Rick hadn’t left a signal for him in two weeks. If there was nothing there for him today, he was going to call again. Tony had a handful of men all dedicated to training as a militia unit. They believed they were organizing according to their rights under the Constitution. And while they all had feelings that their government was overstepping its bounds, they were in no way ready to take up arms against it. People who genuinely were prepared to use violence against their government were truly rare. But they were all good men, and Tony had confidence that if they could be convinced of the existence of the Provenger, they would be the kind that could take action.
Tony felt bad about leading them into a situation where their lives might be at risk, especially for a purpose they had no idea existed. Worse yet, it could be a suicide mission. As he imagined events progressing, he hoped they would have a chance to back out if they chose to. But he wanted them to understand there was a chance they would be collected in a harvest anyway. And these men were the kind who would rather go down fighting.
Tony had seen in the news natural disasters happening everywhere. People disappearing, never to be found, not a body or even a body part. Planes and ships gone. People blamed it on anything they could think of – the weather, terrorists, and even the apocalypse. Some blamed it on a belief that the magnetic poles were starting to reverse. Everyone picked their favorite reason, as people often do. The building anxiety was real. And now he was almost certain that his sister was a victim.
Tony finally saw a signal from Rick at the Walmart, went to the drop where the meeting location was given, and followed its directions. This is where Tony would give Rick the ultimatum.
Tony approached the west edge of the pond at Parque De Vida, a nicely appointed public park near the center of Cortez. It had beautiful open spaces, playing fields, and park benches lining the water, a good place to meet someone while being able to scan the surroundings. Rick was already there, standing next to a bench. They sat down, and neither knew where to begin.
“A lot has happened since we first met, Tony.”
“No shit. I’ve been working my ass off trying to get a crew together. What have you been doing?”
“I’ve been working some angles. What have you got?”
“I’ve got almost a dozen guys. They’re good, good men. But I’ve got to warn you, they’re not killers. They’re interested in doing what’s right. They all have military experience. I think if we get them together and tell them what’s going on…”
“They’ll think we’re insane.”
“No, they won’t. Not if we show them the evidence. They’ve been watching the news. They’ve seen the issues with people disappearing, whole groups, whole towns, in natural disasters. That doesn’t just happen. Rick, you’re gonna hate me for this, but I told them I’ve been working with you.”
“You did what? What kind of a dumb shit move was that?” Rick reacted with a low-toned tirade. “I can’t be stuck out like that. What did you tell them we were ‘working on’, putting together a revolution or something?” Rick thought of the disastrous implications. This changed everything. The only way Rick could feel safe with this relationship was to maintain his anonymity. “Tony, really, I can’t believe you. What the fuck were you thinking? All that’s gotta happen is one of them says something to the wrong person, and the next thing I know I’m getting dragged out of my office like a criminal. Synster’s gonna see the word spread and either frame me as insane, then make me disappear, or just cut to the chase and make me disappear.” Rick leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “Shit.” Rick could think of only one way out of this mess, and it made him sick.
“They know something’s going on. I had to involve you to give it credibility. I didn’t mention the NSA. I just told them you had inside information. The government is coming out with the gallbladder thing and the medicine ban proposal. They want to do something. When they do meet you and find out who you work for, they’ll be pissed. I had to ease them into it. They’ve gotta be prepared somehow. You can’t just show up. They need to know you’re on our side. It’s way beyond just a government thing now. They see what’s going on in the world. They’re not stupid. We’re not at the top of the food chain anymore.”
“Tony, you don’t get it. They’ll think we’re kooks feeding off the news. They’ll think they’re being set up. We can’t do anything yet anyway.” Rick was horrified with Tony’s flagrant abuse of their relationship.
“What do you mean can’t do anything? We’ve got to do something. We can’t keep letting them do this to us. We’ve got to show them there will be a cost. I’m not backing down on this, Rick. We’re doing something.”
“We’re not doing anythi…”
“We are.”
“Tony, we can’t. I’m telling you. We don’t have the ability.”
“Rick, you don’t understand. I’ve lost my sister. If I lose anyone else, I’m going to start talking.”
“Apparently, you’ve already started talking.”
“Unless we do something now, I’m going to go to the papers and tell them about you and your work. I’m going to go to your office and tell them you’ve been using their computers to check for the alien’s probes and passing on if the government knows anything…keeping watch for them. I’ll talk to anyone who’ll listen.” Tony paused trying to think of another threat to tack on. “I’ll tell the authorities about your new live-in girlfriend.”
Rick shot a glare at Tony, wondering how and what he knew about her.
“Rick, I’m serious here. And I know what you used to do for the military. You told me what you did in Afghanistan. I know what you must be capable of. We can do this. I know you can do this.”
