Magnus puffed up, looking angry. “I saw the same kind of thing a lot in eastern Europe. A lot of times, a group would try to get the people riled up about another group, typically government, and then while all the shit was going down, they’d fly under the radar. Weapons trading, financial scams, drugs… whatever makes money.”
Dalhousie nodded. “Magnus. Can you go in there and interrogate that bastard? I wouldn’t hold it against you if you let the perp think he killed that kid out there. I know he only grazed his arm, but let’s make him think there’s something terrible waiting for him after he’s out of here, unless he cooperates.”
“You got it, ma’am. Though I’ve only been on the receiving end of those things,” he said, watching me raise an eyebrow to his statement. “Nothing like that. It was just a misunderstanding,” he assured me. I couldn’t help but snicker and held it back after Mary frowned at me.
“Don’t we need a good cop for the game?” I asked.
“Are you volunteering, Dean?” the president asked.
I wasn’t but didn’t know if I could get out of it. I had no idea what to say or do in this situation.
“I’m not sure I’m the man for the job.” I could already feel the sweat dripping down my back.
“Sure you are, buddy.” Magnus clapped me on the back. “Nothing to it. Follow my lead.”
And just like that, I was heading for my first interrogation as an Earth Defense officer. I still hadn’t had my coffee yet. As if someone read my mind, a page brought in a carafe and a pile of paper cups. Just in time.
With a fresh cup of steaming Joe, I followed Magnus into the small office off the board room. The shooter was sitting on a chair, hands cuffed behind his back, his jaw resting on his chest. His head lay still, and I worried he might not be breathing, but when Magnus cleared his throat, the man’s mouth twitched.
“What’s your name?” Magnus asked gruffly. The man lifted his head but kept his mouth shut, glaring back at the unlikely pair before him.
“I said, what’s your name, soldier?” Magnus asked again.
The shooter’s eye spasmed at the word soldier, and I knew Magnus had struck a nerve.
Waiting a few moments for a reply that wasn’t coming, Magnus continued. “Army?”
Still no reply, but I could tell Magnus was on the right track. The man’s posture went from deflated to rigid and proud in less than a minute.
“Listen, the guy you shot is going to be okay. The president also doesn’t think you’re the brains of this operation, so just play along, and you might just get a slap on the wrist.” Magnus leaned over the small table, half covering it with his wide girth.
I doubted this guy was getting just a slap on anything, and we actually hadn’t heard back on the health of the gunshot victim, but since it was just a flesh wound, the odds were he was going home tonight.
Magnus was getting annoyed, and I could see a little vein start to pulse in his forehead. “Who. Sent. You?” he asked through his teeth.
The man averted his eyes again, and I knew it was time to change gears. I sat down on the plastic flip chair in front of him and quietly spoke. “What number were you on?”
Everyone left on Earth had been on a transport vessel just a year ago. The horrors they went through, and the pain of the losses, were still fresh in our minds. It was a simple question, seemingly harmless, but it would invoke a lot of memories, undoubtedly bad ones.
“Twenty-three. I was on twenty-three.” He made eye contact with me for the first time.
I scanned my memory of the records. I didn’t know all of them, but the American ones had more exposure here, so I’d heard tales.
“I’m sorry,” I said, putting my coffee down on the table. “You want a coffee?”
He looked up at Magnus and then back to me. His eyes then lowered to his hands, which were cuffed behind him, and he shrugged.
“Just give me a second,” I said, and left the room. I returned in a moment with the keys and a black coffee. They had given me a little grief about the tactics but were happy to see he was finally responding to something. They didn’t want to slow down any momentum I’d gained. Magnus just hung back as I undid the cuffs, happy to let me take the lead for now, but I knew he was ready for action should he be needed.
The man rubbed his wrists, just like they always did in every cop show I’d ever seen. For a second, I felt like I was behind the camera of one of those nineties shows where a bald cop with a moustache always caught the bad guys, and then slept with a woman way out of his league.
“Twenty-three was a tough run. Only something like thirty percent made it, I think?” I asked softly.
A shaky hand reached for the steaming black coffee and he took a tentative sip. “Thirty-four,” he corrected. “The third worst out of all of them.”
“Want to tell us about it?”
He looked like he was about to shut me down, but then something changed. His eyes softened, and I saw his shoulders slump ever so slightly. I knew we were all carrying around so much weight from the Event, and not everyone had an avenue to release the pain. Sometimes all someone needed to do was talk about it, and they could move on with their lives. Suddenly, I felt bad for the guy.
“I got back from the Middle East six months before…well...before they came. Wasn’t doing so hot. I tried to get a job, and all I could get was pushing a broom on a crappy strip mall construction gig. My wife was riding me to do better, like her being a hairdresser was this glorious crown-worthy enterprise.” He stopped, and I could see his eyes were getting wet. I assumed his wife wasn’t one of the lucky ones returning to Earth. “Anyway, things weren’t good between us, and when those ships came, I almost wished they would just end it. Blow us up. Make my memories mean nothing.” He took another sip of coffee.
