Some heads nodded in support of Allison’s words.
Karl seemed to have simmered down.
“Well, we need to do something!” The general insisted. “I’ll go medieval on their asses with or without your consent!”
“And what do you propose, general, drop an atom bomb on the city and nuke them off the map?” Allison asked.
“For starters, yes! That would surely make an example out of them!”
“The deep regard you military folks have for human lives always amazes me.” Allison lamented. “Do you really want to wipe out of existence a place that could be most valuable to us?”
“In what way?” Prentiss queried.
“The people of Condor City are self-sufficient, smart, surely know how to defend themselves.” Ally answered. “If they become our allies, their contribution to this project can go beyond our best expectations.”
“This is preposterous!” Prentiss blurted out. “While we sit here and talk, they spread!”
“What do you propose?” Arkwright asked Allison.
“We have the city under constant surveillance.” She replied. “We know everything they do. And believe me, they got no intentions to spread, only to be left alone. So, we let them cool down for a while. Sooner or later, they’ll realize they need us. Their self-sufficiency only goes so far. Then I’ll do what I do best – work some trades with them. Before they know it, they’ll become totally dependent on us. That’s a much better way to regain control than through violence and butchery.”
“It sounds reasonable.” Arkwright said and other chiefs of state nodded as well.
Karl began to sweat.
“This is a load of crap and you know it.” The general spoke. “And this project is too important to get lost in this kind of nonsense.”
“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, general.” Allison calmly responded. “Condor City is under control and that’s the last I want to hear on the subject. Shall we move on, gentlemen?”
“Then you force me to act unilaterally, missy.” Prentiss said in a threatening tone.
“You do that and I’ll personally see that you are dishonorably discharged.” Allison serenely replied. “Shall we move on?”
All other men nodded in agreement.
The general looked ready to explode. However, he took a deep breath, kept composure and glimpsed at Karl, who returned the glimpse.
“I think we should talk about that girl…” Another gentleman took the floor. “You know, the Australian one, what’s her name…”
“She’s quite aggressive.” The Chancellor spoke while watching the meeting through a one-way mirror.
“Too aggressive, if I may say so.” The Minister Robert Hedgiest replied.
“No, it’s just about right. She’s dealing with politicians and corporate sharks. We send a Pollyanna in there, she’s immediately swallowed.”
“Allison is perfect for this job. I have great faith in her.”
“I couldn’t agree more. And the fact you brought her to us practically redeems you from all your past mistakes.”
“Oh, thank you, sir.”
Hedgiest frowned for a moment and said:
“Can we really dishonorably discharge a five-star general?”
“We can always kill him if that doesn’t work.”
“Certainly. See you tonight at the company party?”
“By all means.”
7th MOVEMENT
“I hope you know better now, ladies.” The Secretary said by the cell door. “The problem is not escaping from this place, but staying outside in one piece. That’s why you’re not even prisoners, by the way.”
“Oh, it was those bars and heavy door that fooled me.” Piper grunted.
“It’s for your own protection.” James replied.
“What’re you going to do to us?” Joana asked.
“I’m already doing.” The Secretary answered. “Solitary confinement will surely calm you ladies down. Your adrenaline levels seem dangerously high lately.”
“How long are we going to stay here?” Angela queried.
“That’s up to you and how you behave.” James responded.
“And what’s going to happen when we’re out?” Piper asked.
“You’re going to resume your duties.” James said.
“Which means being probed for perfect genes” Joana murmured.
“You knew what you were signing for when you came to us.” The Secretary replied.
“We didn’t have much of a choice.” Joana said
“Yes, you did – staying outside.” James spoke. “Nobody forced you to join us. Comfort, security and fringe benefits come with a prize. At times like this, we all have to contribute somehow. And you all should be glad for being pure and healthy. A lot of folks weren’t so lucky.”
“What about Doctor Piper?” Angela queried.
“Now that she seems to be getting along so fine with you, it’d be a pity not to endorse such companionship.” The Secretary answered. “Piper here has just been downgraded from geneticist to subject and she’ll hang with the rest of you girls. Now, if you excuse me…”
“This place is too narrow for the three of us.” Joana complained.
“Don’t worry about that.” James spoke. “You’re all going to get a lot thinner. Bye!”
And the Secretary left, leaving the ladies to enjoy way more privacy than they bargained for. The heavy, thick cell door was closed and locked on the outside.
“Nice.” Joana grunted.
“Well, ladies, welcome to the presidential suite of wherever-we-are Ritz!” Piper said. “Not exactly like the brochure.”
“Sorry to put you on the spot like this.” Angela spoke, placing a sympathetic hand on Piper’s shoulder.
“It was my choice, honey.” The doctor responded. “Besides, we’re still much better than those boys who tried to rape us.”