“You don’t know shit about me!” Rick knew Tony was screwing him. The problem was that Tony knew too little. He really had no idea what Rick was capable of. Tony had received his last warning.
“I told the guys that if something happens to me, they should come looking for you.”
Tony watched Rick get red and swollen in the face as he was talking. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone this far, Tony thought. He was quickly regretting all he’d said. He’d pushed Rick too far. There was a long pause.
“Okay, Rick, I’m sorry I said all that to them. It was just after I knew I’d lost my sister. I was frustrated and angry. I knew this was going on and I hadn’t done anything about it. Well, I’m going to do something now.” Tony was glad he’d kept talking. Rick seemed to have calmed down right when it looked like he might blow.
“Tony, you can’t do any of those things; it wouldn’t be productive. We’ve got to focus on what will work. The stakes are too high. This isn’t about a few years in prison, and this isn’t about principle.” Rick’s volume was growing, and he had to remind himself to tone down. “This is about preventing our planet, humanity, from being the food supply for an alien race. One or two or a dozen or even a thousand people don’t matter. We’ve got to wait until the time is right.”
“I understand that, but the sooner we start resistance, the better our position will be. People are going to find out anyway, and soon.”
“What you’re advocating will lead to the managed collectivization I told you about. Resistance would be improbable or impossible under that situation,” Rick tried to reason with him.
“That’s where we’re going anyway! You’re just worried about your own ass, aren’t you?
“That’s not it.”
“Yeah, I think it is. Don’t worry. You won’t be implicated. We still need you on the inside. We need to kill a bunch of these guys. You need to let us know how, when, and where, and we’ll do it. If we make it costly enough for them and make an example, maybe they’ll see we’re not worth it.”
The more Tony tried to convince Rick, the more he became convinced that he would do nothing. This was all bad. All they needed was for some kind of action to be taken. They couldn’t keep waiting, Tony thought. But Rick wouldn’t listen. The more they talked and the m
ore Tony threatened, the less he was convinced that Rick was committed to the destruction of the Provenger. Now Tony’s frustration was coming to a boiling point.
“What have you been doing? Do we have a way to kill them? Can you get us on the ship? I’ve got access to explosives we can set.” Tony didn’t want to actually say he had them.
Finally, completely surprising Tony, Rick calmed and acquiesced. “Fine, we’ll take action. I’ve been working on something, and I think it might pan out. I have more information now than I did. I’ll contact you next week. I’ll have an answer.”
Tony felt better but was still disappointed that Rick was so hesitant. He’d been so motivated at first. Had somebody gotten to him? Tony looked at Rick a little closer. “Do you have a sunburn?” Tony asked, looking at his face and then his hands, which also looked sunburned.
“Yeah, I’ve been doing some work outside,” Rick replied.
An hour after he’d left Rick, Tony pulled up to the Cortez pistol and rifle range just east of town. Some of his buddies were already there. He felt a little guilty pressuring and deceiving Rick as he had. His team wasn’t exactly composed of the stalwart military men he’d described. The fact was that they were the hodgepodge antigovernment group that Rick had always been concerned about. They were prone to conspiracy theories and had negative, fertile imaginations.
Tony had already put them together to execute whatever they thought appropriate once they’d figured out what the NSA was doing in Cortez. Tony’s idea was to blow up some equipment. He didn’t intend to hurt anyone but simply garner support from like-minded patriots, show that there were people that cared, that were willing to put it all on the line. He wanted to show that aggressive action could be used safely. He imagined that if it was done carefully and professionally, no one would get caught.
To this group he’d added a few more people, mostly comprised of former Army friends who would only go so far as to commiserate with his beliefs and provide vague assurances that they’d be there for him when he needed them, for organizational and training purposes.
Shooting at the range that day was Tom Durham, a small business owner in Mancos, the neighboring town. He had a vendetta regarding the government’s recent socialization of medicine. Rob Godfrey, from Durango, was a recently discharged Air Force mechanic and had been pulled over by traffic cops one too many times. His friend Will Jenkins was a former rancher whose family had literally lost the farm and his wife in the debt crisis. They were indeed all former military, but their skills were spotty. When Tony thought about it too much, he doubted everything he was doing.
They were going to shoot for the rest of the day. They would practice a little pistol first, then some long range rifle to check zeros on their scopes, and then have a little competition.
Tony’s phone rang. “Yello.”
“Tony? Marcus. What’s up man.”
“Hey, Marcus. How you been?”
“Good. Hey, I’m not gonna make the shoot today…had to stay home with the kids. I…” silence, “I…Count me in for everything else though…” Silence.
“Hello? Marcus? You there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Hold on.”
