by Chloe Garner
“I need to arrest everyone who worked in the complex and replace them with people from the main portal building, until I clear them individually.”
“You going to take on any of the new jumpers?” Conrad asked.
“Hell no,” Troy said. “School was hard. They don’t get a pass on that, and if they weren’t selected for school, it’s because they weren’t the best of the best.”
“That sounds like ego talking,” Conrad said. Troy shrugged.
“Either way, the rules are crystal clear.”
Conrad nodded.
“Where are you going to put them all?”
“Gave orders to put them into barracks,” he said. “Need people to interview them, too. Plus, I need to get the controllers out of there without breaking the wall between the controllers and everyone else on base.”
“Where are you going to put them?” Conrad asked.
“Dunno,” Troy said. “Here? Maybe?” He paused. “I guess I should talk to Senator Greene about that one. They are… particularly sensitive. She may have solutions I wouldn’t know about.”
“Something that starts CIA and contains the word ‘secret’, maybe?” Conrad asked. Troy frowned hard.
“Hate to think about putting our own people in there,” he said.
“Temporary,” Conrad said. “Maybe.”
Troy shook his head.
“You can’t ban the bomb, Conrad. The information that they’ve got in their heads is classified to the point that letting it out is a threat to the world’s security. We’ve got ‘em contained, now, but we can’t ever let them out.”
Conrad nodded.
“Sucks to be you.”
“No kidding.”
Conrad let the pause hang for a moment.
“So what are you doing about all of the illegal shipments, then?”
Troy laughed.
“Haven’t started thinking about it,” he said. “I’m supposed to get subpoenaed records from the security firm that shipped them, but I don’t know when. And as much pressure as I’m putting on them to get it done, I don’t know what I’m going to do with them when I get them.”
“You turn them over to the bio lab,” Conrad said. “They recover what they can with just phone calls, and then you get law enforcement involved. You don’t have the authority to go after them, just because they bother you.”
Troy crossed his arms more tightly across his chest.
“How old are you, Conrad?” he asked.
“Twenty-seven,” Conrad answered easily. Troy shook his head.
“I didn’t sound anything like you at twenty-seven,” he said.
“Yeah you did,” Conrad said with an easy humor. “They handed you the keys to the lab at twenty-five. You sounded exactly like me. You don’t start getting cautious until you realize how important everything is.”
Troy frowned, remembering some of his conversations with Jamie Oliver, back when he’d first taken over the lab, then he nodded, a smile creeping onto his face despite everything.
“Damn,” he murmured. “You’re right.”
“We’re behind you,” Conrad said. “You know we are, and we’re going to make you successful if it kills us. But you’re going to make mistakes. My dad told me every day growing up that if you don’t make mistakes, you didn’t try anything important enough, yet. This is important, and you’re going to make mistakes. Own it, man. You can’t get gridlocked with all of this… stuff… and let it bury you.”
“You think that’s what I’m doing?” Troy asked. Conrad shook his head.
“Nope. I just think you’re afraid it’s going to happen. And I’m going to tell you that it’s not. Not if you live up to your reputation at all.”
Troy grinned. Looked at his watch.
“I need to call Senator Greene and give her an update. We have things we need to disclose before the world finds out the wrong way, and then I need to get on with cleaning house.”
“Damned straight,” Conrad said, standing. “You just tell us where you want us to be and when.”
“You tell Celeste to get that animal squared away,” Troy said. “We’re going to empty the building this afternoon, and then you guys are on foot, going through it with a blueprint until you’ve seen every room in it.”
“Got it,” Conrad said. “They’ll be glad to know that you’re holding up.”
“What’d they expect me to do?” Troy asked, finding he was mirroring Conrad’s smile. “Stay sharp. We’re going to lose people, on this one.”
Conrad shook his head.
“I won’t believe that until it happens. But, yeah. We’ll be careful.”
Troy gave him a nod, then sat down again, looking at his phone and drawing a long, slow breath as Conrad left.
And then he dialed Senator Greene.
*********
They walked for several miles through the sucking ash before they found a point where tidal currents had broken apart the great formerly-underwater cliffs and forged a path down to their base. Here, underfoot, there was sand, and the ash swished like a kind of water as they went down to the waves. Cassie took off her shoes and left them with Jesse, going out to stand on the rocks where the waves washed in and out unenthusiastically. Gray, sludgy water hit the bottoms of her feet, and she and the siren inside of her both shivered.
“It’s freezing,” she called back to Jesse.
“It would be,” he answered. The air was cool but comfortable, but without the sun to warm the ocean, even the shallows were bitterly cold. Water washed up high enough to cover the tops of her feet and she waited, wondering what she’d hoped would happen.
A chorus of sirens rising up out of the ocean?
“This is home,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”
“You feel the moon?” Jesse answered. She hadn’t considered it, but she did, now that he mentioned it. She nodded.
