“Sure, I’m up for that. Clearly my plan has been a clusterfuck, so at this point I’d rather go back to my initial one.”
“You expect us to believe that if we let you go, you’ll just forget we were here?”
“Knowing that this place is now compromised, when I leave you could very well pack your bags as well. Where you’d go next is beyond me. It would be suicide for an AWOL cyborg like myself to lead the UNR on a goose chase. Still, we all know that the UNR would definitely come looking. They’d kick your doors down in your sleep.”
“This is bullshit!” Jacob remarked.
“I know, I know, dear,” Mari said with remorse. “I’m taking a huge loss, and you people are taking an enormous risk in believing me. Hell, we could spend days going back and forth but we wouldn’t get anywhere.”
Will spoke no more, letting Halsey take the lead. He never did stop being observant, though. Marisol was sweating as well. The thought of death at any moment, the thrill of yet another gamble, all possible, but he saw beyond all that.
“We need more time to think this through,” Halsey relented. There was just no way to process it all right now. Marisol was clearly just as frustrated. In order not to alarm anyone, she remained seated.
“I’m losing time, so if you must talk more bullshit I need more in this deal.”
“More?!” Halsey yelled in irritation.
“Yes, something that I bet would make finding my family a whole lot easier.”
Marisol looked at Will again. She pointed at him.
“That device you used to hack The Network way back is really handy. I don’t care if you give me yours or you build me a new one, I want one for myself.”
That would take days to make. We don’t have the motherfucking time! Alex was finally feeling the anger hit him. This whole situation is growing out of control. The sheer lack of leverage hit him hard as he stood there helpless. No, it’s way beyond our control now.
Chapter 4 - Comfort in Tribulation
October 16, 2065 - Fort Hosbon, Ontario, Canada
The Garage
Captain Halsey sat on the spiral staircase holding the cellphone away from his ear. It was more than sufficient to hear Declan’s bitching. This was a whole new level of rant, and Joe had no comeback to follow up. He had inadvertently brought another cyborg to Fort Hosbon, and this time he wasn’t so sure he could calm them down. Below, Will waited anxiously for what he had to say. Joe nodded his head again and again.
“I understand, sir. This will be dealt with. I apologize again—”
The line went dead, and the captain put the phone in his pocket. Before addressing anyone, he gazed at the stairs. Slowly, he made his way down.
“What’d they say, Halsey?” Will asked.
The officer reached the bottom, standing before the cyborg now. Not too far away were Brielle and Alex working on the pulse rifle, Gabby and Pat watching their work. The end of the phone call signaled all of them to gather around.
“Declan and Ominic are fucking livid. Apparently, they were already on their way with some schmuck from the AEF. They want us to reach a verdict within the hour.”
Gabby looked at Brielle.
“And how’s the pulse rifle looking?”
Bri checked with Alex prior to her response. She appeared nervous as hell, but spoke with surety.
“It’s not exactly ready, but it can get at least a shot off.”
Gabriella instantly began to run with this. “And one shot is all we’ll need. Unlike the EMP grenade, the rifle will kill it instantly. We can end all of this right now.”
Halsey was…relieved. He was mortified to feel such a thing right now, but this had gone too far. If we lose this base, all the blame goes on the Crimson Angels. All on me.
“And perhaps she really does hold her end of the deal. What if all she really wants is to see her family so she can get out of this? You all rule that out without a moment’s hesitation!” Will said in anger. Gabby was ready to spit fire, but Halsey spoke first.
“Defensive measures, Will, remember that. We don’t know a damn thing about her. We can’t risk this whole thing, based on her word.”
“You’re right, absolutely right. If it ever comes down to it, then I will do what needs to be done with my very own sword! But I will not let you do this.”
Gabby no longer held back.
“Then what do we rely on, huh? Faith?”
“Yes,” Will said calmly. “She deserves a chance.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me! Where does that get us?!”
