kind of power. As he did strange strikes in the air, she could see an aura form around his fists. She wasn’t sure anyone else could see it, they weren’t even looking at him. Fast as lightning, Cole lunged at the homeless man, who turned on the spot, spinning low and knocking Cole’s feet out from under him. The move was so fast, that Cole was still in the air when the homeless man drove a heel kick down into the Cole’s back, driving him into the dirt. The audible sound of crushed bone was only drowned out by the thud and exhale of Cole’s last breath.
The homeless man was again calm, as he stood in the same place, position and posture as he had to begin each round of this fight. He again pointed south, but this time, the remaining four men ran. They ran as fast as they could in the direction that the homeless man had pointed. After they were out of earshot, and sight, the man waved to Jenny to follow and began walking up the path. Jenny did her best to follow.
“Sir?” She called out, but he didn’t turn around. “Sir, what is your name? I just want to thank you.”
The man turned, and nodded as if to accept the thanks, but said nothing. Jenny continued, “My legs are so tired, I am having a hard time keeping up.”
The man looked at her and nodded, then turned and began walking up the path again, only at a slightly slower speed. It was only a short moment before Jenny realized he was walking her right back to her cave.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Damiano was tired of paperwork, especially this kind of paperwork. It was actually papers and pencils. He had inventoried everything in the houses of the outer circle, everything in the inner circle and had just finished inventorying everything at the resort. They were now calling this position The Compound, but that name sucked and Miles was sure that it would change as soon as someone came up with something better. Just as Fine’s name had gone from The Major, to Sensei, to Shogun, Miles was sure that the name of their encampment would evolve to be something spectacular.
Shogun had declared one of the giant banquet halls at the resort to be the meeting hall, or audience hall as some called it. It was here, as Miles and many other leaders waited for Shogun to appear, that they would form the beginnings of a permanent government. Leaders of the Tigers, the Villagers and those Miles had taken to calling the In Between were gathered to jockey for position in the new government. Shogun had taken the Penthouse suite and the entire top floor of the residence building across the lake as his personal residence and was currently giving some direction to villagers to clean and prepare his residence.
Damiano looked around the room, at Meyer – the fat-faced commander of the Tigers, at Colson – the Villager who had made himself so useful in food preparation, at Summers – the Soldier who had helped turn the entire base to Shogun when the battle was at its height, by capturing Stone. These were the three he would most need to watch. There were dozens of others jockeying for position, but these three were the only ones on a par with Miles that Shogun would consider important. He would keep his eye on them, and when the time was right, he would take them down one by one.
The room quieted considerably, which let Miles know that Shogun was entering the hall. The tall, fit man walked across the room and the people parted as though the seas were parting. He walked up to the stage that had probably been set up for some speaker in some corporate event that day that everything changed. It was just as they had found it and perfect for their purposes. Eric Fine grabbed a folding chair, because it was going to be a long meeting, and began hearing from each of his leaders, starting with Meyer telling him how he had cleared the houses.
Miles scoffed, cleared the houses, there had been nothing but one naked woman in all of the mansions they had moved through. And, Meyer had almost missed her, if the stories could be believed. Other stories had said that Shogun had taken her as his own, and that she was now up in his residence. Meyer then gave an accounting of the men and their readiness for battle. By Meyer’s account, there were twelve hundred soldiers in their ranks and an additional seventy-eight Tigers. Meyer rated the soldier’s readiness at C level and the Tigers at A level. When Meyer finished his long explanation, Eric Fine spoke.
“Good job, Zane. You will remain over the armed forces of the compound as General Meyer, and take residence in the Shogun’s tower, two floors below my residence. All fighting men will report to you, except for policing which will be handled differently. You will train the men daily, and see to their well-being. They will all be at an A readiness level by next summer. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Shogun!” Meyer responded and bowed low.
The next up was Colson, who gave an account of the food stores, and what it would take to feed the masses. He also rated the service quality of the Villagers, he said there were two thousand one hundred and five who had a useful skill for the compound. He also said there were four thousand and fifty-two who did not have a useful skill. When he was finished, Eric spoke again.
“Well done, Mister Colson. Your title will be Mayor Colson and you will be in charge of the people and running of the inner circle. Only skilled villagers can move into the inner circle, if others want to move into the inner circle, they should learn a useful skill. You will live in the top floor of the second building, one of the three suites there. You will manage the workload of the villagers and be in charge of providing goods and services. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Shogun!” Colson bowed low.
Following Colson, Summers gave his report, which was short and mostly about the information they knew about the City of Colorado Springs and various criminal activities. Eric’s granting of position to him was particularly interesting.
“Good, Summers. Your title will be Chief of Intelligence and Policing, and you will be called Chief Summers. You are responsible for intel and counter-intel activities, the wall guards, the policing of the circles and my personal guard. Any outside activities will be coordinated between you and General Meyer. You will live on the same floor as Colson. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Shogun!” The young man almost shouted, and bowed.