Tony heard Marcus put the phone down and was irritated. Marcus calls, then puts me on hold! What the…
Crack!! broke the silence. Tony heard a rifle shot on the other end of the line
“Shit! Marcus, you there?” Tony heard fumbling on the line.
“Hello? Hey, sorry ‘bout that. I’ve been trying to get that bastard for weeks now. Finally did. Keeps coming over to my property.”
“What the hell are you shooting? Damn! I thought you’d been shot!” Tony exclaimed.
“No…Damn neighbor’s dog keeps coming over. Won’t be anymore!” replied Marcus.
This is the problem, thought Tony.
Nwella stood just inside the door of the shed at the back of Rick’s property, beside the pile of hay. She was scared, more so than she’d ever been. She had planned to meet Rick in ten minutes. She knew he was thinking it would be another date. It wouldn’t. She arrived a little early to gain her composure and try to figure out what she was going to do, thinking it would come to her once she arrived, but it hadn’t.
She heard the dogs barking and peeked through the shed window to see Rick closing the back door, keeping them inside. He was early, too. She took a deep breath. Whatever happened in the next five minutes would change her life. He walked toward the shed in a space of time that felt both like an eternity and a moment.
“Nwella, I’ve missed you. What’s it been, twelve hours?” Rick joked with a smile
“Yes,” Nwella said and was quiet. He knows something is wrong, she thought. They held each other, and she started to shake. Rick quickly pushed back and held her at arm’s length.
“What’s wrong?” he asked urgently. “Have we been discovered?”
“We might as well be. Rick, I don’t know what to tell you, how to tell you,” Nwella stuttered, her chest heaving with swallowed breath.
“What?” Rick was starting to panic. His family’s lives were on the line.
“I have a child. We have a child. It must have been from the first time.”
“We have a child?” Rick stammered, “How can we have a child? Is that possible?” Then Rick paused and his face twitched. “How could things possibly get more complicated? I have a child! You do mean you’re pregnant, right? I mean it’s not somewhere here already?” Rick glanced around on the floor. “You know, the whole alien thing.”
“No, don’t be stupid.” Nwella bumped him on the chest with her fist. “It’s in me. We have them the same way,” Nwella explained.
Rick dropped to his knees and hugged her around the hips, burying his face in her stomach. “How are we going to do this? How is this going to work?” Rick asked looking up, nervous and confused, sounding like an inmate in a psychiatric ward. “Do I call Synster ‘Dad’? Will he kill me? You know you took me first.” Rick gasped and laughed. “How can this be? Does he know? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Nwella replied.
“Yes to he knows, or yes to being sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“You’re sure he knows, or that you’re pregnant?”
“I’m sure that I’m pregnant, you dope! I already said, it must have happened that first time, when I took you after your treatment by the Recombinant. The treatment must have done something to make it possible. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Rick was still babbling on his knees, apparently not knowing what to do, and Nwella could sense it.
“Don’t worry, my love. Because of my condition, I have immunity, and so do you.”
“Immunity against what?” Rick asked.
“Against anything,” Nwella responded.
“What’s anything?” Rick asked rising to his feet again, still holding her close.
“Recriminations cannot be brought against us. It is the law,” Nwella explained.
“Well, we have laws, too, and they only extend to our species, sometimes just to citizens and sometimes not even them. Do your laws extend to humans?”
“This law would have to. Its impetus emanates from the life within me, and only in that respect, affects us. We are the sources of this life. We are responsible for this life,” Nwella explained. “The law protects us only to protect the life within me. The lives of our children are of primary importance to us. My real violation is my aberrant sexual behavior. We have a strange unofficial rule regarding that. It can be done; just don’t get caught. But there is no hiding a pregnancy.”
“That sounds reasonable,” said Rick, thinking hard and fast. There was a long pause. “Nwella, I want you to know I won’t abandon you. I want to keep Carson safe, but other than that, I only care about you. Against all logic, I love you, Nwella. I think I have since that first day I saw you.”
Nwella looked at Rick, wondering if he could handle the next few bombs she was about to drop.
“
What will you do?” Rick asked
“I will be cast out,” Nwella whispered. “They won’t hurt us, but I will be cast out. If there was nowhere habitable to put me, I would be forced to remain on the ship, and I would be made to wear certain attire that would show everyone that they were not to speak to me. That would be for fifty years. It would be torture. I wouldn’t recover. No one ever has. But since we have access to Earth, I could choose to come here, especially since you are the father.” Nwella knew that humans sometimes terminated pregnancies. That had never been a Provenger way and never would be, as far as Nwella was concerned. Even if she did, it would have shown up on her next Recombinant scan anyway. She would then not only be an outcast but be subject to worse penalties for having terminated the pregnancy.
Primal Estate: The Candidate Species Page 32