Lennox Corporation: Book 1 in the Savior Series

by Mark Browning

  As more information came to me, I asked my mother if she had ever heard of the Barge. Claire began to explain, “The Barge is the lifeline of all three cities. The servers necessary to run the cities and control the citizen’s reside on the Barge. No one really knows the specifics of the Barge, but be sure the Barge does exist.” My focus shifted to the Special Commander. He still took the top spot on my list. Lennox Corp could wait. My mother had already dug up all the information that she could on the Special Commander and current Lennox Corp security protocols. It turned out that even before my latest injections I was on to something. If we could get the slums to revolt against Lennox Corp, that would bring out the Special Commander. I will still need a way to get close to him. Between my resources and Claire’s resources, we had a real chance to stir up enough shit to get a real rise out of Lennox Corp. Her plan started with capturing the dog pack and manipulating their signal to attack Lennox Corp supply lines. That should force them to cut back aid to the slums creating tension. Planting the seeds of revolt around the slums would be stage 2. That would be topped off by hanging a few Lennox Corp patrols in the public square with anti-Lennox Corp propaganda poster pinned to their chest. That should trigger a level 3 warning which will bring out the big hitters and a curfew for the slums. This should be the chaos necessary to bring on the wrath of the Special Commander himself. Once we get him out into the slums, I will reveal myself and kill him for all to see setting off a riot and uprising like Lennox Corp has never seen. When the people see his men firing on me and I continue to take them out, healing every step of the way, the people will hopefully rise up with me to take down Lennox Corp. There was a lot to process and even more to do. Many questions remained for my mother.

  CHAPTER 11

  New Alpha

  My mother and I parted ways as she went to the slums to gather a network that could help us with the uprising. I had always been an above average strategist, but I could now feel the Nano-tech working overtime. I was formulating solutions at a remarkable pace, and each was more efficient than the one before. The most amazing part, none of the plans involved me getting shot or blown up. Most had a high probability of sustaining no injuries and I could see all of them like process diagrams in my head. The plan to focus on now, leading the dog pack into an ambush. There was an area of the marsh that once was a lake and the sludge has a special consistency that encompasses anything that decides to cross. If I used my mother’s swamp buggy to lure them in, they would become stuck and ultimately succumb to the pull of the muck. The lowlands are usually shallow but should be deep enough the buggy will sink. I would require a way out.

  I transported all of Claire’s firewood down to the old lake, behind her buggy. I would fasten the timber together, constructing a bridge, and force it out into the middle of the bog. I used a roll of Lennox Corp manufacturing wire to join the logs. Claire had an entire spool of the stuff. When I completed the bridge, the density and size should allow it to rest on top of the mud. This should make a solid structure to pull myself out, but be short enough; the pack would never reach it. I then fastened the wire around the trunks of two trees for security. The work went quick. I can’t count the nights I would lie awake thinking about trekking into the marsh, locating their lair and burning them out. I would fantasize about it coming down to just me and the alpha. I will experience such freedom when I am standing over the alpha’s corpse. I honestly never built up the courage to act against them. I’ve known they couldn’t kill me, but they were unquestionably capable of inflicting severe trauma physically and mentally. This time things seemed different, I wasn’t attacking them; I was removing them. The satisfaction I would experience was real, yes, but I was seeing the bigger picture of how the removal of the dog pack would benefit trade and commerce between the slums and remove another Lennox Corp tool. Let’s hope Claire sees it the same way. Advanced Nano-tech or not, my heightened level of understanding was dealing with this issue the same as it had in the past; destroy them.

  After I finished building my lifeline out of the mud, I chilled for a while and tried to digest everything I had learned in the last few days. The pack’s territory spread out over 100 acres and I could drive around in the buggy for days and never see them. I was better off letting them come to me. I kept mulling over the information I had gathered so far. Lennox Corp was running the slums of S.C. 1 as an off-the-books project. I had not been to the slums of S.C. 2, but according to Captain Chip it appeared to be run by Lennox Corp as well. I didn’t really understand what Chip meant because, whose books were we talking about? Lennox Corp always ran the show and certainly never cared much about what went on in the slums. Their interest in controlling the slums seemed nominal. They take what they want from us and provide little in return. The Special Commander left the safety of the city just to hire me. He could have sent any one of their professionals to retrieve the Lennox Corp property. Not to mention, if once opened the thumb drive revealed the location, why did they need help at all. This puzzle presented me with more pieces and fewer spaces to put them in. Knowing that I had been being played by the Special Commander, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was about the drive at all. I felt like the Special Commander had his own agenda and had singled me out through some evaluation process. I just couldn’t see why or how I even ended up on the Lennox Corp radar, but something definitely didn’t add up. I knew Claire‘s plans involved the destruction of Lennox Corp and I was on board. But I also had to take care of the Special Commander. Sometimes I question whether Lennox Corp are the ones in control anymore. Dealing with this new train of thought proved dizzying; I didn’t know yet how to turn it off. There was a maze of possibilities coming at me constantly. I read a book once that taught you how to calm your mind with meditation and if ever there was a time to meditate, this was it. Hopefully I could follow it with some sleep.