“One never knows, kind of like the faith I put in you people not so long ago. We all know where that led.”
Halsey couldn’t muster up a thing to say. The pulse rifle is the solution, a dirty solution, but would Will really stop us? Those brown eyes have the same look of determination that they always have. The same look they had while he served the UNR, and the same look they had when he decided to join our cause. If he says he’s going to stop us, he means it.
“Gabby, how can you possibly go through with this? Did you completely forget about Tyler already?”
Gabby’s face, full of rage, suddenly changed. She faced him now with a subdued expression.
“Pat, no, no, I haven’t. This is different. There’s…” she paused, lost in thought.
“There’s a lot more on the line?” Patrick guessed. “No, Gabby, this the same. Exactly the same.”
Will could see Gabriella wanted to fight him on this but could not do it. Still, she’s digging for some kind of retort. From the look Alex had on his face, he knew who Tyler was as well. For once, the smart aleck had nothing to say.
“Who is Tyler? If I can please know,” Will said. Patrick looked at the cyborg in a way he never had before.
“Tyler Noels was my older brother. He got pretty banged up while on a tour in Mexico early on during The Expansion. Every day he was in that hospital he wrote to me saying how his life was over. How he wanted to die. He even tried once before Venloran paid him a visit. He convinced him the best way to get his life back was to go through a procedure that would make him stronger than he’d ever been in his life.”
Gabby and Alex were riddled with shame. Will listened intently. Although Bri wondered if she should’ve walked out of the room, she didn’t do so. Joseph had heard this story before, but he listened like it was the first time.
“Even as a cyborg, though, the pain my brother felt never went away. He still wrote to me all the time and from what I could tell, he’d only gotten worse. I just wanted him to come home. He needed help and my family knew it.”
Will saw an evident vein appear on Patrick’s forehead.
“But he never did. Instead, her father visited us and said Unit 10-5-62 had died in combat. For years, I didn’t believe it. It was unheard of that a super soldier had ever fallen in combat. When Gabby’s father told us about velocide and what it did years later, that’s when I knew exactly what had happened to Tyler.”
Patrick directed his anger at his two friends—friends he’d gone to school with and shared so much with. Friends who had known Tyler just as well.
“We turned our backs on the UNR because of that! Because we knew there were more out there the Chancellor had deemed ‘unfit for service!’ I’m with Will. We will not do this!”
Halsey knew the debate was over.
“I’ll call up Declan. I’ll tell them where we stand,” he announced.
Patrick’s anger had melted away into sorrow. A strong hand was there on his shoulder to comfort him. It was Will’s.
“We’re going to put to a stop to this,” he declared. “We have to.”
“Come on, let’s go tell the others,” Halsey said.
Brielle prepared to join them as they ascended the stairs, but stopped. Something had stopped her. She looked behind her and realized what it was. Her sergeant had taken a seat on the floor, her face in her hands. Bri was accustomed to seeing her commanding officer as a symbol of strength. To
see her like this was indescribable.
She sat down beside Gabriella and put an arm around her. Bri wasn’t good with words, so she said nothing. No matter how small, she could feel her presence have an impact on Neeson, who let a few tears drop down her chin.
Alex stood away from them, gazing at the messy work station. Amidst all the grime and tools lay the pulse rifle in the center of the table. He walked over to the cluttered area and laid a hand on the heftiest wrench he spotted. Yes, more than enough. His eyes then went back to what he and Bri had created.
In his head, he was dashing it to pieces. Strike after ruthless strike, he would then toss the remains at the wall. He could see it shatter.
As the trio approached the prison building, Halsey stopped in the middle of the trail. Patrick and Will halted as well.
“Pat, go on ahead of us. We’ll be a moment,” he instructed.
Patrick nodded and left the two to themselves. It was growing darker and colder. Joseph knew this could not wait.
“What is it, Halsey?”
“I have to tell you something. It’s about Kane.”
***
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington, D.C.