“Now, speaking of outside activities, you have something to report?” Shogun asked. Chief Summers suddenly went a little green.
“Yes, Shogun, two reports. The first I believe you know. This is Specialist Jordan Kane and Doctor Emma Pare.” Two guards walked a young man, maybe in his early twenties, and a striking woman in her forties, into the hall. Eric stood and walked to the edge of the little stage.
“Kane?” he reached down and shook the man’s hand. Miles sort of remembered the kid now. He had been in the sand with them. He was quiet, but good at his job. Everyone liked him. “Where did you come from?”
“Hello, sir...” Kane started, but was cut off by Fine.
“The title is now Shogun, so just call me that.”
The boy stuttered a bit, “Yes, Shogun. I was stationed up at the mountain. We were in an outside garden up on a cliff when the power went out. Dr. Pare and I just held out.”
Shogun paused. There was something the kid was holding out and if he knew it, then Shogun knew it too. “Okay, Kane.” Eric said, “Report to General Meyer for duty assignment and Dr. Pare, is it? We will get you set up in the inner circle, we can always use more doctors.”
When they separated the two of them and sent them out, Miles saw the look and knew what the boy was holding out. They were more than friends, maybe even lovers. Well, good for him. But, that thought went by fast, because now four soldiers were brought in.
Summers cleared his throat, “Shogun, I regret to tell you that these four are all that remain of the squad we sent looking for the Yoga girl, Jenny Martinez. They seem to have been attacked by the same crazed man that set upon the squad we sent near the mountain for intel. No Asian boy this time though.”
“It was Cole, Shogun.” The front one said.
“And, where is Cole?” Eric asked.
“Dead, Shogun. The mud man killed him.”
Eric paused for a moment. “Yet you return unscathed. It is disappointing. I sent you out to find one small woman, and you return alone, your comrades dead in the field.” Eight guards came up silently behind the soldiers and two took each by the arms.
“No.” was all the men got out before they were bound and gagged.
“Take them out to that tall tree at the entrance to the Inner Circle and hang them for all to see. I do not take lightly to leaving men in the field.” The men were dragged out, but Miles was sure he wasn’t the only one who remembered Major Eric Fine ordering Calvin Ward not to go after Craven and his men who were left in the field in the sand. This was not something he would ever bring up, unless he wanted to join the men who would shortly be hanging from the tree in the Inner Circle. As it was, it was his turn to present his report.
Miles stood and began his recitation of the inventories, or at least their summaries. He told not only what was available in each circle, but also what had been brought to the Shogun’s tower so he could have first choice. His report was thorough and succinct, just as Major Eric Fine had always liked. Shogun Fine was no different than he had been before, and he smiled with the short report.
“Excellent, Miles,” Eric began, “To you, for your fidelity and loyalty, I give the position of Right Hand. You will be second only to me, and will act only in my interests and on my orders. You will live in the level directly below me and be responsible to me at any time I need you. Are we clear?”
Miles had a hard time not smiling, made even harder after he saw the look on Meyer’s face. He was over all of them, and he would make Meyer pay for the derision and mistreatment he had suffered at his former squad leader’s hands. But, for now, he would just show his value to Shogun and bask in his new position.
TWO MONTHS IN THE NEW WORLD
“Starvation is a funny thing. It convinces your body that you are full, as each part of your system begins to fail.” Anton Karimov, Food for Africa Chairman
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Cliff, Natalee and Kyle moved from building to building as quietly as they could. The level of stealth required made Cliff tired and developed a headache, but they could not do this work without him. The Hillside was coming along and Kate’s ability called for gems to implant the illusion that would hide their home. It had been Kyle’s idea at first to have her implant illusion into the gems and then plant them atop the stone walls that Kayla raised from the earth around the grounds. They had quickly run out of gems on hand.
Their first run, a couple of weeks ago, had been searching the corpses they found for wedding rings and such. It was disgusting work that gave Cliff the shivers, but he was so used to seeing dead bodies now, that even the smell didn’t make him sick any more. Now they searched businesses. They moved down the Westside Colorado Springs retail district, searching for jewelry or gems in the businesses. So far, they had some success. Diamonds worked the best, but other gems could be utilized to make an effect. Cliff had learned to stagger the gems when in stationary use, which gave the lesser stones the ability to act in support of the diamonds.
The three of them had also collected canned goods and any other valuable items they could find. Each of them had a backpack full of items to bring back home and were marking off the last block before heading home. It was a jackpot. The last store they entered had already been broken in to, and was in a bit of shambles. It had been a jewelry store, and had clearly not had a chance to close their large safe before the power went out. People had ransacked the display cases, but hadn’t really taken much. Cliff assumed that people did not know the value of gems. The cash was gone from the cash drawer, again Cliff assumed that the people did not know the lack of value in paper money. But what was inside that safe was a bonanza. There were drawers and drawers of cut gems.
