Hostile Territory

by Tom Andry

  The Vice President put up a hand, "No need to explain. I know all about you and the work you folks do. And that's why I'm here."

  I blinked, trying to process what was going on, "Okay."

  "May I sit?"

  I nodded.

  He sat, struggling at first with the reinforced chair that was bolted to the ground. When he finally got settled, he looked over at Leon. My assistant's ears were plastered to his head. The Vice President smirked and then looked up at me and smiled warmly, "Another hazard of the business, I suppose. Uncomfortable seating?"

  I sat down, nodding mutely. What did he want? The Vice President? Here?

  "Mr. Moore, do you mind if I call you Bob?"

  I nodded.

  "Good. I'm going to get right to the point. Now, Bob, what I got on my hands is a bit of a prickly situation."

  Clones? Could it be clones? Were they the ones behind it? I blinked the thought away.

  Alan seemed to shiver and slowly sat down on the edge of my desk. I'd never seen him so shaken.

  I nodded to the Vice President, "Okay. So, that's why you followed me, broke into my apartment, sent in what look to be mafia types, and strolled in here like it is just another day at the office?"

  I winced at my sarcasm. I was talking to the Vice President. I had to remember that.

  "Son, I'm going to have to apologize for that. We wanted to meet you outside...somewhere neutral. Where they could control everything. But when you caught wind of us, my security team wanted to abort. Well, I wasn't having any of that so we had to come to you. After The Raven, they've been a bit crazy about security. This new gizmo of theirs was designed to override any security system so that they can be sure I'll be safe." The Vice President looked around the office, "Seems to have worked pretty well."

  I frowned, "I'll say. So what is it you want?"

  "You know about the Super City, of course. Well, what you may not know is that every country on Earth has sent representatives up there." The Vice President pointed at the ceiling. "Never been there myself. Security won't let me be anywhere around a bunch of supers anymore after the Day." He shrugged, "I don't see the point of it, myself. If these supers want to get me, being tucked away in some bunker somewhere sure as hell ain't gonna keep them off me." He noticed my empty glass on the table next to the decanter. "You mind pouring me one of those?"

  "Mr. Vice President..." one of the guards chided.

  "Now, Billy, I don't want to hear it. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. I'm the leader of the damn country, aren't I? I can have a blasted drink if I damn well please. No matter the time of day."

  The argument sounded old. Like they had it often. The guard's expression never changed, taking his duty to remind the Vice President not to drink just as seriously as protecting his person. I grabbed a glass and poured a couple of fingers into it from my decanter.

  The Vice President took a sip, relishing it. "Nice." He smiled. "Now, I've heard a lot about you, Bob. Had my best people digging up everything we could about you."

  I exhaled. What could he know? Surely more than the general public. But would he know more than the supers? Could he?

  "I'm sure."

  "And one thing I like about you is your spirit. You've got spunk, boy. And I like that. I need that."

  "Need it?"

  "See, we got us a situation...up there."

  My mouth dropped open slightly. I could guess where this was going and I didn't like it.

  "You're probably old enough to remember the League of Nations. Pretty much fell out of use after the Accords were signed. Now, the LN has been re-formed in the Super City. And, I have to tell you, it's a real mess up there. All these nations fighting over every little thing." He sat back, his drink under his bottom lip, "Makes me sick, it does. Having to fight over the scraps at the supers' table."

  I nodded, refilling my own glass without thinking. "So, what does that have to do with me? I'm really not one for negotiations."

  The Vice President laughed, "Oh, I know that. Doesn't take much digging to know you and supers generally don't mix. No, my problem is both more complicated and simpler than that."

  The shock of having such an important person in my office was starting to wear off, "I've got to tell you, if you are thinking of asking me to go up to the Super City, you've really got the wrong guy."