S.S.C. Unit 21 entered the Recreation Chamber, a behemoth of a weapon in his hands. The gun was nearly as big as himself. The many UNR soldiers around him began to fall as the dragon breathed its flames. Those who stood and fought were mowed down. Those who tried to fall back were killed as well. Unit 21 carried out this extermination without a cringe. Howarth watched as he neared the bar next. The video on his laptop was presented in such clarity he could identify the brands on the shelf. He could also see the blood spray as bullets did their gruesome work.
Howarth heard the door to his office open, and he switched the video off in a rush.
“I said I was not to be—”
He was startled to see the Chancellor himself was the intruder. The young man rose out of his seat so fast he nearly knocked his chair over. He followed this with a bow.
“I apologize, sir.”
“No need. I understand I’m dropping by unexpectedly,” Venloran said, standing in front of the desk. “May I sit?”
Howarth looked at him in stunned fashion before he responded, “Of course.”
Once Venloran was seated, Howarth allowed himself to sit as well. The Chancellor spotted a nearly empty glass of scotch on the corner of the man’s desk, and smirked. Howarth quickly analyzed his desk, covered in unorganized paperwork. An enormous bulletin board was on their right which held up a map. Perhaps ten or so coordinates were tacked, and only two of those had a blurry photograph pinned there as well. No last-minute cleaning would make this seem any better. Oh Christ. He spotted a coffee mug on his file cabinet.
“That the twenty-five-year Glenmorangie I got for your birthday?”
“Yes. It only comes out to play on special occasions.”
“Hell of an occasion. Your staff has all gone except you. You are aware you don’t run the entire PSID yourself?”
“A lot of this is classified material. If I don’t get through all of it who’s going to?”
“I know the feeling, but a lot happened today.”
“I gave Dylan to you on a silver platter. Did I really have to be there to watch him shit himself?”
“Berenger was also detained,” Venloran said flatly. Howarth’s shock reminded the Chancellor of the pain he had attempted to bury.
“The procedures of The Cabinet mandate it,” Howarth admitted, “but I know he’s innocent.”
“And we’ll prove it. You want to know what he was worried about? It wasn’t his incarceration. Janet’s been calling all day, too.”
“There’s no excuse for the way I’ve been handling things. Most nights I can’t even sleep. Too much shame and guilt.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Damien.”
Normally he despised hearing that name of his but not at this moment. The Chancellor was making a point by using it, and he respected that.
“As much as I’ve built in the years since the UNR was born, I’ve also destroyed plenty. That’s why we do our jobs: to continue to hold up what we’ve created and go even further. You’re going to go far, Damien. You worked so hard that you are the youngest member of The Cabinet, all on your own. I watched you grow past tribulation before, and I know you can do it now.”
Howarth was a boy again, and it was a surprisingly good feeling.
“Thank you, sir. If I could ask just one thing?”
“You could ask me questions all night if you need to.”
“When horrible thoughts won’t let up and it feels like the entire world is bearing down on you, how do you cope? It’s beyond me.”
For the first time all day, Venloran smiled. Joy rippled through him.
“Janet. She keeps me going when I think I’m going to break.”
Damien nodded, thinking back on a poor decision.
“I may have let an opportunity slip through my fingers. I cancelled a date that I was really looking forward to today.”
“Clearly, she’s been on your mind. Bite the bullet and give her a call. Janet just barely coped with all the antics I put her through in our first few years.”
“Okay, I’ll give it a shot,” the captain agreed. “Any plans for tonight other than bed at eight for the elderly couple?”
“On most days you’d be close,” Venloran laughed, “but tonight is wine night. Kearney will be bringing some of his favorites.”
“Count me in.”
Chapter 5 - Wonders of the Blade
October 19, 2065 - Fort Hosbon, Ontario, Canada
Gabby and Patrick sat side by side in the sand, no towel needed. All around them were relaxing Canadian troops. It was a downcast day on Ipperwash Beach, but that didn’t stop them from having fun. Many were content with lounging on the shore while others played football or Frisbee. After a hectic day of uncertainty, they were more than willing to cut loose. Gabriella looked on it all with scrutiny.
