By the time they were finished with their interrogation of the man, they secured him to a large heavy workbench in the garage, taped his mouth shut, and closed the door, leaving him to whimper and bleed through the night.
Following a few steps behind, Devin called out to Tess, “Let’s discuss a strategy.”
“We will. I’m hungry; let’s get a bite first,” Tess replied and went into the house.
All eyes were on her when she walked in. The children other than Alex had never seen the Tess who showed herself today, and it scared them.
Tess noticed the stares but chose to ignore them. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a liter bottle of water and a can of Chef Boyardee. Like a zombie she sauntered over to the couch and sat next to Meagan. She reached out, touched her leg and asked, “Hey, Megs, how’s Melody?”
Meagan recoiled from her touch. “Fine.”
Again noticing the stares and Meagan’s negative response to her, she said, “I’m not a crazy person. I did what I had to do so I can get the teens back.”
“And we are thankful,” Alex said.
The other kids kept staring.
“Brianna, you’ve had an opinion on a lot lately. Anything from you?” Tess asked, her intention was only to spark a debate.
“I’m good, but I will say, that was some crazy stuff.”
Tess peeled back the lid and dipped a spoon into the can.
“You never cease to surprise me. I had my doubts at first but well done,” Devin said.
“Glad you approve,” she said sarcastically.
“So tomorrow, we’ll have him take us to the boat. If our luck holds out, the other boat will be there,” Devin said.
“Getting the boats is the easy part. It’s how do we get on the ship full of fifty crazy men without getting shot up before we take our first step onto the deck?” Tess asked.
“That’s why we’re here discussing,” Brianna said.
“People, I’m sorry, but this rescue mission is going to be a fucking bitch, straight up. First thing is we just don’t motor up and step on. You heard him, Dev, once they get positive ID, they lower that davit thing and haul the boat out of the water. Say we get on without anyone noticing, just how are we going to locate and get the kids? I’m sure they’re all over that ship, and you heard that douche bag downstairs, the ship is huge. I’m sorry, but one of the reasons I have a fucking attitude right now is because the minute he told me it was a ship, I just about exploded with anger.”
Devin grinned, walked over and plopped himself on the couch next to her.
“What’s that stupid grin for?” Tess asked.
Devin looked around the candlelit room and said, “I want you all to remember this moment.”
“You’re such a dork,” Tess said, jabbing him with an elbow.
“Okay, here it is. All ships need to refuel, so they must pull into a port somewhere. We find that and make sure we’re there when they go to top off.”
Tess shoved a spoonful of raviolis in her mouth and mumbled, “You’re a smart dork.”
Devin brought his hand to his beard and began to rub. Pride that he had come up with a brilliant solution to their problem filled him.
Tess took another spoonful of raviolis and playfully smeared it on his face.
“What was that?” he asked, shocked and amused.
“Oh, you looked hungry.” She laughed.
The kids all laughed loudly seeing Tess and Devin act playful.
He cleaned his face off and said, “Stuff still tastes like dog food with tomato sauce.”
“Better eat something. We gotta big day tomorrow,” Tess said.
Outside Pine Bluffs
Travis knew exactly where they were when they pulled through the tall chain-link fence gate. It wasn’t the signage on the gate that told him; he’d seen enough photos of these types of installations to know. In front of them were two small tan-colored cinder-block buildings with similar-colored roofs.
They stepped out and stretched.
Lori looked around; in the far distance was another facility just at the edge of the horizon. She turned and asked, “What is this place?”
“It’s a nuke silo,” Travis answered.
The magistrate grinned and replied, “Correct. Very good, Captain.”
Martin led the way and opened a door to one of the small buildings.
“Right this way,” the magistrate said, pointing towards the door.
They all went inside and stopped before walking down from the platform.
Lori looked over the railing. She was amazed at how deep it went.
“Let’s not be shy,” the magistrate said, passing by them and descending into the building.
Down they went; one concrete step after another took them farther into the earth.
Lori clung to the cold steel railing. She wasn’t nervous, just being cautious.
Travis got beside her and whispered, “How ya been?”
“I should be asking you,” Lori replied.
They reached the landing, a large concrete floor platform that sat four stories below the entrance.
The magistrate unlocked a massive blast door and opened it.
Lori was impressed by the size of it. In some ways it reminded her of a bank safe door.
They stepped through into a dimly lit circular shaft that spanned forty feet. The concrete floors had a sealant that shined and reflected the fluorescent tube lights. The shaft had an eight-foot diameter and was nothing more than a large corrugated metal tube.
“Let’s see where this goes, shall we?” the magistrate said playfully and began walking.
Lori sniffed and scrunched her face at the smell. “What is that?”
“Dead people,” Travis guessed.
“Unfortunately the men who operated this facility didn’t make it. We discovered their corpses a few weeks after they had died. We cleaned it up, but the smell still lingers,” the magistrate answered.
“I would have thought the U.S. military would have been securing these sites,” Travis mentioned.
“The Order is not as sophisticated and organized as you might think.”
At the end of the shaft was a large metal door.
