by Jeff DeMarco
Colby thought for a moment. “We can use that. I suppose if we can get ‘em in detox. Avoid some withdrawal deaths, more riots. Only problem is it doesn’t address how the drugs are making their way in here.”
“Gatherers is my guess,” Hawk said. “Could be the workers going outside the wire too, except I pat them all down before we load back up. We could have him there, at inspection. Have him read their minds, or whatever it is.”
“That’s a fulltime job, First Sergeant. Kid’s already working at the hospital, keeping tabs on the outside world. What more can we ask of him?”
Taylor’s voice rang through their heads. ‘I’m good with it.’
Luca was jarred awake, Taylor sitting silently by his bedside. “What do you want, traitor?” The off-white hospital room transformed to a prison of intersecting metal pipes.
Taylor smiled. “Just came to see how you were, see if you needed anything.”
“Get out,” Luca whispered, as he pointed with his one remaining arm.
Taylor edged closer to the bed. “I could help you, if you want.”
“I got what I deserve.”
Taylor sighed and stood. “It’s not our fault, you know?”
Luca’s eye narrowed on him.
“Jacob, Flynn, they made us do it. All those operations, they made us kill.”
“They didn’t make us do anything,” Luca whispered.
“You’re right…” Taylor looked down. “That’s an excuse. I suppose it would be another excuse to say that none of us were strong enough to stand up to them, but we didn’t.”
Luca listened and glared silently.
“He’s not coming back, you know? He’s not coming for you. I’ve seen it. Things have changed now.”
Luca closed his eye, a single tear cascaded down his cheek. He raised his arm once more and whispered, “Go.”
Taylor opened his mouth, then stopped. He started for the door then paused. “You could have a family again… if you want.”
Luca’s hand shook as he wiped the tear away. “Go,” he whispered once more.
CHAPTER 24
A sharp pain shot across Jacob’s face. His eyes shot open to a concrete room, his hands and feet shackled to a table, something bound around his neck, and a killer headache. “Where am I?” he strained. He looked over at his shoulder, a scar where the hunter’s bite had been. “How long have I been out?”
The two sitting before him looked roughly the same age as he, a girl and a boy. Both had dark hair and sharp features; the same unmistakably brilliant green eyes he’d seen in his abandoned brothers and sisters. “Arm it, Pavel,” she whispered in Russian, standing on Jacob’s side of the table. “Don’t try to use your power or-“
“It’ll blow my head off?” Jacob eyed her standing above him, as he heard the collar click. Under the assumption that she was the one that had just slapped him awake, he was oddly attracted to her. “Where am I?”
“You should know,” Pavel said, seated across the table from him. “You’ve been here before… Not in body, but in, how you say… spirit.”
Jacob eyed him.
Pavel smiled. “It was a day of liberation for us…”
Jacob looked up with a perplexed gaze, conjuring up an old memory. “I didn’t realize I had done any-“
The girl shot in, now only inches from his face. “Think highly of yourself, American, don’t you?” she whispered.
Pavel snapped his finger down to the ground. “Sacha,” he warned, an intense look in his eyes.
She took two steps back, still poised to reach out and strangle Jacob if necessary.
“There was a man that came after you, a black man… he killed our captors, freed us from our oppressors. Our savior of sorts… Funny, how a single act of mercy has impacted so many of us.”
He opened his palms, still shackled to the table. “So now you… ?”
Sacha stared daggers into him. “Serve the people of Russia.”
Jacob squinted at the thought. “You work for the government, then?”
“The people,” Pavel said. “For years, we’ve engaged in a shadow war with the government; assassination and espionage. Put leaders in power that would serve the people… Give Russia back its true self.”
“And?” Jacob laughed, knowing his answer.
“As they say,” Pavel said. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Jacob smiled. “Makes you wonder whether the task of leadership shouldn’t fall to you and me, instead.”
“It’s hard,” Pavel rose, and stuffed his hand inside his pocket. “Leading from inside a jail cell, or when you’re dead.”