“They still have tides,” Jesse said. “Let’s head back up out of the spray and sit it out. Maybe the tide will tell us something different.”
She nodded again, turning. A bigger wave rolled up over her ankle and she shuddered harder, stumbling forward as she blacked out.
*********
“My name is Major Troy Rutger,” Troy said, looking at the rows and rows and rows of men and women they’d taken out of the new portal complex. Major White stood off to one side, not looking at anyone. The Major had helped them identify the roles that needed immediate replacements - security in the barracks, for one - and Troy had taken several hours making sure that key roles didn’t go un-staffed, but they’d finally worked everything out and walked everyone out, onto cadet buses and across base. Here. Three-hundred fourteen of them. It really did rival the staffing at the main portal, if you ignored the nuclear portion of the facility.
“I don’t know what you know about the jobs you held under General Donovan, and we’re going to assume that you were unaware that the existence of the portal that you have been supporting was illegal. For that reason, among others, General Donovan has been relieved of command and, for the time being, I am responsible for identifying and dealing with the illegal decisions he made on base. You are all caught up in that, right now, and I’m afraid that there is going to be some inconvenience for all of you in the short term. We are going to conduct individual interviews, and then I will consult with my superiors in Washington about what happens next.
“Some of you have been doing things that you should have known better than to do, as you reflect on them today. I’m going to be very blunt with you. Now is not a time for getting your stories straight, nor trying to cast them in the best possible light. This is much, much too big for any story to go straight but the truth. I will be backing up everything you say to me or to one of the interviewers, and I will be meticulous. I’m not going to make you any promises about what’s going to happen if you tell the truth; I’m just going to give you the one warning. Do not lie to me, and do not lie to any of the interviewers. I’m not going to forbid you
to speak to one another, because I don’t think I have that right, but I will warn you that any expectation that you maintain confidentiality amongst yourselves remains, and I retain the right to punish you for violating confidentiality. There are five designated interviewers. They are wearing red hats and they have forms, signed by the President of the United States, that grant them security waivers in the context of these interviews. If you believe that you have information that would be imprudent or illegal to disclose to the interviewers, you may tell them so, and I will interview you myself.
“That’s it, guys. We have security personnel around to make sure that there aren’t any problems. I know that everyone’s anxious, and that there are going to be problems with tempers, but do not make me separate people. This is a setting that is at least designed to keep you comfortable for a few days. You won’t like my other options.”
He glanced at the five interrogators who had volunteered to deal with portal staff, giving them a nod, then motioned for Major White to follow him.
“Senator Greene has an escort coming for you,” he said quietly to the Major as they left the room. “I suspect they’re going to arrest you and… question you in D.C.”
“I did everything you asked,” Major White said.
“I know,” Troy answered. “And I’ve told her that we need you back to help us get into the rest of the portal complex.”
Major White nodded quickly.
“You shouldn’t let anyone go exploring,” he said. “It really is set up…”
“I’m going to have Senator Greene give you a blueprint of the complex. You are going to mark off every section of the buildings that they should avoid. We’ll cordon those off until you get back. But we need to be able to work, and I couldn’t talk Senator Greene into postponing your debrief in Washington.”
Major White sighed.
“We really did think it was the right thing to do, when we started,” he said. “It just…”
Troy shook his head.
“Don’t tell me,” he said kindly. “You haven’t got a friendly audience coming up, but… Take care of yourself, okay?”
Major White nodded, and Troy pushed the doors open to leave the barracks, taking a step back as two solidly-built men in sunglasses came in and laid arms on Major White. There was a very quiet conversation not intended for Troy’s ears, then Major White dipped his head and walked between them out into a large black SUV.
Troy stood and watched as the vehicle pulled away, then turned to go back into the barracks.
He was halfway to the first bunk room when his phone rang.
“This is Major Rutger,” he answered.
“Major,” Malcolm answered. “I wanted to let you know that I just got a call from the SIOs that they landed on base.”
Troy nodded.
“I just put Major White in a car with them,” Troy answered.
“You what?” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah. You guys let me know they were coming, and they were right on time. We finished putting everyone in quarantine and I handed him over.”
“No,” Malcolm said. “They just called me from the hangar, like… I just got off the phone with them as they were thanking the pilot.”
“Who just showed up and collected Major White, then?” Troy asked.
“Whoever it is, I don’t think you want him leaving with them,” Malcolm said. “I’ll alert the Senator.”
“They won’t get out,” Troy said. “I won’t let their plane take off. I’ll let you know when I have them.”
He hung up and dialed the central operator.
“I need you to put me through to the air strip,” he said, waiting a moment for the phone to click and ring again.
“Newman,” a man said.
“Do you always identify yourself on the phone without rank, airman?” Troy asked, not sure why he was testy about it as he started down the stairs, headed for his car.
“No, sir,” the man stuttered, and Troy shook his head.
“There’s a plane that’s going to come try to take off carrying two men and Major White from this base. I need you to deny them takeoff.”