The magistrate pulled out another key and unlocked the door. He opened it and waved them through.
Travis stepped into the dark room first; his senses told him the space was open and large. Cool air enveloped him, and by the sound of his footfall he could tell he was standing on a metal grate.
“All in, step farther. Don’t worry, you won’t fall,” the magistrate teased.
Lori came in followed by Martin.
“You’re one for theatrics, aren’t you?” Lori commented.
“Ms. Roberts, I’ve found that appearances are a big part of life,” he replied as he stepped in and closed the door. He reached his right hand out, touched the wall, and found a large light panel. He started clicking.
Each click turned on a panel of lights. As the lights turned on, they began to show what was hidden in the darkness, an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“Oh my God,” Lori gasped. She looked over the railing down to the floor. Her eyes then scanned the entire sixty-foot length of the huge white missile. What was missing for her was the black stenciled letters UNITED STATES AIR FORCE or USA, like she had seen on popular images.
“That’s a Minuteman missile, right?” Travis asked.
“A LGM-30 Minuteman III to be exact. It has an operational range of 8,100 miles and is equipped with a W78 thermonuclear warhead,” the magistrate said, clearly happy about his possession of the weapon.
“You’re scaring me. What exactly are you planning on doing with this?” Lori asked.
“Unfortunately, I can’t do much in the way they were meant to be used, but I have some plans for them.”
“Them?” Lori asked.
He turned to face her and answered, “Imagine you’re standing in the middle of a field surrounded by corn. Well, we’re standi
ng in the middle of a field of nuclear missiles. This is one of over forty we’ve found unmanned.”
“What?” Lori asked her mouth wide open in shock.
“Like I said, the Order isn’t as organized as you might have imagined.”
“But what are you planning on doing with these weapons?” Travis asked.
“That’s where you and your friend here will help. Come with me,” the magistrate answered and left the silo.
They walked to a small break room and took a seat at a table. From the looks of it, they had been there more than once.
“Take a seat, and I’ll tell you exactly what is happening. What you thought you knew is only the half of it.”
Lori and Travis took seats in the plastic chairs. Martin came in last and closed the door; he then sat at the head of the long table.
The magistrate began to pace the room for a moment, then said, “Years ago I was a member of the Order. I believed in making our planet a better place, but when the plan to create the Death was passed, that was it for me. I protested, but a man whom you know as Chancellor Horton had me removed. I knew their plans were to kill me, so I fled. I went into hiding, off grid and as far away as I possibly could.”
“Wait a minute. I was with the chancellor, and I saw these tablets with inscriptions. The Order clearly stated their intentions. You’re not that old.”
“I’m a bit older than you think I am, but yes, I’m aware of the so-called Georgia Guidestones. When they were made, I was not yet a part of the Order, but my father was. I was only a young boy when they were erected. I looked at those as more hyperbole than a realistic plan for a new world. When I came of age, my father had me initiated into the Order, and he went into retirement and died not long after. Only once I was working with them did I learn the truth behind what their plans were. I was horrified, and not long after I complained to Horton, I was expelled. I knew my life would be in danger, so I took off. Pretty much end of story with my involvement with them, but it was the beginning of the resistance for me. I knew they’d achieve their plan; it was only a matter of time. They had large sums of money, in the trillions, and effectively kept their plans hidden by buying politicians, planting people in places of power around the world, and destroying anyone who got wind of their plans. You want to hear the irony of ironies; Chancellor Horton was the director of the CDC before the Death broke out. He used his position to ensure the virus spread and was the man who personally killed the president and vice president.”
“How can you resist them? They control what is left of the armed forces,” Travis said.
“Ha, that’s where you’re not entirely up to speed, Captain. There’s no shortage of commanders that are in doubt and outright against what is happening. However, my sources tell me the chancellor is aware of these disgruntled officers and plans to move quickly to remove them. But this is not the worst of what I have to share. A deep source has told me that the chancellor is working on another virus, something more lethal and efficient than the Death. I don’t know why he wants this, but I can only assume to kill off more people, even those of us that are immune.”
Hearing this, Lori sank into her chair in despair.
The magistrate continued, “We have to stop him.”
“The nukes, you’re going to use the nukes!” Travis exclaimed.
“Yes, but not how you think I am. I don’t plan on some sort of massive strike. Hell, I couldn’t do one even if I wanted to, but the idea to use them is only part of the plan, and the other part is where I need you, Mrs. Roberts.”
Lori perked up hearing this and sat straighter in her chair. “Me?”
“Once I found out who you were to the chancellor, I knew you were the piece to the puzzle I had been seeking. Do you want your baby to live past birth?” the magistrate asked.
“How do you know I’m pregnant?”
“Can the both of you stop asking me how I know things and just figure I know everything. Why is it people never take you at your word?” the magistrate asked rhetorically.
“You have a vaccine?” Lori asked.
The magistrate looked at Martin, then back to Lori. “Yes, I have a supply of it.”
Travis chirped up, “I guess I’m immune.”