  "That's exactly what I'm going to ask. But before you say no, let me tell you what's been going on. Like I said, the LN, the League of Nations, has been re-established in the Super City. They've been in operation for months. Meetings and negotiations. I get reports. Just more bullshit politics as far as I'm concerned." He leaned in, "Listen, Bob, you have to understand. I never wanted this job. Patrick - he was always the politician. He knew how to woo the crowd and keep the voters on his side. He knew how to play the special interest groups against each other while making it look like he wasn't involved. He was the President, not me."

  "And then The Raven."

  "Yeah. He went to the Tournament of Supers as a special dignitary. No one thought anything would happen there. Could with all those supers. But then The Raven showed up and blew the place to hell. We lost a good man that Day. A lot of good men." The Vice President paused, remembering. "But now his job falls in my lap and I've got to tell you, I don't like it one bit. I'm a doer, Bob, not a politician. Patrick always said that if we ever went to war, I'd pretty much be making all the decisions. He'd let me be the gruff front for his softer ways. But now I've got to do both.

  "So, don't think I don't understand your reluctance. Hell, I'd feel the same way in your shoes. But we've got a real problem and I think you may be the only person to help."

  I winced at the phrase. I wiggled my metal toes against the stuffing in my shoes. "Okay," I sighed. "What's the deal?"

  "So, a few months ago, the LN is reformed. We, along with everyone else, sent a group. Got'em set up and everything seemed fine. And then, two weeks ago, our ambassador turns up missing. No one knows a thing. So, last week, I appoint a new guy. He doesn't last a day. Totally vanished."

  "Wow, you are really selling this job."

  "That's just the thing. The supers, they say they've got no evidence of anything. Their best people on it and everything. And who knows? They could be right. These two could have just gone off."

  "But you don't think so."

  "No, I don't. Of course I don’t. Where would they go? And why?"

  "Someone could have bought them off. Made them leave. What were they working on?"

  The Vice President smiled, "You see! I was right! You are just the man for the job. Now, I asked specifically to be kept out of the loop until all the details were finalized, but from what I've learned, there was a big deal in the works with Turkey and Argentina. Something to do with mining. And this deal, whatever it was, would hurt Australia."

  "And that's a good thing?"

  "Damn right it is! Those bastards practically have a lock on most of the Super State's trade. We do alright, but not nearly as good as the Aussies."

  "Uh...why?"

  "Well, if you knew anything about Australian geography, you'd know that the vast majority of their population lives near the coasts. The middle of it is nothing but desert. With a surface area nearly the same size as the continental US, that's a huge amount of land with nothing but kangaroos and wallabies."

  "I'm not following you."

  "What the supers need more than anything is resources. They've got a borderless nation. That's great for them because they can pull supers from any country and not worry. But they've got no natural resources. If they want something, you know, to build their gizmos like that new fancy, floating city of theirs, they've got to buy it. And the Aussies, well, I figure they're going to turn that country of theirs into a donut the way they're mining the hell out of it."

  I sat back. I didn't know much about Australia, but what the Vice President was saying made a lot of sense. If they could mine without worrying about disturbing local populations,
it'd be a huge advantage.

  "So, it could be a tippy thing. The Aussies could have found out about your plan and are working to thwart it."

  "Or it could be any number of other people or supers. Hell, they could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. That ain't exactly the safest place to be, that City of theirs. And that's why I need you."

  I put a hand up, "Let me see if I read you correctly, Mr. Vice President. Two of your ambassadors have disappeared and you want me to take their position..."

  He chuckled, "No, I certainly don't want you to be our ambassador."

  "So, what do you want from me?"

  "I just want you to stand in for a while and figure out who took them. Get them back if possible, but if nothing else, get us enough information to keep our next ambassador safe."

  "He wants you to be a target," Alan interjected.

  The Vice President turned to him, "Dirk Dirtwater. I'd been told you two had started working together. My wife loves you."

  I smirked at Alan's by-line name. Alan used the name Dirk Dirtwater professionally. Of course, I knew that, but I was so used to calling him Alan I'd forgotten.