Jacob strained, sensing the sudden urge to run as Pavel approached.
“It doesn’t matter now… our mission is one of retribution.” He moved around the table, unshackled Jacob;s hands and feet.
“Oh?” Jacob rubbed the skin on his wrists.
“Kill the ones that turned the sky red,” Sacha said.
Jacob suddenly felt his face flush. “And who’s that?”
“You should know,” Sacha said. “You’re one of them.”
“Whoa, whoa…” Jacob felt his mouth go dry, his mind jumbled for the words. “I cut ties with them.”
“That’s unfortunate.” A grin grew on Pavel’s face. “That’s what’s keeping you alive right now.”
Jacob’s brow furrowed, his eyes confused and scared. . “Michael and Kristen,” he blurted out. “Vice President Kreuson and Lieutenant Colonel Clark Petersen.” His mind scrambled quickly. ‘Is that everyone who could know, everyone that needs to die to protect my secret?’ he thought. “And Julie. They’re the ones you want.”
“Very good. We’re planning an incursion into the United States.” He pulled the remote to Jacob’s collar from his other pocket. “And we need someone to infiltrate The Order.”
Jacob gulped, past the knot in his throat and the control collar that now felt like a million-pound yoke weighing him down. “When do we leave?”
“One last thing,” Pavel said, as Sacha pressed in on him, syringe in hand. “We’ve found that the collar tends to detonate at high impact and well… You’ll be jumping out of an airplane.”
Jacob strained, the needle moving closer to his neck.
“Don’t fight,” she whispered, plunging the needle into his neck, just above the collar. “That’s it… sleep.”
The room started to spin, as his vision blurred.
CHAPTER 25
Night had fallen, as Erica and Ari set out to explore Fort Bragg. They hadn’t seen Dustin, nor had any reason to suspect something wrong. Their mission was their own. They ran southeast from the airfield, through forest trails and neighborhood hedgerows.
The night was their friend, as no power was run to the street lamps. Erica had found that she could see in the dark in a manner, taking all of the sensory imagery, the sounds, harmonics, smells, vibrations, a sort of magnetic resonance, ambient light and form it into a picture for her to see. Ari, on the other hand, relied heavily on her night vision scope, frequently tripping over things as she aimed. She regretted not bringing the goggles along with her.
The route had taken them into a heavily guarded inner cordon. They spied a large tan and red stone building. There had been a single path into the forces command headquarters, a single way to evade the guards and fence line, barriers and razor wire.
Ari went inside, while Erica circled around back, maintaining a solid mental connection. She saw through Ari’s eyes as she opened the door. She walked into the blackness slowly, her footsteps gentle as they fell mute on the tile. She looked through her night vision, the tiled corridor, vertical striations going up the wall…
Erica thought for a moment. ‘Get out!’ she screamed, as Ari turned and ran for the door, a fading sliver of moonlight as it slammed shut. A sudden burst of electricity coursed through the air, her connection severed.
She ran for the entrance, her steps kicking up the pristine grass as she accelerated, then
skidded to a halt, two Soldiers outside, holding black cylindrical objects, rifles slung at their shoulders. She attempted to connect but something blocked her.
She ran, her legs swift and quiet as her mind reached out for Dustin, for Colonel Jaeger, for General Petersen, surprised to find only two. ‘Could Petersen be part of it?’ she wondered.
‘Help!’ screamed through both Dustin and Jaeger’s mind. Each nearly jumped from the dinner table.
Major Teegs looked at them cockeyed.
Staring at each other across the long brown faux-wood table, what was clear to Dustin and Jaeger, was entirely unclear to the rest of the twenty-odd people that had seen them and now stared. Dustin excused himself, followed a moment later by Jaeger.
‘Odd,’ Teegs thought, as he too excused himself from the table.
‘What’s wrong?’ Dustin worried in a fevered thought.
‘Ari.’ Erica sat now, pressed into the dark corner of a building. ‘They’ve taken her.’
‘Where?’ Dustin asked.