Magnus was leaning in, listening intently to the truth we were witnessing.
“When they didn’t, we ended up being brought to twenty-three. Only then, we didn’t know where the hell we were, or what we were doing. I was in one of those rooms, and some people were in like some kind of coma or something. Stasis, I heard them call it after. Most of us weren’t. In there, we were piled up like livestock, people of every color, religion, and sex. The sick lay among the healthy. Someone gave birth the first day. I heard the baby girl is still alive and healthy. The small miracles.” He looked at me, seemingly embarrassed at showing vulnerability.
“Anyway. Sick people died, we had no food or water, and once we realized there were floor after floor of these cages, some of us explored and tried to find where we were. It was like a sick game. Metal grate floors, sliding hydraulic doors, and no aliens. No threats we could see. Just time. People were fighting, some loved ones found each other, and we tried to have a system where we separated people. The sick ended up on one floor, and as others weakened, they were moved there. Doctors and others tried to help, but there wasn’t much they could do with no supplies. It was terrible.” He took another pause, and I leaned back, taking a sip of my now tepid coffee.
His posture changed. “Then I saw them. The hybrids, as we call them now. A bunch of men and women who looked alike. They had weapons. A lot of us died trying to attack them. I didn’t bother. I knew they would mow us down like ducks at the firing range, so I hung back. Later, I followed them a ways and learned what floor they were on. The next day, I headed there, and one of them approached me from behind. I almost crapped myself.”
The stories of the vessels were hard to hear, especially since the few of us who didn’t get taken never had to witness it. We’d just seen the aftermath, and that was hard enough. I thought back to the first vessel we’d come upon on our way to the sun. The one where we’d found Mae… and killed the rest of the hybrids. Guilt rose from my gut and threatened to make me gag, and I pushed it back down. I had to do it. There was no choice.
The guy must have noticed me pale, and he raised an eyebrow to me. “Then what?” I asked, hoping to just move on.
“They broug
ht me to a room, an off-limits area only they could get into. I thought for sure they were going to kill me. I mean, why wouldn’t they? I was spying on them. Instead, he offered me a seat and gave me a glass of water. I mean, at first, I expected it to be poisoned or something, but figured it would have just been easier to shoot me, so I drank it. Next, he plopped a bar of food in front of me. He didn’t talk, just set it down.” He looked at me guiltily. “I ate it. As soon as I took that bite and felt my stomach churn from finally having something inside it, I knew I was theirs. I felt guilty but didn’t care. The way I figured it, we were all dead anyway.”
I wondered what endgame the hybrids on that ship had. If they knew they were just crashing into the fiery depths of the sun in a few days, what use did they have for someone on the inside?
Before I could ask, he continued. “At first, they just asked me to keep an ear out for anything out of place. Revolts, that kind of thing. I did. A couple times, I overheard plans from the captives to attempt a coup d'état, and before they could, the alien hybrids always found out. No one had any inkling it was me.”
I noted how he called the people captives and didn’t seem to include himself among their ranks during this conversation. Magnus probably noticed too, judging by the frown he was wearing.
“More people died, and by the time I realized I should have been using my time thinking of ways to get one of their weapons to turn the tables, it was too late. The heroes of Earth showed up and stopped them from destroying us all. I lie awake at night telling myself that had they not come to save us, I would have found a way to at least stop our vessel. I know that I’m kidding myself, but it’s all I can do to sleep some nights.” He took another sip of his coffee and set the cup down with a shaky hand.
Heroes of Earth. The name had a silly ring to it, but it was one of the many things we were hailed as after the return. We were all quiet a moment, and the guy squinted as he looked from Magnus back to me. Recognition sank in, and he paled even more.
“It’s you.” His hands went to his face, covering it as he blew a deep breath out. “All this time, I’m spilling my guts about working for the enemy, and who am I telling it to? Two of the damn people who actually stopped them from killing us all. Listen, I know you’re going to judge me, but if I’d been on the outside, maybe I would have done like you too.”
“I believe you would have. What choice did you have?” I asked him, and I told myself I would never have done what he’d done if I were in his shoes. It was hard to convince my brain one hundred percent. I was worried he might clam up now, so I had to stay on his side. “We need to know about today. Why did you shoot that man?”
I was jumping ahead, but if I was going to lose him, I needed to hit the gas quickly.
“I’m sorry. They had me. In those few days, they made me one of theirs. I felt more at home with them, sneaking around infiltrating my own people, than I did pushing sawdust around for a living. I get it. Transference, or whatever the hell you want to call it. I was converted to some sort of new ideas, and at this moment, I finally see it for what it was. I’m ashamed,” he said quietly.
“So you were theirs, but after we got home, what happened? I’m missing something.” Magnus stood up, and I wished he would shrink back down to be less intimidating.
