The agents stopped outside of the metal door and waited for everyone to catch up. Lenny and Rebecca had fallen back, their eyes investigating everything as they whispered to one another.
Agent Harris gave them a suspicious glance and then turned back to the door. He placed his palm against a biometric pad on the wall and the doors swung open.
“If you wait inside, I’ll notify the president,” he said and ushered them forward.
Robert shook his hand and thanked him then walked inside with Drew. Gloria grabbed Javier by the arm and led him in. Rebecca and Maddox moved skeptically forward, their eyes fixed on the agents. Even Benjamin had a hesitant look on his face, but he quickly shook it off and took Robert’s lead.
Lenny entered the room last. Trusting people wasn’t his thing, but he was certain he no longer had a choice in the matter. He patted Javier on the shoulder then turned and glared at the agents outside.
“And now what?” Lenny asked.
“And now you wait,” Harris said with a sinister grin on his face. He walked out of the room and closed the door.
Lenny turned back and soaked in the details of the room. It was a large square with the same flooring and lights as the outside hallway. There were no other doors except the metal one they’d entered through and the walls were lined with dozens of tiny cameras.
“Sir!” Benjamin said. He wasn’t loud, but there was a harshness in his voice that made all of them jump. “What the hell is going on? This isn’t protocol, we shouldn’t be down here.”
Robert looked just as shocked at the turn of events, but he covered well. “Don’t worry Benjamin. When Henry shows up, he’ll straighten out everything.”
Lenny could hear the lack of conviction in his voice. Something told him none of this was going to go as planned.
Minutes dragged by reluctantly as they waited for someone to show up. After half an hour, which seemed like half of a day, the click of footsteps could be heard coming toward the room.
“Thank God,” Maddox grumbled. He sat up and watched the door with optimistic anxiety. In his eyes things were only getting better. They’d found themselves in a government facility and while they were being detained, anything was better than being back outside on their own.
The pace of the footsteps quickened and then stopped just outside of the door. Robert took a deep breath and straightened himself. His clothes were still filthy, but he considered himself extraordinarily lucky to have taken a bath the other night.
Suddenly the doors buzzed and swung open. A middle-aged, brown-haired man stood on the other side. He was a little shorter than Lenny and dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and maroon tie. His skin was pale and chalky, but he seemed to be in moderately good shape.
Behind him was a small platoon of agents with stone faces. Among them was agent Harris who still wore the same grin as before.
“Robert!” the man said enthusiastically and moved forward with his hand extended. “I’d thought we’d lost you.”
Robert mirrored his enthusiasm as he spoke. “Mr. President, so happy to see you,” he said shaking his hand vigorously.
“Come on Robert, such formalities are hardly necessary at a time like this.”
“And what is a time like this? Henry, what’s going on? When we left the city was in shambles.”
The president smiled and then glanced at his other visitors. His eyes seemed to hang on Rebecca a second longer than anyone else.
“So much has changed Robert. I think we may finally have a way out of this. We’ve done our best to give the people of this great city a normal life.”
Robert smiled at the news, eager to share his own good fortune. “That’s what brings me here. I think we found it, I think we found a way to fight them.”
“This is great news! But where are my manners, Robert who are your friends?”
“This is
Robert smiled and shifted uncomfortably. “This is Gloria, Rebecca, Mark, Javier and Maddox. And you remember Drew?”
“Of course I do. Drew, how are you?” he asked and knelt down so that he was eye level with him.
Drew hesitantly nodded and shrunk back behind his father. Henry let out an awkward laugh then straightened up. “So please share with me your discoveries.”
Robert looked back to Benjamin who nodded with encouragement. Lenny and Rebecca leaned forward eager to hear Robert’s secret.
“Perhaps...perhaps you’d like to discuss this more privately,” the president suggested as he watched the looks Robert gave the others.
Robert sighed and shook his head. “No, no this is fine. The mission into the Southern region cost us more than we ever imagined. Many thought it would be a complete waste, but it wasn’t. Thanks to the great sacrifice of many brave soldiers and the noble actions of Major Benjamin Rosenthal, we were able to find a way to stop the aliens. Maybe even destroy them.”
Lenny’s mouth fell open. Hearing Tim and Mark or even Maddox tell wild stories of alien encounters was one thing, but the deputy defense secretary and the president talking alien defense was on another level.
“So what is it Robert? What have you uncovered that can put an end to this crisis?” Henry asked with an intrigued look of awe on his face.
“It’s the radiation sir. The nuclear blast in Florida isn’t what bought us time. It was the after effects. The radiation poisoning, it’s …it’s many times more detrimental to them than humans. It kills their species.”
Henry raised his eyebrows and perked up. He suddenly seemed much more interested than he’d been before. “How…how do you know this?” he asked. His face was now stern and uncaring, his voice authoritative.
“One of our men, a sergeant.”
“Sergeant McKinley,” Benjamin added.
“Yes, Sergeant McKinley, he was taken during one of the assaults. We were able to rescue him, but when we found him we were too late. He’d already been cloned. This was our first real evidence of what we’d suspected.”