“Don’t be so sure, but you’re fine now. The moment I found out who you were I had one of my people give you the R-59.”
“You did?”
“Yes, I knew the military assets were only being given the old temporary shots with monthly boosters. I found out you’d fled around the time you’d need your monthly, so I gave you the R-59.”
“That’s what those shots were?” Travis asked.
“One was, the other was an antibiotic. I didn’t want the arm to get infected.”
Travis rubbed his stub and felt lucky in some ways that he was now vaccinated against the Death. It had been in the back of his mind whether he was truly immune. As the days had ticked down, he stressed, and when he went past, he breathed a sigh of relief and counted himself lucky, but now he knew the truth.
“I think that’s twice I saved your life,” the magistrate said.
Travis gave the magistrate a glare but declined to comment.
“You mentioned Chancellor Horton was doing something else,” Lori said.
“Yes, let’s get back on track. Chancellor Horton was given a directive by the Order to expand the cleansing. He has implemented that plan and is killing millions more people. The wholesale slaughter of civilians is underway across the continent.”
“This is what I was telling you I overheard,” Lori blurted out to Travis.
Travis nodded and said, “I just can’t believe Marines much less soldiers or other military officers would carry out such plans.”
“Believe it. Because they are, and if anyone refuses to help, they get eliminated immediately. Also, the threat of not giving them their monthly booster is hung over their heads. I know you like to think that all military people are honorable to the last man or woman, but some aren’t. It’s a hard lesson.”
Travis grimaced.
“But let me get back on track. Besides everything else that is happening, the chancellor wishes to take total control, and in order to do that he has to kill off the Order. This new virus is incredibly deadlier than the Death, and we have to stop it. If we want a world for that baby to be born in where they have a chance at surviving, I need you two to help me.”
Lori’s earlier despair over the news shook her, but now she felt a fighting spirit. She had control over this, unlike when the Death was released. She didn’t know if she trusted the magistrate completely, but what were her options right now? She could sit and wait for it to happen, or sit and wait to die at the hands of someone. Regardless, she had to do something, and if this was how she and her baby would die, then she had to do it. Sitting straighter in her chair, she said, “I’m in.”
“You haven’t heard what he wants you to do,” Travis shot back at her.
“Does it matter?” Lori asked.
“She’s right,” the magistrate said, looking smug.
Travis thought, and Lori was right, did it matter? If everything the magistrate said was true, they would die soon. If you had to die, why not die trying to save the world. How crazy, he thought, did that sound? How strange was it that he could be instrumental in saving the world from further catastrophe? He looked at Lori, who sat pensively waiting for him to answer, and then to the magistrate, who stood with his arms crossed, looking for an answer. “I’m going with her,” Travis insisted.
“Captain, I need you for something else.”
“No, I need to go with her, to protect her.”
“Captain, I appreciate your valor, but it will be in vain. The first step you make in there, you’ll be taken down and ushered off to your death. I need you for something else. I need those skills as a battlefield commander.”
“The chancellor might kill her. I don’t know,” Travis protested.
Lori raised her hand to silence Travi
s. “It’s fine. What am I doing?”
“No, Lori, you don’t know what the chancellor will do,” Travis said.
“The magistrate is right. You won’t last a second. I’ll be fine, trust me.”
“I like hearing how right I am so often,” the magistrate commented.
“I can’t let her go by herself,” Travis said, still pressing the issue.
“Travis, you need to listen to him but, more importantly, to me. I don’t want you there,” Lori said.
This coming from her hit him hard. He recoiled and fell back in his chair, frustrated.
The magistrate unbuttoned the top breast pocket of his flannel shirt and pulled out a small vial. He placed it on a piece of paper and slid it over for Lori to examine. “This is what you’ll be taking with you.”
She leaned in to look at it. The vial was the size of a cigarette filter and contained a white powder. “What is it?”
“That, my dear, came at a high price, but as soon as I knew who you were, I knew there was only one way for you to get the chancellor. A gun is too crude, but let’s be honest, he’ll never let you within a mile of him if you had a weapon of any kind.”
“Poison, I assume?” she asked.
“Yes, but something very special. It’s polonium-210. It’s very rare but extremely lethal. It’s guaranteed to kill, no ifs, ands or buts.”
“How do I give it to him?” she asked.
“Slip it into a drink or mix it with food. Whatever you do, don’t drink or eat after him.”
“How soon will it kill him?” Lori asked.
“This amount, just a day or two. His death will be agonizing and painful. It will come on like he has the flu, so they’ll probably think he has some type of virus like the Death. I’m betting they’ll quarantine him, and by then, he’ll be dead. Upon his death, things will go crazy there. That’s when my sources will come to the surface and extract you out of there, which is also when Mr. Martin here will deliver a nuclear device.”
“What am I doing?” Travis asked.
“Captain, you’ll be leading a force of Scraps in an assault from the west. We’ve been sending small unit-sized forces into Denver for weeks now so as not to draw attention. By our count we have about five thousand men and women ready to fight.”
The Death Trilogy (Book 2): The Death: Eradicate Page 14