“Once you showed up, a couple of them were convinced of your story. They fought about it, I was told, but they all ended up going along with it. I think the hard-core Kraski fanatics had a hard time agreeing, but they saw an opportunity for something. They were the ones who kept me on their side. They played nice with everyone, and we’ve all heard the remorse from the interviews, and the hybrids over the last year, but if you think they all rolled over and forgot their roots, you’re kidding yourselves,” Clayton said.
Dalhousie had been right to keep them all isolated in their POW camp out on Long Island. The Russians had wanted them, but the world had voted on the US. Likely they would all have wound up dead by some accidental explosion, but if what I was hearing went where I feared, maybe that would have been the best alternative.
“I doubt anyone thinks they’re toothless,” Magnus said. “Can we get back to the shooting today?”
“Before we landed back on Earth, two of them told me they would be in touch. They gave me some sort of tracking device or something.” He pointed to the back of his neck. “Injected it in me. Didn’t hurt.”
Magnus stood tall again. “Is it still in there?” he barked.
The guy nodded. “Yeah, they contacted me a couple times, but not directly. Through a human, I think.”
That had to mean they had a whole damned network here. Dalhousie and the rest had every reason to be cautious around the hybrids. Mae was on our side, though, this I was sure of. Well, mostly sure of. But then again, I’d been sure Ray was with me too, until he’d tried to stop me at Machu Picchu.
“You’ve never met them or spoken directly with them since you’ve been back?” Magnus asked.
He shook his head slowly. “They’re all contained, as far as I know, so they can’t leave. All I know is I was told to meet another guy. He had a van and some guns. We were given a place and date and instructions. That was today. I was told to shoot the guy with the megaphone, then leave. Of course, you know how that went.”
“Ready to give us your name yet?” I asked.
“Clayton. Clayton Belding,” he said.
“I’m not sure what’ll happen to you, Clayton, but we do appreciate you being forthright with us. One last thing before we leave the room. What are the names of your hybrid contacts? The ones who kept at you after we arrived to bring you all home?” I reminded him about the saving part again.
He looked like he was scared or worried to tell me, but he gave in. I think he was just happy to be done being a traitor to his country, to his planet. “Terrance was the guy, and Leslie was the woman. I still don’t understand why they have our names, but I guess if you’re putting on someone’s mask, you may as well take their name too.”
Our trip to Long Island had just gotten more pressing.
FIVE
“We’ve alerted the guards at the Long Island facility, and they’re going to try to identify those two particular hybrids.” The president looked tired; black bags sat under her usually youthful eyes.
Mae sat at the table, looking worried. Everyone had been watching the video as we spoke with Clayton, and the only consensus was we needed to follow and learn about the network being run by Leslie and Terrance.
“We can only expect there are many more moving pieces, and way more involved in this than just those two.” Mary looked at Mae while she spoke, an apologetic air floating with her voice.
“I’ve got a chopper waiting for you guys. This isn’t a time for you all to be taking leisurely trains around the coast. Magnus and Natalia, I’m hoping you’ll come to the base, and the others can meet up with you there in a couple days if all goes well.” Dalhousie was asking as a courtesy, I was sure.
Magnus and Nat looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders at the same time.
We spent the next hour or so discussing how we could get more information about the hybrid network, and by the time we were about to go our own ways, my head was pounding and it was dark outside.
“Do you guys mind taking Carey with you?” I asked, knowing he would be much happier going with them than on a stressful trip in a helicopter to a POW camp. Carey barked when I said his name and sat beside my feet. Kneeling down, I petted him softly, telling him we’d see him soon.
“Of course not,” Natalia said, calling him over. He did so hesitantly, and Mary crossed the room, grabbing the dog’s leash and other essentials from her luggage. I wasn’t looking forward to being separated from the guy, and I doubted he was either. At least he’d be going with people he loved being around: pseudo-uncle and aunt.
Carey accepted our goodbye without too much preamble, and soon we were being whisked away to Long Island.
_____________
It worked out well because it had everything the hybrids could need while they were under our protection… or watchful eyes. They housed in the on-campus residence, and they had classrooms for learning about Earth and our customs and traditions, even though most had a basic understanding already since they’d been trained for coming here, as Janine and Bob had been. Mae told me that while they’d been taught a lot about humans, there were many missing things, like our sense of humor and obsession with sports. I’d laughed but was still scared at the implications that the Kraski had possibly known as much about us as they did. What did that tell us? That someone was feeding them information. Mae was under the theory it was from all the crap Earth was shooting around the universe in the form of radio waves, and other things I didn’t quite understand. Maybe they learned what they did from watching the Cooking Channel.
Either way, the hybrids were here. We had them tucked away into a comfortable area, with food and activities… and a big fence around the perimeter. It was fully dark by the time we landed in the field, right smack dab on the fifty-yard line. The fence was lit up every fifty yards or so, and there were a few towers with spotlights roaming the grounds. There was a curfew, and armed guards in the towers. So far there hadn’t been any incidents of trouble, at least none that the public had been made aware of. I realized that meant nothing, so I’d ask Mae to check into it later.
The Survivors: Books 1-6 Page 25