  Meditation usually proves to be soothing and I could feel myself drifting into the quiet of my sub-conscience. Sleep followed, but in a few hours I awoke with a slight stinging sensation all over my body. To my utter disgust, I was covered in marsh leeches. I hate marsh leeches. Their prong teeth made them a nightmare to remove, and the venom numbs your skin for hours. After an hour of painstaking removal, I moved quickly to set myself up a proper camp in which to wait for the pack. While I worked, I was developing an alternate plan to bring about the demise of the Special Commander. Everyone thought I was dead including the Special Commander. Instead of trying to lure him out to the slums, this could be my chance to sneak in to the city. He was playing the game at a different level and would always be ready for any attack that I launched on him outside of the city. But inside, where he felt safe and secure, I could catch him with his guard down. The more I dwelled on an uprising, the more uncomfortable I became with the dangers of starting a revolution. I was still carrying the guilt of the deaths of the kids from Cloud 9. There were people I cared about in the slums; I could not bear a massacre. An excuse to initiate a lockdown and assert their authority could be exactly what Lennox Corp was looking for to gain control of our slums, just like the others. Captain Chip had mentioned that both slums had fallen deeper into crime and violence right before Lennox Corp took them over. I started thinking about the rise in crime in my own slums and the new low life’s trying to take advantage of the struggling people. There was a high probability that Lennox Corp had orchestrated this downfall and were now preparing S.C. 3 for the same fate as S.C.1 and S.C.2. It looks like I will need to contact Claire to get me into the city. After I remove the dog pack, I will return to the slums and put together a plan to sneak inside the city and kill the Special Commander. We could proceed with the plot to take down Lennox Corp once the Special Commander was out of the picture. I owed it to Cloud 9 to crush the Special Commander’s skull with my bare hands. First things first, the dog pack had to go. I decided my time of reflection was passed. I had arrived at the time of action.

  As the evening approached, I reached in my bag and pulled out my bow a
nd arrows. It was time to hunt. If I killed two wild pigs, their blood would make a great perimeter marker to lure the dog pack to my part of the marsh, speeding up this waiting game. The wild pigs ran in packs and were mean as hell, but not very smart. You usually find them feeding wherever there were marsh frogs. A marsh frog hotbed was located not far from the camp. I waited until well after midnight and made my way to the site. I was not disappointed. I spotted multiple wild pigs, scouting out the smorgasbord. I watched their activity for a few minutes, picking out the two fattest pigs. The fatter the pig the shorter the run and I was in no mood for a late night run through the marsh. I silently crept in behind them hitting the pigs with perfectly placed arrows to the neck. The impact sent both panicked hogs sprinting off in different directions. One pig made it about 80 ft while the other barely sprinted out 30 ft before falling over. I had chosen my pigs wisely. They weighed over 300 pounds each so I hiked back for the swamp buggy and dragged them down to the campsite. I set up a few pails under the carcasses while I skinned and gutted the pigs packing up some of the more edible meat for later. I took the blood that I drained in the pails and spread it all around about 150 yards outside of camp. That amount of blood should catch the attention of the pack if they are anywhere within 30 miles of my camp. Hopefully, they would be the only predators attracted to the camp. I made a small fire and cooked up some of my pig meat and waited patiently.

  On warm nights like this, the lights in the sky are particularly strange. Tonight proved especially active, and I found myself mesmerized until that feeling of someone watching crept over me once again. The pack was near I could sense them. I was very familiar with this sensation, and I was usually right. Since the attack when I was a boy, I have had a strange connection to the dog pack and they to me. This pack may be ruthless and dominate the Wasteland, but they are very cautious of me. They were creeping closer and closer; the hair on my neck was standing straight out. It was time to get this party started, so I crawled over to the buggy, jumped in and cranked it up with a loud rumble of the engine. As the floodlights lit, I could see their eyes reflecting in the night. I sped off, heading away from the lake. As they came out of cover, I saw the alpha sprinting out with a determined expression on his face, the rest of the pack following his every move. I led them on a chase through the marsh. My best bet for success was to exhaust them. When I could tell they were fading, I headed back down to the old lake. I drove straight toward the lake gaining speed the entire way. I looked behind me and noticed the alpha pulling back as the rest of the pack continued to give chase. Thankfully, the dogs followed me right into the mud. The bog was unrelenting and the more they fought to get to me, the stronger the mud pulled them back and eventually down to their muddy grave. The alpha had not followed. The buggy was sinking prematurely, just short of my lifeline. I gunned it, forcing it further into the middle of the lake. Grasping onto the bridge I worked myself towards the shore. Pulling myself to freedom, I immediately gathered up my things, starting with the frequency jammer for the dog’s chips. The Alpha was still not around, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The jammer may be my only hope against him. I got my backpack together, smothered my fire and started the walk back to Claire’s cottage. After a long hike through the night, I could finally see the glow from the lights at the cottage. I was only a few miles out now.

