Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Book Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Author’s Note
COPYRIGHT
Book Description
Jordi Roberts is sure he’ll never see the sky again when Chief of Staff Sam Burnett catches him spying on a giant conspiracy that aims to keep the world at war forever. But Burnett wants to recruit Jordi, and he explains how Jordi can help guide mankind.
Arianne, Jordi’s headstrong ex-girlfriend, helps him escape. But she is a member of Celeste, the group he has always seen as the enemy. The Bureau hunts Jordi and Arianne until nowhere in the undercity is safe.
As the war rages on aboveground, Jordi is at the center of a power struggle between Celeste and Burnett’s faction. Is Jordi left with a choice between two evils?
Part 4 of a 5-part serial. Each part is around sixty pages long.
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Chapter 1
I was getting used to waking up somewhere different every day. Burnett’s guards had given me food and locked me in the cell the night before. I hadn’t thought I could sleep after what I’d seen, but I remembered resting my head on the pillow of the cot. Then I was waking up. Yesterday’s meal had been taken away and replaced by fresh food. I didn’t waste any time in devouring everything on the plate. I was famished; several days without much chance to eat had caught up to me.
The door swung open, and Burnett entered. He held a gun loosely in his hand, with the barrel pointed at the ground.
“Sorry about this.” Burnett shook the gun. “I don’t like the things, but I wanted to talk in private. And I do have to take some precautions.”
“I’m used to having guns pointed at me by now.” He didn’t seem to intend to have me killed. But I couldn’t see how he could let me go, given what I had learned.
There was a chair by the wall. Burnett dragged it into the far corner, sat down, and placed the gun on his lap. “You slept well, I trust.”
“Didn’t have much else to do. Being locked up and all.”
“I have to congratulate you on finding us.” Burnett ignored my tone. “Very few have managed that.”
“Plenty of others seem to have found their way down here.”
“Of course. But usually only those we’ve invited.”
“What is this whole place?” I spread my arms wide. “This hidden district under the Shroud?”
“It’s a hidden district under the Shroud.” Burnett smiled. “Our organization has a headquarters in most cities. This is one of the most secret and well-designed of them. Some of the top scientists and engineers in the world work here.”
“Some of the technology down here is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Like the slowing down of gravity and that trap of death.”
Burnett nodded. “That is a bit over the top, I agree. Though it does make a good emergency entrance. Those who fall without knowing what to expect are usually suicides, so they wanted to die—they just get a surprise at their manner of it. We don’t roll out the latest technology to the general population. We are very cautious to make sure that the effects will be benign for our society before we release anything. So the scientists have little opportunity to see their work in practical applications except in districts like this, so they sometimes go overboard. It’s hard to uninvent something, and it’s equally hard to stop the curiosity of those determined to explore boundaries. So this is the compromise: scientists get to experiment at the edges down here, where their work is controlled.”
“And you decide what gets officially invented.”
Burnett’s lips twitched. “Exactly.”
“You mentioned an organization?”
We are called the Intelligent Shepherds, or INSH for short,” he said.
“And what exactly is that? I didn’t see many sheep wandering the corridors.”
Burnett took a small black oblong object from his pocket and threw it to me.
I caught it and examined it. It was a holographic projector. “Is this my brother’s confession?”
“No. This is the information we give those we intend to recruit. Here, you can learn the truth that most people wouldn’t be able to accept. You can start your journey to becoming a shepherd rather than a sheep.”
“Is this the join-or-die speech?”
“Not at all. You see, we don’t like to kill people, especially not the smart ones. The paradox is that humans are intelligent creatures, yet humanity is a dumb beast. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is, and we have to make do with the clay in front of us. If our organization killed or made an enemy of everyone who discovered us through the years, we would not have lasted long. Instead, we explain ourselves fully, and most see the wisdom of what we have to say. Instead of making enemies of those who discover us, we make our organization stronger by getting them to help us.”
“That still doesn’t answer what happens if you try to recruit someone and they refuse. They know all your secrets. You have to silence them for good.” I added hurriedly, “Not that I’m advocating that.”
“As I said, we don’t like to kill. Many have found out about us, not joined, and been let go. Of course, no one is going to believe them if they tried to tell the truth. So they can join the conspiracy freaks and crazies, or they can forget what they’ve learned and get on with their life.”
“Nothing they said would ever be official news, so not many would hear about it,” I suggested.
Burnett smiled. “It’s an elegant system, I agree. I don’t want to have to repeat myself, so I’ll just leave you with the hologram, and I’ll be back tomorrow. I can answer any questions then. From what I know of you, I’m confident you’ll be sympathetic to our organization.”
Burnett got up and knocked on the door. He slipped his gun into his pocket.
“Wait, so you are inviting me to become one of these eccentric sheep herders?”
“Intelligent Shepherds. Watch the projector before you make any conclusions.”