“You mean Dr. Worf’s theory?” Henry asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yes, but he was able to find out so much more. Sergeant McKinley had been with us for days when we found an identical dead body. Right then we knew we’d been fooled. We restrained the imposter and…” Robert paused and looked at the ground. “Dr. Worf ran tests and experimented on Sergeant McKinley.”
Rebecca and Gloria gasped. Robert looked at them and frowned.
“It was necessary,” he continued. “And it really wasn’t him, it was something else”
“So tell me Robert, what did you find? What did Dr. Worf’s experiments reveal?”
“The…the aliens, they are small, possibly micro-organisms. They insert themselves into the clones as some type of way to adapt to our environment. Worf believed by cloning a subject they rid it of all the impurities. McKinley had been a smoker for years, but all signs of that were gone in the clone. But there was something else. As the days progressed his health rapidly declined and Worf discovered he was suffering from radiation poisoning.”
“I don’t understand,” Lenny interjected.
“Well neither did we at first. He was showing symptoms of someone who’d been exposed to a large dose over an extended period. None of it made any sense. And then as Benjamin and his team continued to plan our route they made a discovery.”
Henry was listening very intently. He was focused on every word that fell from Robert’s mouth.
“The secret was Florida. Ground zero for the attack and also the place we’d deployed that tactical nuke. It was the radiation. Something in their make-up made them extremely sensitive to even trace amounts of it. And we’d walked poor McKinley right into the heart of it all. We didn’t realize it of course until it was too late. But while our weapons have no impact and their technology is light years beyond ours, somehow we’ve found a way to fight back. This isn’t over Mr. President, we can now go on the offensive,” Robert said and smiled from ear to ear.
Henry grinned
and started to pace the floor. He rubbed his chin and glowered at Robert and the others. His guards watched him anxiously but they didn’t move.
“Did you hear what I said Mr. President? We’re not dead yet,” Robert said.
With a deep breath Henry turned to Robert and stopped walking. “Shame,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“Shame,” Henry said again. “It’s unfortunate you’ve come back here, with this…this news.”
Henry looked at them one last time then started to back out of the room. Robert stepped towards him with his hands out, a pleading look etched across his face.
“Guards!” Henry yelled.
The agents rushed forward shoving Robert backwards. With their weapons raised they followed Henry into the hallway while Lenny and the others stared in confusion.
“Mr. President, what…what are you doing?” Robert yelled in a whiny voice.
“Stopping you,” Henry said right before the doors slammed shut.
CHAPTER 20
THE ART OF DECEPTION
It had been more than twelve hours since Henry closed the doors and walked away. Robert had exhausted every excuse he could for Henry’s action, but he still couldn’t come to terms with what the others already knew.
“This is fucking bullshit!” Lenny shouted.
Javier and Drew jumped up, jolted out of their sleep by Lenny’s outburst. Robert eyed them momentarily before moving closer to Lenny and placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Whatever is happening you have to believe the president has national security in mind. There has to be a good reason for all of this.”
“Sir…,” Benjamin started to say.
A clunk and a hiss interrupted him as the doors suddenly opened. Everyone froze and glared towards the entrance. Six agents stood in the hallway with their weapons drawn.
“Come with us,” one of them demanded and gestured to Robert.
“Certainly…of, of course,” Robert muttered back.
“Where are you taking him?” Benjamin asked as he stepped in front of Robert and blocked his exit.
One of the agents stepped into the room. He stopped a few feet in front of Benjamin and paused. With his eyes on Benjamin he handed one of the other agents his pistol.
“Mind your business,” he said sternly. Then, without warning, he swiftly swung his fist into Benjamin’s stomach, temporarily stunning him.
Benjamin groaned, but recovered almost immediately. He straightened up and lunged forward, but the other guards rushed him. One of them shoved him backwards and the other pressed his rifle into Benjamin’s face.
“Benjamin please,” Robert pleaded. “I’ll go, let’s just all stay calm.”
The agents backed away and grabbed Robert by the arms. They led him out of the room and down the hall as the metal doors slammed shut.
“The president wishes to speak with you,” the agent said nonchalantly. “It would be in your best interest to be honest when you see him.”
Robert offered a cheerful smile then swallowed hard. He’d tried to project a calm and confident demeanor in the room, but now his stomach swarmed with butterflies. Anxiety tore at him and the fear of the unknown sent his mind wandering.
The agents weren’t overly abrasive, but the firm grip they held on Robert’s arms told him they meant business. There were two guards beside him, two in front and two in the back. It seemed like overkill, but then maybe that was the point. Robert wasn’t much of a fighter, but the idea of resisting had quickly been snuffed out.
They led him into an elevator and stopped at the entrance. Robert stood at the door looking for some type of direction. One of the agents huffed and shoved him forward.
Staggering, Robert tumbled into the elevator and the doors started to close. The agents remained outside and with an ominous ding Robert was alone.
For minutes the cart didn’t move. Robert tried to contain his fear as his heart threatened to explode from his chest. After what felt like an hour Robert began to pace anxiously. He ran to the doors and started beating his fists against them.