  "Thanks, Mr. Vice President." Alan answered, hesitantly.

  "Now, son, I have to tell you, if anything that I've said here winds up in that paper of yours, you'll be lucky if all that happens is you get audited for the last ten years."

  "I figured as much, sir."

  "Glad we understand each other." The Vice President finished his scotch and placed the glass down on my desk, "But Dirk here is right. I do want you to be a target. From what I hear, you do that anyhow. And you always come out on top. This time, just do it for your country."

  I shook my head, thinking, "I can't believe anyone would think this was a good idea."

  "Well, son, your wife was the one who suggested you."

  My head snapped back, "Gale? Gale suggested me?"

  He nodded, "In passing, yes. But it got me thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more sense you made."

  My eyes narrowed. The Super City? I couldn't think of any place I'd rather be less. Surrounded by supers, many of whom had good reason to hate me, I'd be a target for a lot more people than just those who had come after the other ambassadors. But Gale suggested me. Gale was thinking about me. The dread I'd felt about seeing her again evaporated. She'd been called, of course, but I figured that was just out of pity after losing my leg. What if it wasn't? She was thinking of me. Thinking. Of me.

  I shook my head, "I don't know, Mr. Vice President..."

  "Well, you don't have to answer now. Just think about it. I don't know that I'll be able to find anyone as qualified as you to send up there."

  "I'm not sure 'staying alive' is such a great qualification."

  "Son, you met The Raven face to face twice and walked away. Who else can say that?"

  I smiled out of one corner of my mouth as the Vice President stood.

  "Now, I'm going to leave this with you." He procured a card from his pocket. It had nothing but a long number on it. "You just dial that if you change your mind and someone will call you right back."

  I glanced down. It was much longer than a normal phone number.

  "You think about it. Now, I could offer you money, tell you about what the job will pay, but I'm told you don't much care about that. But remember this, son: I'd owe you one."

  I glanced down at the card again.

  "That's got to be worth something, even to you."

  "You, sir? Or the office."

  The Vice President turned back to me, shaking his head, "You do think fast, don't you? If I said both, would that be enough to sway your vote?"

  I flipped the card between my fingers. A favor. From the leader of the country. "I'll think about it, sir."

  He smiled, "That's all I ask."

  With that, the Vice President and his guards left the apartment. When the security system announced that it was reinitializing, Alan and I exhaled. I pressed the button on the intercom and the view from the security panel downstairs came up on the screen. Empty. The garage was vacant, save for the suspended super.

  "That was surreal."

  I glanced over at Alan, his eyes were wide. I motioned to the chair and Alan collapsed in it. He looked down at his glass and finally took a sip.

  "It's a bad idea, right? Taking that job?"

  "You're kidding, right? Horrible." Alan took another sip, "'Two people have gone missing; can you be a target for us?' How would he think you'd even consider it?"

  I nodded. It was crazy. Still...I was intrigued. A favor owed from the VP. If I got close enough to the cloners...that could make all the difference. Plus, what was going on up there? Could I do it? Could I walk into the home of the supers and walk out again? I'd survived The Raven. I'd survived so many encounters with supers, I couldn't count them all. Plus, Gale mentioned me. She was thinking about me. And now with Mind on my side...

  "So, you figure they were the ones following us?"

  "That would have been a great question to ask him. I must be off my game. That'd be my guess though."

  Alan laughed, "I've never seen you so uneasy."

  I turned to him, "Me? I thought you were going to trip over your jaw. The great Dirk Dirtwater, struck mute by a politician."

  Alan laughed again and picked up the phone. After a moment, he set it down, "Phones are still out. I guess I should be going. You going to call Gale about Swell?"

  I scowled. She'd been thinking about me enough to mention me to the VP. I hadn't spoken to her in months and now I was going to call her for a favor? Still, I had to have someone pick up Swell. "Yeah. After I get a chance to talk with him."