‘Forces Command building.’ Erica’s sobbing was apparent now. ‘Main entrance.’
“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Jaeger yelled as he jogged to catch up with Dustin. “What the hell’d your girlfriend do this time?”
“Off on your mission, Sir.” Dustin picked his rifle up from the weapons rack at the entrance.
Jaeger groaned and stuffed his pistol into its holster, clipping it to the chest webbing of his body armor.
She could see their shimmering eyes only, landing blows with the butt of her rifle, she heard bits of night vision glass rain down onto the tile, the painful murmurs and groans of combatants crawling away. Ari had held her own in the darkness. There were more bright eyes, the longer she went and the harder she fought, more hands on her, keeping her from the exit door. She wished for a flashbang grenade or a bayonet; something to level the playing field. Then she remembered the flare gun.
She swung her rifle, drawing them off her. As they closed in, she reached into her cargo pocket, aimed high and fired.
They immediately recoiled and tore at their faces; the light burnt into them at once. She turned and ran.
A single set of arms reached up, wrapped around her leg. She kicked and kicked, landing blow after blow to the crown of his head, blood sprayed in the fading light of the flare. She felt the heavy footsteps rap against the floor as the light went out.
A large fist gripped her by the hair, the other by the throat. It lifted her, as her legs kicked freely in the air. The hand round her throat gripped as it retracted towards his face. Only his teeth were visible, white with a chipped gap in the middle, as he whispered, “You’re mine, now.” He reared his head back and slammed his forehead into her temple.
Her vision twisted, then went black.
“Go back to the plane,” Dustin said. “We’ll handle this.”
They had met on a street corner, half a mile from the headquarters. Erica explained what she had seen, what she had heard and felt.
“But-“
"Go!” Dustin pointed to the airfield. “You can’t sense anything inside the building. Your abilities won’t work here.”
“I can still level the building, if-“
“Listen.” Dustin knelt down to her. “It’s not your fault, I know you can help. I just…” He swallowed hard at his fear. “I can’t risk losing you, too. Ok?”
There was sadness in her, helplessness as she nodded and shuffled off slowly.
“I’ll call you if we need help!” Dustin yelled, then turned and ran for the building.
Dustin and Jaeger walked up the steps to the entrance Erica had described. Jaeger knocked. “Anyone there?!”
Dustin pulled the door open. “Hello.” He flipped on his flashlight, illuminating the area. “Cover me,” he whispered, as he slipped into the building.
Jaeger drew his pistol and stepped in behind.
Dustin inched forward, shining his light in all the corners, looking for movement. He moved further then looked down, a single red dot shining on midsection. “Shit!” The light on both his and Jaeger’s flashlight burnt out at once. The wires inside seemed to sizzle. He could see the glint off of their goggles as Soldiers rounded the corner. He reached into his pocket for a chem light, snapped it and threw it their way.
“Put your weapons down!” Dustin and Jaeger were caught in a crossfire.
“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Jaeger! Commander 4th Battalion, 23 Field Artillery Regiment.”
A Sergeant moved closer, and Jaeger could see the silhouette of a Special Forces tab on his shoulder. “Put down your weapon, Sir.”
“What the hell is this about, Sergeant?” Jaeger holstered his pistol.
The Sergeant reached for the pistol.
Jaeger wheeled back and drove his fist into the Sergeant’s jaw, knocking him to the floor.
The others aimed their rifles at him.
“You can have my pistol…” Jaeger stood over the man. “When you pry it out of my cold dead hands… Try to relieve me of command, will you?” he mumbled.
Another Sergeant inched forward, put his hand up, urging calm. “You’re trespassing in a secured area.”
“Tough shit,” Dustin said as he lowered his rifle. “We both have Top Secret clearances.” He noticed a Soldier from the corner of his eye moving towards him. “Don’t.” He spun and raised his weapon.
Heavy boots rapped along the tile. The light flipped on and a large man with shaggy brown hair and black fatigues rounded a corner from the side corridor. “The hell is going on out here?”