“Sir?” the man asked.
“Is that in any way unclear?” Troy asked.
“You mean the secret service men who just landed?” he asked.
“It would have been just before that,” Troy said.
“Sir, we’ve only had one non-base aircraft land in the last two hours.”
Troy paused, then cursed, hanging up and dialing again, asking for the gate.
“Cadet Evans,” a man answered.
“There’s a large black SUV with two men in black suits that’s coming toward you,” Troy said. “I want you to stall them when they get there. They have base personnel in the back, and I need you to tell them that you need to see their paperwork to take him off base.”
“Who is this?” the man asked.
“This is Major Troy Rutger,” Troy said. “I need you to shut down the gate. Right now. No one in or out until I get there.”
“Which one do I do, sir? Stall them or close the gate?”
“Just close the gate,” Troy said. “I’m on my way.”
“Yes, sir,” the man answered. He spoke to someone else and Troy heard the normal, confident banter of two young airmen as they started the process of locking down the gate.
And then Troy heard the gunshots.
Troy grabbed two security officers at the front doors.
“With me,” he said, running now. “Cadet Evans?” he asked. “Update.”
There was nothing on the other side of the phone, and Troy cursed again. He got to his car and started it as the security officers got in the back and the passenger seat.
“Sir, what’s going on?” one of them asked.
“Someone just broke into my base to steal one of my officers,” Troy answered. “And I think they just shot their way out.”
“What?” the other man asked.
Troy shook his head.
“We’ve been treating this base like a science project for a long time. We do valuable things, and the security protocols are real, but…” He shook his head again. “Someone figured out just how valuable it could be, and they’ve been making a lot of money at this. They’re trying to cover up, now.”
“Who did they take?” the second officer in the back asked.
“Major White,” Troy said. “I should have checked their credentials.”
But they were here on time. At the right location.
He gritted his teeth, flooring the accelerator and passing people on the wrong side. Both security men’s phones rang at the same time.
“There’s been an incident at the front gate,” one of the men said quietly. “Two shot.”
Troy would have closed his eyes if he hadn’t been going seventy. He rounded the last corner before the front gate and slammed on the brakes, putting the car in park and getting out without pausing to take the keys or stop the engine. The base had reacted exactly the way it should have. Everyone within earshot was there, everyone was armed - that hadn’t taken long - and everyone was on guard. There was a siren behind Troy which would be the medics; there were two little clusters of men and women crouched on the ground.
One of those would be around Cadet Evans.
Troy had gotten them killed with a moment’s lapse of focus.
That was all it took.
He reached the gate and looked around, knowing that he wouldn’t see anything.
He snapped his fingers up in the air.
“Someone call the city police. Let them know that a black SUV left base with a kidnapped air force officer. Check the base security cameras and get the license plate and have them pull up the registration. How did they get onto the base? They shouldn’t have been on a list.”
“They had official tags,” someone groaned. Troy’s head snapped to the side. One of the two men was awake. He went to kneel next to him.
“Evans?”
�
�That’s Evans,” the man said, grunting as a large man put more pressure on his upper chest. The wound was far enough to the side that there was a decent chance the cadet would survive, so long as he got treatment fast enough. “I’m Rodriguez.”
“Tell me about the SUV,” Troy said.
“They came in a few minutes ago,” Rodriguez said, grunting again and wincing. “Had federal plates and badges.”
“What badges?” Troy asked.
“Um,” Rodriguez said, his head rolling to the side.
“You can do this,” Troy said. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Evans,” Rodriguez said.
“I don’t know. What badges did they have?”
Medics came pushing through, pulling people away, but Troy pushed them off as they grabbed his shoulder.
“Secret service,” Rodriguez said, as if suddenly remembering.
“Good job,” Troy said. “You did good.”
“They got away,” Rodriguez said. Troy shook his head.
“They shot their way out. They didn’t get away yet.”
He let the medics pull him away, finally, as they worked at getting Rodriguez onto a stretcher. One of them recognized him.
“Sir,” the man said. Troy nodded.
“Let me know if they need more support. We’ll fly them to a bigger hospital if we need to,” Troy told him.
“Yes, sir.”
Troy went over to check on the other cadet, but they were moving much more slowly, over there. Troy had one moment of just standing, watching as they loaded Cadet Evans’ body onto a stretcher and covered it, then Troy was in motion again. He called Bridgette.
“Troy,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“Someone just snatched Major White from under our noses,” Troy said. “There should be footage of the SUV that took him. I need everything about it, including the plates, sent to city law enforcement, and then I need…”
He saw two agents getting out of a remarkably similar SUV. He held up a hand, signaling them.
“Sir?” Bridgette said.
“SUI is here,” Troy said. “Call Malcolm and tell him what happened, as soon as we know that they’ve got notices going out for the SUV that took White. The cadet here says that they had Secret Service badges.”