“Let me out of here! Henry! Henry!” he yelled.
Still there was nothing. Then, as Robert made his way to the corner to sit down, the elevator jolted to life. With a low pitched drum, the cart began to descend.
It moved fast. Robert felt his stomach churn as the cart plummeted downward. He pressed his hands against the wall and braced himself and then as suddenly as it started, the elevator stopped.
With a chime, the doors began to slide open and the sound of classical music drifted into the cart. Hesitantly, Robert inched forward and peeked his head outside. He shuffled out of the elevator and into what seemed to be someone’s living quarters.
There were no windows, but the overhead lights filled the room with a light so close to the sun it was surreal. As he cautiously moved further in, his feet sank into a luxurious, Persian carpet that sat in the center. To either side were beige leather sofas adorned with throw blankets that matched the carpeting.
The walls were painted with an eggshell white coat and decorated with several high priced pieces of artwork. Robert, an avid collector himself, immediately recognized the “Death of the Virgin” painting by Caravaggio.
Forgetting his fears he rushed across the room to the painting. He stared at it in amazement as he soaked in the intricate detail.
“Impossible,” Robert mumbled. “This should be on display at the--.”
“Louvre,” Henry finished the sentence.
Robert jumped and whipped his head around. Henry was standing behind him near the elevator. He was eyeing Robert thoughtfully as he sipped out of a small tea cup. He took a step forward and the doors slid closed behind him.
Mr…Mr. President, I, I didn’t know you were here,” Robert stuttered.
“I’m told your kind cherish such things,” Henry said dismissively. “I thought it may bring you comfort.”
“How, how did you get it here?” Robert started. “Wait…what do you mean my kind?”
Henry grinned and stepped toward him before taking a seat on the couch. He sat his cup down on a glass coffee table and crossed his legs.
“I admit…this is a strange thing. Yours is out of sheer luck, but the other…the other has resisted on will power alone. Most intriguing.”
Robert looked confused, but didn’t say anything.
“Of course you wouldn’t understand. Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss.”
Henry motioned toward the couch. Robert was reluctant, but eventually slid onto the sofa across from Henry. Rubbing his face he sighed and took a deep breath. “Henry, I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“That much is apparent, and I have little time to be subtle. Your president is dead, or…well for all practical purposes. Death is such a trivial term. All leaders of your great world have either been killed or harvested. You yourself should’ve joined them, but as fate would have it you stumbled upon something most interesting.”
Robert’s mouth fell open. He contorted his face as his brain tried to process what Henry had just declared. A jolt of nausea surged through him and shot forward, spewing vomit all over the rug.
“Such a feeble existence,” Henry said in disgust. “Who else have you told, who else have you shared your discoveries with?”
“Discoveries?” Robert gagged.
“Yes, of what the good doctor uncovered.”
Robert sat up and wiped his mouth. “No one. You…you were the first,” he gasped.
“I believe you,” Henry said. “And the man traveling with you, Lenny, what do you know of him?”
“The cabinet members, the agents, the military…they’re, they’re all aliens?” Robert asked in a tone of bewilderment.
“Hardly,” Henry laughed. “Most are simply weak minded slaves. We only care to clone those who have something we want, but this is all irrelevant. Tell me about Lenny.”
Robert breathed heavily as his senses started to return. “
What do you want from us?”
“That is not how this works,” Henry replied, agitation seeping from every word. “What do you know of Lenny?”
“What the fuck do you want from us?” Robert yelled back, his normal reserved demeanor cracking to show the storm brewing beneath. “You killed…you killed them all. What the fuck do you want?”
Henry sighed. “I was afraid things would go this way.”
The elevator doors slid open once again and several agents rushed into the room. They were unarmed, but they had a commanding presence regardless.
“I’m told your kind value the threat of pain just as much as pain itself. We do not share in your belief. His eye,” Henry spat.
“My…what?” Robert mumbled.
Before he could utter another word, one of the guards moved across the room in a blur. He slid a small, silver object from his pocket and in one swift motion snatched one of Robert’s eyes clean from the socket.
Robert collapsed to the ground as blood squirted onto the coffee table. His heart-stopping screams thundered loudly as he rolled across the floor in pain.
“Next time think before you speak,” Henry said causally. “Get him out of here. Bring me one of the others.”
Two of the agents dragged Robert into the elevator and disappeared. Henry looked at the other guards and sighed in exhaustion. He ruffled his brown hair then rubbed the graying stubble on his face.
“Clean up this mess,” he said and snapped his fingers.
In a flash the agents moved across the room and started wiping the table and trying to clean blood and vomit from the rug. Henry sipped more of his tea and stared across to the wall at the collection of paintings.
“Foolish things,” he mumbled. “Wasteful creatures and so fragile.”
He sat staring into the paintings for minutes until the elevator doors rolled open again. Benjamin stood on the other side, his face expressionless. Henry smiled and opened his arms as if he meant to hug him from across the room.
“Welcome Benjamin, welcome. Robert tells me great things about you.”
Escape: The Wasteland Chronicles Book Two Page 17