“What is exactly this Devasta Land?” Joana asked.
“I’m not sure.” Piper replied.
“Come on.” The woman insisted. “Not more than a few hours ago, you were working for these people. You got to know something.”
“It was the first scientific base of the Undertaking.” Piper replied. “And a very advanced one, too.”
“What did they do in there?” Angela queried.
“Tests.”
“What kind of tests?”
“If I knew, I’d be dead now.” Piper said. “But I was told by some colleagues it was the sort of thing that’d make what they do to you look like foot massage.”
“That bad, huh?” Angela spoke. “So, they also experimented on people.”
“That’s the story.” The doctor confirmed.
“What happened in there?” Joana asked.
“The place had to be abandoned all of a sudden and in a big hurry.” Piper replied. “They’ve never told me why. I guess because not even the scientists in Brokenville know. Something must’ve gone awfully wrong in there. Since then, Corporate use the place as a landfill.”
“Yes, a landfill for bad people, right?” Angela asked.
“And for whatever else they created in there.” The doctor answered.
“What do you mean?” Joana queried.
“It’s not a surprise that, in time, myths and legends of mutants, terrible creatures and great evils that could inhabit the place started to spread.” Piper spoke. “And Corporate just foments such stories even more. It’s a nice way to keep everybody on the level; otherwise, they’ll have the same fate as those kids.”
“But do you think there could be some truth in such stories?” Joana asked.
“I don’t know and I hope I never find out.” Piper answered. “All I know is everybody who goes there never comes back.”
Angela sat down on a corner and took a deep breath. Her eyes wandered around the tiny room until finding some lost spot at the ceiling.
“We’re surrounded by evil on all sides.” She whispered. “I can’t help dreaming of t
he road warrior, unstoppable savior of children, liberator of Condor City…”
“Na harm in that, as long as this road warrior stays where she belongs, in your dreams.” Piper retorted.
“You can be a real buzzkill when you want to.” Joana complained. “As it happens, I also think of that stuff sometimes.”
“Ladies, if you want to survive this thing, you got to get real.” The doctor said.
“When did you decide that?” Angela retorted. “This whole escape attempt thing was your idea!”
“Yes, I know.” Piper sighed. “But reality came back to bite my ass when we met those boys. We just can’t live outside anymore. We shall fear the living. We shall fear the dead. It reminded me why I took this job in the first place.”
“That’s one reason more to believe there’s somebody out there willing to do some good.” Angela said.
“I don’t think so.” Piper replied. “Nobody knows for sure what happened in that elementary school and Condor City. Those were isolated incidents. When we were cornered by those punks, no road warrior came to our aid!”
“Got a point there” Joana was compelled to agree. “We try to escape, fall in the hands of hoodlums who also wanted to probe our genitals, only to be saved by our captors and wind up in a solitary cell. How embarrassing! Some heroes we are.”
The other two women laughed.
“If we want to live, we’d better accept our situation.” Piper said. “The rich and powerful are calling the shots now and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“That’s a big change!” Angela protested.
“It’s not like some girl will burst in here, save the day and smash the enemy.” Piper spoke. “If we surrender to a world of fantasy created in our minds, we lose sanity. Then, we’ll be no good to them and they’ll simply dispose of us. We have to face reality.”
“It’s just that… it’s hard to live without hope.” Angela murmured.
“If there’s really an Apocalily out there, what can she possibly do anyway?”
8th MOVEMENT
“I think I’ll play some cricket.” Lily said.
“Now?” Mate asked.
“Next time we stop.”
“Why?”
“Nostalgia. You can also hit some balls with your racquet if you want!”
“Well, I’m afraid the zombies will get my balls first! Oops, sorry about my language.”
“It’s alright.” Amy said. “I’m thirteen now. I can understand a joke with the world balls and even find it funny!”
“Heard that, Lily?” Mate said. “She finds me funny.”
“I also find you funny.” Lily revealed.
“Really? Then how come you never laugh at my jokes?”
“I do laugh at your jokes.”
“No you don’t!”
“Yes I do.”
“But you don’t even open your mouth.”
“Because I got bad teeth and I’m ashamed to show them. But inside, I laugh so hard that my stomach cramps up.”
“You surely make me laugh!” Nancy stepped in. “I just don’t know how you do it. There’s surely nothing funny out here.”
“Well, there’s no point in crying.” Mate said.
“You’re right about that.” Nancy agreed.
“Then perhaps it’s a good time for me to tell one of my hysterical jokes!” Lily declared.
“Let’s see what’s on the radio.” Mate said and pressed the button on the dial.
Only static echoed around the truck.
“That’s surely a lot better than my jokes.” Lily complained.
“Give me a sec…” Mate kept changing channels.
The baby gurgled.
“How’s Moses?” Lily asked Nancy.