The door opened, and Burnett started out.
“But what about me being an accused member of Celeste?”
“Are you a member?”
“No. But that doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve been tried and convicted on the newscasts. I’ll have every other person trying to arrest me the moment I walk down a corridor.”
“That would be a complication. Not insurmountable though. We’d have to move you to a different undercity and give you a new identity. Maybe change your appearance a touch. You could still help the organization, help mankind move forward safely.”
“Why would you go to all that trouble?”
“Not many people are smart enough to see behind the curtain. Actually, you were on our radar as a possible recruit because of your test results when you were younger. But your family situation complicated matters. Plus, your career path as a military pilot was less useful to us than others.”
I shook my head. “I was never that smart. Discovering this place was more accident than anything.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You have always been in your younger brother’s shadow. He was smart and charismatic, so I can see how you don’t see it, but it’s clear that you are every bit as smart as he was. Let me tell you something, though—Darius would never have been invited to join us because he has an appetite for power. That has always been a core principle for INSH. We need people smart e
nough to guide the human race but not self-obsessed enough to want to rule it themselves. Personality-trait restrictions have always been strictly enforced, though something makes me suspect that the present European INSH leader Ulrika Eschenback has gotten around them somehow. You heard her during the council meeting. You can’t tell me she has no ambition. But that’s a whole different story. We’ll have plenty to discuss when I next see you. For now, I have to go.” With that Burnett exited, and the door closed behind him.
Chapter 2
I lay back on the bed. A slow-building yawn rose up through my chest, and I shook it out. Despite having slept, I was still tired. I twisted the projector through my fingers. It surely held the answers I had been searching for. Yet I was hesitant to play it. Watching it seemed like crossing a threshold that couldn’t be uncrossed. Burnett’s supreme confidence that I would convert once I knew the full truth scared me.
I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was springing forward as the door crashed open. I was wondering what Burnett was doing back so soon, when, to my shock, Arianne charged through the door.
“What are you doing here?” I rubbed at my eyes, trying to figure out if I was dreaming.
“I’m rescuing you, you idiot,” she said.
I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. I was glad to see her, despite our previous meeting. Even though her hair was all over the place and her face was flushed red with exertion, she looked fantastic.
“What are you doing just staring at me? Come on, let’s go.” She disappeared out the door.
I scrambled to follow her then stopped. Did I even want to be rescued by Celeste? If I believed Burnett, I was in no danger from him. I felt my pockets for the projector, but it wasn’t there. I darted back inside and threw the blankets off the cot. It wasn’t on the bed, either. I lifted the mattress and threw it aside. The projector was on the floor, where it must have fallen when I dozed off. I crouched down and retrieved it then went after Arianne.
She was halfway down the corridor. “What was that about?” she asked when I caught up.
“Needed to say a touching goodbye to the cell. Where are all the guards?”
“They don’t seem to go much for guards in this district. Though someone will surely catch us if you keep dawdling.”
We followed a series of deserted corridors. Glances through the narrow windows of the doors we passed showed a long sequence of scientific labs. Burnett hadn’t been lying about the technological research that went on in his district. With the lack of guards, the control doors at the start of every corridor served as protection from intruders. Arianne put her palm against the door pad, and the access indicator flashed red for an instant, then turned green as the door opened.
Immediately when we emerged into the Washington district, I noticed that the corridors felt almost old-fashioned. I realized how quickly I had gotten used to the futuristic feel of Burnett’s headquarters. I looked back to where we had come from, but there was nothing but a blank wall. I touched the wall, looking for an opening mechanism, but there was nothing. I shook my head in amazement.
I had to race to catch up with Arianne, and when she came to a sudden stop, I crashed into her back. I caught a glimpse of two mibs standing guard in front of the conveyor pod, then Arianne shoved me back, out of their line of sight.
“Shit.” Arianne kept her voice low. “You had to get the whole damn place looking to get you? Could you have made it any more difficult to rescue you?”
“Why are you helping me?” I touched my jacket pocket to make sure the projector was still there.
“I told you that Darius asked me to look out for you before he died.”
“And I guess your skill with opening electronic doors doesn’t work so well with actual mibs.”
“Indeed. Now shut up and let me think.”
There was someone who I was sure would help us—someone close by. “I know where we can go.”
“You?” She tilted her head. “You’re not exactly an idea man.”
Arianne had always thought it was funny to pretend I was dumb.
“Yes. Now shut up, and follow me.” Without giving her a chance to object, I turned back the way we had come. I wasn’t certain she would follow, so I was relieved when I heard her footsteps racing to catch up with me. Before she could speak, I picked up my pace to keep ahead of her.
When I had access to the district maps on Four-Fingered Ray’s computer, I had been looking for a route to Will Saunders’ apartment that didn’t involve using the conveyor system. I had given up on getting there from Harlem, but his place was in the Washington district and not too far from where we were standing.