  Alan shook his head, "You play a dangerous game, Bob."

  I glanced at the monitor, Swell's eyes were closed, "It's only dangerous if you don't win."

  Alan waved his goodbye and exited. I sat back in my chair, my glass of scotch untouched. I should have sipped it at least. How often would I get to have a drink with the Vice President?

  Slowly, from the front of my desk, a pair of ears emerged, followed by a head. Leon's eyes were wide, "Boss?"

  I laughed, remembering my forgotten assistant, "You still here? Take the rest of the day off. I need to think."

  Leon scampered out of the office and I watched him on the monitor giving Swell a wide berth. I didn't want to approach Swell without Mind so I didn't have much to do. I paced my office a few times, trying to come to a decision. Did I want to go to the Super City? Did I want to throw myself into that hornet's nest?

  Hell no.

  It was idiocy. I didn't stay alive this long by being stupid. I just needed to come up with a reason not to go. I couldn't go back to the Vice President and say, "Cause I don't wanna." I needed more. Not after what he'd offered.

  Mind could come up with something.

  I sighed, my eyes falling on my dartboard on the couch. Picking it up slowly, I walked back to my bedroom. Removing a picture from the wall, I placed the dartboard on the free nail. I watched as the tiny arms did their work.

  * * *

  Chapter 5

  Mind didn't respond for the rest of the day or all that night. I didn't exactly wait up for her, but I did try a few times. I checked the doors and the other systems and everything worked, but all I could get out of her was the normal, baritone male voice she used for visitors. Luckily, or unluckily depending on your point of view, she was working again the next morning.

  At six a.m..

  "I swear, Mind, we have to work on your alarm functions. This is not a reasonable time to wake up."

  "I thought you'd be worried. I thought you'd want to know."

  I sat up in bed, holding my head, "You know, it's funny how you always find a reason to wake me up after I stay up late, thinking."

  "You mean drinking."

  "I drink when I think."

  "You drink whenever you can. You don't seem to need an excuse."

  I rubbed my hair, trying to cle
ar my head. She was worse than a wife sometimes. I stood, stretching. My mouth felt like the Sahara had blown in during the night. I headed to the bathroom for a glass of water and a shower.

  "So, what was the deal yesterday? A tippy shut you down?"

  "No. Not exactly. I recognized the Vice President as soon as he exited the car. When the technician scanned the security panel, he injected a program."

  "You got an injection? What does that mean?"

  "He placed a program in my system to override me to make sure the Vice President would be safe. It's something new. Like nothing I've experienced before."

  "Is it still running? I'm freaking naked in here."

  "Don't worry, they removed it when they left."

  "So what were you doing all night? Sulking because you got your computerized butt kicked?"

  Mind's voice lowered in irritation, "Of course I could have just blocked the program...it wasn't that impressive...but that would have given me away. The point of me being here, Bob, is to keep me safe. To keep me hidden. Very few systems could eradicate that program. So I had to let them in."

  "That doesn't explain why you were down all night."

  "I made a backup of the program. I then created a virtual environment where I could run and test it. The next time they try to use something like that, I'll have a lot more options."

  I dried my hair as I rifled through my drawers, "That sounds...complicated. What's the weather like?"

  "Shorts will be fine. Might want to take a jacket if you are planning on staying out after dark."

  "So, you'll have more options. What does that mean exactly?"

  "I'll be able to keep more of my systems running without the program knowing. Plus, I used it to reverse-engineer some of their defenses."

  "Okay," I pulled a black T-shirt over my head. It was another of the custom shirts I had made. This one with a red and white "Supers Suck" logo. Gale hated them. "That doesn't make much sense."

  "Think about it. When you build an intrusion program, how would you design it? "

  "You're joking, right? I'm supposed to be able to answer that?"

  "Fine," Mind sounded irritated, "if you wanted to learn how to break into someone's home, whose home would you practice on?"