“Oh, he’s doing fine, fed and happy.”
“I got something…” Mate announced.
Man on the radio:
“We are committed to make this world a better place. We, the Undertakers, are the last hope of a humanity destroyed by poverty and inability of the third world. But we cannot do it alone. We need you to contribute to this great cause!”
“Those guys speak on the radio, too.” Mate said.
“It looks that way.” Lily replied.
Man continued on the radio:
“Only the best may survive. I know it doesn’t seem fair now, but sacrifices are necessary. The chosen ones will work to rebuild the Planet, so we can all have a…”
Suddenly, a high pitch sound replaced the velvet voice. Everybody in the vehicle had to cover their ears.
“Damn it, what is this?” Mate said.
He was about to touch buttons on the panel, but Lily held his arm.
“Wait.” She spoke. “I think this frequency is about to be visited again.”
The distortion slowly made room for the hoarse voice.
New voice on the radio:
“Oh! We, the Caretakers, are turning this junk into a better place, alright. Only the best shall survive, oh yeah! You don’t think this is fair? You don’t like it? Who cares? You are slobs! Actually, you, remainders of the human race, should be thanking us! After all, we emptied the world just for you!”
“I’d definitely like to meet those guys.” Mate said.
“Be careful what you wish.” Nancy warned.
New voice continued on the radio:
“How's the new world? Do you like it? What's not to like? I'm talking to you now, you beautiful people! You were rich. You were famous. You were powerful. I bet you thought you were also shielded against the ravings of overpopulation, now didn’t you? Well, we surely proved you wrong, didn't we? Now, like everybody else, you're either dead, zombie, or fighting for survival, nice to be part of the gang, huh? Guess you finally belong. Uh-oh! We’re about to have company! Time to go. Remember to brush your teeth. Bye!”
And static came back on. Mate turned the radio off.
“Guess they mean business.” He said.
“You have no idea.” Amy whispered.
9th MOVEMENT
When the meeting was over, the chiefs of state and foreign cabinet members went to their respective limousines and helicopters, to be transported back to their homelands.
Allison was in the bar on the mezzanine level, enjoying a glass of whisky. Karl came to her.
“One for me, too” He told the man behind the counter.
The bartender brought a second glass and served the same whisky Allison was taking. Karl sipped some of it.
“Good stuff!” He said.
“It surely burns your gullet.” Allison agreed.
“You did okay in there, good performance.”
“You were not bad yourself.”
“I suggest you be a little more careful next time.”
“I said what I had to.”
“I know, but you should mind your tone. Those are not the kind of people you lash out at.”
“You know why companies are so slow sometimes?” Allison asked.
“I got a pretty good idea, but why don’t you tell me?”
“Because their leaders are too extra-careful, always thinking twice before saying any word. It’s like talking to sponges. I’m not here to sugarcoat. I’m not here to please anybody. I’m here to get the most important work of our lives done.”
“We all want the same thing, Ally. We are on the same boat. Just don’t rock it too much next time, eh? I know you outrank me, so this is just a friendly advice.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Now, I hate to spoil your drink, but I’m afraid I got bad news. Our broadcast was invaded again. Same guy, same voice, same scramblers. And they are sneaky. They stop transmitting the second we start tracing them. This way, we can’t get a fix.”
“Yes, tough luck.” Allison responded. “I’ll check into this matter later. But for now, I have a little girl to locate. That’s priority.”
“Oh sure, I couldn’t agree more. And that’s going to be a tricky one. See you at the war ro
om.
Karl drank the rest of his whisky in a single gulp. Then, he stood up and walked away. Allison followed him with her eyes while taking another sip.
General Prentiss was waiting for Karl at the bar entrance. They walked a few steps down the lobby, looked behind their shoulders and only then began to talk.
“How was it, general?” Karl asked.
“The Military Joint is with us.”
“I’m very glad to hear that.”
“They also think the current administration is weak and their measures a disgrace, not to mention those executives are not being totally honest with us.”
“Are we in the same page about Condor City, too?”
“Yes. They’ll support me a hundred percent. As soon as we take command, that place is ashes.”
Allison entered the war room, shook hands with a few military personnel and sat down by a workstation.
“I’m happy to see you go straight to the point.” The general praised, but in a mocking tone “Ready to get results for a change?”
Allison ignored that comment and kept on typing.
“Very well, Colonel Driscoll,” Prentiss turned to one of his men. “While the girl plays her video-games, let’s see the best way to address this issue.”
“Certainly, general” The colonel responded “we have the coordinates of the area where Amy and the other two were rescued. From this specific point, we might be able to triangulate a possible trajectory based on a systematic curve of probabilities that could narrow our search down to a hundred miles radius. Then, we can feed our computers…”
Apocalily Series (Book 2): The Almighty Lady of Tomorrow Page 8