“Is this Declan’s attempt to make them forget?” she asked her friend.
“Even if it is, let them enjoy this. They deserve to know what peace looks like,” Patrick replied. He was ogling the waves crashing at their feet. The freezing water reached their toes, and he found it refreshing.
“Pat,” Gabby began, “I’m sorry I acted so hastily. I was out of line.”
The man’s fingers dug into the sand. “I don’t hold anything against you or Alex. So much has happened lately. I don’t expect anyone to act like nothing’s changed. Your dad really struck a chord with me, I guess. I couldn’t let her die.”
“I’m just grateful you stuck to your guns,” Gabby said. “You always do.”
“Being grateful is nice, Gabby, it really is. Still, I have a better idea how you can make it up to me.”
Sergeant Neeson looked away from the churning water and directly at Patrick. He met her stare with a sly grin.
“I’d like a fishing trip. What’d ya say?”
Gabby felt a tinge of nostalgic joy. “Like the ones Tyler would always take us on.”
Patrick couldn’t bring himself to confirm it, but a teary-eyed smile told her all she needed to know.
“I’m down anytime you say,” she said.
The two enjoyed the moment as long as they could, but they couldn’t avoid attention on that crowded beach for long.
“Hey, Sarge!” Noah called out. Shirtless and sweating, he approached the pair. Beside him was Saskia, a volleyball tucked to her side.
“We were hoping you guys would join us for a game. Guys versus Gals,” he invited.
“If you weren’t busy, ma’am,” Saskia added.
Patrick was sure Gabby would decline, stating she needed to go on some run or something of that nature. Instead, the woman stood up, patting the grains of sand off her pants.
“Whoever loses is taking a lap around Hosbon,” the sergeant proclaimed. “So this is you guys’ chance to actually make me sweat. Yo
u in, Pat?”
Patrick rose as well. “You heard her. Winner gets bragging rights and an extra day of R and R.”
Noah and Saskia ran back to their teams, but Gabby made sure she spoke to Patrick before they joined in.
“Nice of you to offer me an extra day to chill,” she teased.
“As if. Your ass is going to be on the track while I’m cracking open a beer.”
***
Jacob collapsed onto the soft grass beneath the tree. Nusaybah sat down beside him. The construction crew picked spots all over the field in front of the mosque, but all Nusaybah’s men gathered around her and Jacob. The cold wind on their sweat felt incredible.
“You made it through the whole shift today,” Nusaybah teased. “I might just give you a medal.”
“Next thing you know, I’ll be building the whole place myself,” Jacob said as he lay there with his arm over his face.
“You make a hell of a before and after.” She laughed.
Not far from her, Adar sat cross-legged, no smile on his face. Beside him Hamza and Malik also sat pensively. All of them glared at Nusaybah, and her smile shrank away. She gazed back at Jacob, who was oblivious to it all. Why do this now? she thought. It’s only been a day since the decision.
Adar’s stare never let up.
“Jacob, can we talk?” she asked.
Lieutenant Neeson sat up to look at them all. Nusaybah didn’t appear to want to bring this up, but the others sure did.
“You want to try to challenge the ruling,” Jacob stated flatly. “I know it’s hard to swallow, but it’s pointless to dwell on, guys.”
“Far from pointless,” Adar replied. “If yesterday had gone her way, we’d all be dead.”
“There was a time when Will would’ve killed me in a heartbeat, and me him. Today, I’m glad to say we have a respect for each other.”
Adar wasn’t touched by any means, but Malik spoke up for him.
“Adar’s seen a lot more than us. When he was growing up, fighting was still happening,” he explained. “Just hear him out.”
“Loud and clear,” Jacob replied, “but if there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate, it’s planning things out.”
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