“Trespassers, Sir.” The Sergeant said, as he lifted himself from the floor.
The man smiled, showing his white chipped teeth.
“We’re looking for a woman,” Dustin said. “Dark hair and complexion, carrying a sniper rifle.”
“Hmmm,” his lip jutted out, as though sarcastically confused. “Haven’t seen her.”
“Bullshit!” Dustin yelled.
“You were with her?” The man eyed Dustin. “Saw her come in here?”
“Well…” Dustin squinted. “No.”
“You want to tell me just what the hell you’re doing here?” A vein in Jaeger’s neck was throbbing now. “And who the hell you are?”
“You can call me Joe.” He smiled his crooked smile again. “And unfortunately, Colonel, you have no authority here. This is a Department of Justice operation.”
“A Department of Justice…” Jaeger cocked his head. “Soldiers, stand down… And you,” He pointed to Joe. “Take me to the woman we’re looking for.”
“Sorry.” Joe crossed his arms. “Can’t help you there, but I can show you the door.” He held his arm out towards the front. “But I can assure you, if she were here, I’d make sure she was well taken care of.” A subtle wink.
“Bastard!” Dustin pushed towards him, as Jaeger held him back.
Joe laughed. “Actually, that’s accurate.”
“C’mon, Dustin,” Jaeger whispered. “We’ll be back.”
Teegs watched from outside, concealed by darkness as they exited the building, then ran.
Erica sat in darkness, her head between her knees, propped against the wheel of the aircraft; a ginger-headed boy walked out of the night.
He sat down along the other side, his back to her. “Hi.”
She turned her head to meet his eyes. “I’ve seen you.”
He smiled, his face sticking out from beside the rubber tire. “Not in person.”
“Michael.” She smiled. “In my dreams.”
He nodded.
She turned her body around. “Our fate…
“Isn’t written,” he whispered.
“Our meeting here isn’t a coincidence.”
“I don’t know.” He stood. “It might be.” He extended his hand down to her. “Or maybe not.”
She grabbed his hand. “I need your help.”
“We have something in common, then.”
Colonel Jaeger and Dustin ran b
ack to the barracks, a large concrete structure, its inside not unlike a psychiatric facility with two people to a room, each with a bed, desk and dresser. They ran past open doors, as one man looked out.
“Hey fellas!” Commander Blanco yelled. “Where’s the fire?”
Jaeger yelled at Dustin. “Hold on!” He turned and ran back to Blanco. “Got a Soldier, missing in action. Some spook at the Forces Command headquarters has her… Think you can help us out?”
With a wide self-assured smile, Blanco folded his arms. “Brought a SEAL team with me.” He stepped into an adjacent room and whispered something to his Lieutenant. “… let’s go, Engel.”
They ran down the hall to General Petersen’s room. The door was left propped open, his duffle bag and rucksack rifled through. The contents lay strewn across the floor. “What the hell?” Jaeger whispered.
“This got weird,” Blanco said. “Don’t imagine he left it this way.”
Dustin yelled in his mind. ‘Erica!’
‘Yea?’ She answered at once.
‘Can you locate General Petersen?’
‘Couldn’t get a link to him. It’s just like Ari; he’s vanished.”
“General Petersen is with her,” Dustin said.
Blanco’s brow furrowed.
Dustin opened the door to his room. Lieutenant Schipp had just closed his eyes. “Schipp!”
He sprang awake. “Sir!”
“Get your shit together and gather the staff, all the gear.”
Schipp looked at him, puzzled. “We’re leaving?”
“Get General Petersen’s things too, hostiles in the area.”
Schipp fingered his pistol. “Hunters?”
“No,” Dustin said. “Bureaucrats.”
Schipp cocked his head.
“CIA, FBI, something else… I don’t know.” Dustin knelt down to grab his assault pack, pulled out a spare flashlight for his rifle, then grabbed Schipp by his top. “Don’t trust anyone you don’t know.”
They returned to Blanco’s end of the hall.