I made one wrong turn—Arianne gave me a look but didn’t say anything—but I found my way to his place. Arianne grabbed my hand when I reached for the buzzer. “What’s going on? Whose door is this?”
“It’s my friend Will’s. He’ll help us.”
“Will Saunders? Your CO? You have to be kidding me. You told me about him. He’s about as by the book as they come. What makes you think he won’t call the mibs the instant you walk in the door?”
“I know him.” Or at least I thought I did. Just about everyone I knew had done an about-turn in the past week. Still, I had faith in Will—we had been through a lot together.
Arianne raised her eyebrows.
“He’s put his life in my hands, and I’ve put mine in his. I don’t mind doing it again.”
“And what about my life? Despite my reckless nature, I do have a certain fondness for staying alive.”
“Once I explain what’s going on, he will help us. Do you have a better plan?”
She considered that for a long moment before nodding sharply. “Fine. Lead the way. At least I’ll have someone to blame when this all goes splat in your face. ‘I told you so’ are my four favorite words in the English language.”
I pressed the buzzer. When there was no response, I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed—Arianne had put doubts in my mind.
Arianne reached across me and pressed the buzzer two more times. We waited a bit longer, then finally, a voice inside called out: “Coming, coming.” When the door opened, Will had a towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair was still wet.
The look of annoyance fell from his face the instant he recognized me, but I couldn’t read the expression that followed it. Surprise with a dash of disappointment?
“Before you jump to any conclusions, hear me out,” I said, speaking quickly. “Can we come in?”
Will didn’t immediately move aside to let us enter; he just stared at me. He opened his mouth to speak, and I jumped in ahead of him again. “It’s not true. Whatever you’ve heard isn’t true.”
He moved aside, and I released a breath as we entered. He closed the door behind us. “I could be court-martialed for just letting you in.”
“Tell them we forced our way in at gunpoint,” Arianne said.
Will wasn’t much for lies. “Let me handle this,” I told Arianne.
“Who’s she?” Will asked.
Arianne took a step forward and held out her hand. “I’m Arianne. And you’re…” She looked him up and down, her gaze pausing at his well-muscled chest. “You’re very well put together.”
Will ignored her offered hand and continued staring at me. “Who’s she?” he repeated. “Never mind. I don’t care. Every fiber of my being is telling me to report you this instant. You better talk fast, and this better be good.”
“Just let the men talk—is that the way of things?” Arianne asked.
“Arianne, just leave this to me.”
She tossed her hair, flounced past Will, and leaned against the wall at the back of the room. “Be my guest.”
Will still hadn’t taken his eyes off me, and I didn’t know where to begin. “It started with Darius’s death. I found out. Celeste. Then Christina was a mib. I didn’t mean to kill her. And Burnett, the Grand Council.”
I took a deep breath and started again. I told him about Darius visiting me on the Eisenhower, the trip in the tunnels, and the revelation that my brother was a member of Celeste.
A look of disbelief flashed across Will’s face, and he visibly had to stop himself from interrupting me.
“I told Mari Larsen and Sam Burnett about it, and they didn’t want the news to go public. I even spoke to a news network anchor, but he wasn’t interested. Then I found out that my wife, Christina, was a mib agent who was investigating me and my family.”
“Jordi always gets involved with the wrong type of woman,” Arianne interrupted.
“Christina attacked me, and in the struggle, I killed her. Christina turned out to be Mari Larsen’s lover, which is why Larsen lied about me on the news. She’s out to get me. I then discovered that there was a seventh superpower, Australia, for World War 94, and all the earlier ones—never mind. I’m not sure how that fits in. The most important thing is that I found a secret command center underneath the Shroud. Burnett was in charge. I witnessed a meeting between us and China, Europe, the Territories, all the frigging superpowers. It’s all fucking fake. The war—everything.”
“I need a seat.” Will pulled out a chair and sat. “You’ve never been one for wild stories.” He paused. “At least not before now.”
“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Will’s lips flattened in an almost-smile. “Yet you expect me to.”
“I’d believe if it came from you.”
“I don’t know where to begin with even processing all this. Your brother, the damned president in Celeste. And Burnett in secret meetings with our enemies while a devastator bombs us from above.”
“They weren’t enemies. Everything had been arranged. The betrayal with the Territories, and get this, China will be coming into the battle on our side. Then there’ll be a peace treaty, and we’ll give Hawaii to the Territories. It was all discussed and agreed. If you don’t believe me now, you’ll have to in a few days’ time when all that comes to pass. By then, I’ll probably be locked up in a dungeon under Bureau headquarters. And Celeste—shit, I don’t even know what Celeste are going to do. But I’m sure it’s not going to be good.”
World War 97 Part 4 Page 1