They all stood there for a moment, before frantically filling every remaining space on them with the jewels. The grins covering Kyle’s face was a joy to behold, and Cliff turned to tell Nat, who was watching the door. He saw her duck down and put a finger to her lips to quiet them. Cliff reached out and repeated the gesture to Kyle, who crouch-walked his way to his sister’s side. Cliff finished filling the three backpacks and then joined them, giving each theirs to carry.
When he got close, he could hear voices and they were headed their way. Crouching there, Kyle pulled an arrow out and readied it and Nat took her staff in one hand and a long knife in the other. Cliff knew his job was to stay out of the way.
“I am telling you, if we don’t find some more food soon, we will have to go to the compound.” Said a voice, muffled by space.
A very familiar voice responded, “I am not going to that place, it is like a work camp.”
Cliff stood up, startling and concerning his team mates. “Kin?” He flew out the door, past the outstretched arms of both Kyle and Natalee.
The two men turned, one had a baseball bat in his hands and the other had a shovel. The one with the shovel, he knew immediately. “Kin!” Cliff ran forward and hugged his older brother as tightly as he had ever held anyone. Kin had been away at college when this all started and Cliff wasn’t sure he would ever see him again. He was so happy to see him; he just didn’t know what to say. He looked up at his brother and saw the tears coming down his face.
“Ahh, Cliff, I thought you were dead.” Kin started, “I got to the house, but Dad…”
Cliff nodded, looking down, “Yeah, Dad died. His medicine didn’t work.”
“So you wrapped him up?” Kin asked.
Cliff nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“I took care of him, buddy.” My friend Mike and I buried him in the backyard.” Cliff saw his big brother look up at his friends.
“Oh, this is Kyle Ward and his sister, Natalee.” Cliff turned toward them. “They are my friends and sort of my protectors. This is my big brother, Kin.”
Kyle shouldered his bow and reached out to shake Kin’s hand. Nat just waved and smiled that gorgeous smile.
Kin patted his friend on the back. “This is Mike Paolo, chef extraordinaire. His wife Amy is in one of the buildings grabbing some infant clothing, she is pregnant.” Both men stared down at this announcement.
Mike spoke up, “Yeah, umm, we aren’t sure how to deal with that. I was just telling your brother we would probably have to go to the compound.”
Natalee stepped forward, “What is the compound?”
Both men looked surprised, but it was Kin who responded, “I thought everyone knew about the compound. It is where the Shogun is? No? Anyway, it is the area of the resort and the surrounding area. It is sort of a community of ex-soldiers and karate guys taking over the new world. I don’t want to go.”
Mike chimed in, “Yeah, but we will need medical help to deliver the baby.”
Cliff suddenly looked up and both Kyle and Nat nodded at him, so he said, “We have a healer at our place. You could come with us.”
After a short bit of conversation, they went and found Mike’s very pregnant wife, Amy and they all began a slower trek home than they had planned. Cliff had his brother now, things were definitely going to be okay.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Jordan slipped his way into the Inner Circle, fully aware that he was being watched by one of the goons that passed as an Intelligence Operative, or just “Op”, as they were called now. During his free time, which wasn’t much, he would come and have lunch with Emma. They were not able to hide their relationship for long, but it put them both in danger. People knew that Jordan Kane had some kind of connection to General Meyer, the Right Hand and even Shogun himself, so they were cautious about upsetting him. But, Emma was an attractive woman, and in this ridiculous community, that mea
nt she was a possession to be taken.
Making sure he knew just where his “tail” was, Jordan thought about how dumb the Ops were. They were just so obvious. However, as he passed the latest hanging corpses, he considered the ramifications of being accused by one of them. Executions were semi-common in the last couple of weeks.
Jordan and Emma had arrived a little over a month ago, he thought. He couldn’t be sure because no one kept any calendar or time around here. It was always morning, or mid-day or night. It was a few days ago, or a while back. They had already stopped counting in days and hours. People were getting stupider by the minute.
It was also very dirty in the compound, not up by the tower but definitely in the inner circle. The outer circle was already a slum, even though people lived in former mansions. They had to get out of here, but few survived fleeing from the compound and were forever considered disloyal if they did. Jordan had a hard time thinking about how far society had fallen in just two months. He assumed that things might get better, but didn’t know if he would live to see it. Turning a corner, he heard Emma’s voice.
“Haven’t you done enough?” Emma was arguing with one of the “policemen” that were appointed to keep the peace, but really were just oppressors who raped young women, and extorted from the poor. Their time in the Compound had taught them that strength and connection were the only two things that kept people alive.
“If you know what is good for you, Doc, you will just hand her over. We have some questions for her.” Said the man standing in front of her with two of his buddies standing behind him grinning at a teen girl that Emma was shielding. Jordan picked up his pace.
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