  Out of nowhere, I took a sudden hard blow to the side. The alpha had been stalking me and made his move. Jammer still in hand, I pressed the button as he lunged for my throat. He tried to fight it, but began howling and thrashing with pain. I pulled out my long knife, but before striking the killing blow, the alpha passed out from the pain. I turned the jammer off, and for a reason unbeknownst to me, I found I couldn’t kill him. I muzzled him using an old rag in my bag. I decided to carry him back with me. Once I got him back to the cottage, I went through Claire’s meds and found something to knock him out. I needed to remove the Lennox Corp chip. Without it in, I could determine his true nature. I locked him in an outbuilding with a bowl of pig meat and some water. I would monitor him for now. If he attacked when he came around, It would make my decision on what to do with him very easy. For now, my plan was to release him into the wild.

  While the alpha was out, I decided it was a good time for me to get some rest, too. I had only been asleep for a short time, when I was yanked awake by his howling and giving the door to the outbuilding a pounding. While sitting on the edge of the bed, I remembered having the craziest dream where I talked to the alpha dog and he and I came to an understanding. Man, this Nano-tech was really doing a number on me. Even my dreams were expressing a higher level of crazy. It was time to let him out and observe his behavior. I was hoping he would just run off and go back to his life in the wild, though his pack now rested at the bottom of the muddy lake. The truth be told, he would be far less dangerous alone. I approached the outbuilding and slowly opened the door. He came out with a furious rage, spun around to me snarling and growling, but he didn’t attack. As soon as he got his bearings, we made eye contact. As I stood unwavering, staring straight back into his eyes, his demeanor changed. His tail went down and the hair on his back receded. He put his head down in submission and approached me with respect. The alpha knew he had been defeated, and now I was the pack leader.

  I took the next couple days preparing for my trip back to the slums. The alpha was healing quickly from the chip removal and he never left my side. We seemed fated to be together in this adventure. As homage to my friend the blacksmith, I named the alpha Smith. I felt a sense of comfort with Smith around; he kept watch and protected me. His pack had been strong for a reason, and now we were a pack. I couldn't believe the same dog that haunted my dreams for so many years would now protect me in my life. I guess the Wasteland had a new alpha, and I was assembling my pack.

  CHAPTER 12

  A Way Inside

  Ihave not cut my hair or shaved my beard since the collapse of the bunker. This was a tactical decision, as I knew the time would come when I would return to the slums and I didn’t want to be easily recognized. Smith would offer another form of cover as most people shy away from the wild dogs. Smith and I made our way through the Wasteland on foot as every mode of transportation was blown up, wrecked or sunk. Telling my mother about the swamp buggy would not be fun, especially having used it to eliminate the dog pack. Claire should be at Tammy’s. I suggested she stay there once she arrived in the slums. We would need Tammy’s help at some point and she had always been loyal to me. I also wanted Claire to tell Tammy I was still alive. Tammy is one of only a handful of people that would be personally affected by my death.

  Smith made a great traveling companion, and we arrived back at the slums after only a few days. Just as I expected, no one seemed to recognize me and Smith made sure people kept their distance. I walked on to Tammy’s, and she was not fooled by my new look, but played along and directed me to wait in Claire’s room. My mother was out, most assuredly making contact with her people on the inside. I still wasn’t sure if I fully trusted Claire or her motivations, but she was my mother and I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Smith and I rested in her room while we waited for her to show up. Within a few hours, she arrived and expressed her displeasure to see me with my new friend Smith. She screamed “I told you to turn that monster against its creator not adopt him!” I explained the dog pack posed an ongoing threat, so I removed them from the equation instead of turning them on Lennox Corp. I described leading the pack into the mud lake, using her swamp buggy. “My swamp buggy?” she said. I said my apologies, and quickly moved on to how Smith and I came to be companions. Although she did not exactly agree with my choices, especially the part where I confiscated and sank her buggy, she somewhat reluctantly accepted my decision. Smith however was not a fan of Claire, and I had to correct him multiple times for growling at her. Maybe he remembered her using the jamming device on him and the dog pack. Time would tell. All in all, Smith’s willingness to serve me and his overall impressive
intelligence continued to trump his animal instincts. I couldn’t have been more pleased. I had my concerns, bringing him around so many people, but it really was that damn Lennox Corp microchip making him crazy. The connection I had with him was so powerful that it honestly felt like all I had to do was visualize a command and he would interpret it.

  I was just about to tell Claire about my latest scheme to capture the Special Commander when suddenly she spoke up, “I have a new plan. I think you should capture the Special Commander inside the city and I can help you do it.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and then it hit me. If she was my mother and was actively injecting herself with Nano-tech, then the obvious conclusion would be that our DNA and the close match in intelligence would lead us to the same strategic solution. Instead of working on a way to start a riot she had already been greasing the wheels and setting up the connections to get me inside of S.C. 3. She still had connections on the inside and knew which Lennox Corp security agents she could pay to look the other way. They, of course, mustn’t know it was me they were helping. There should be an opportunity to sneak me inside in the next few days. In the meantime I needed to stay out of sight. I couldn’t risk being recognized.

  I had one errand of my own to take care of, I wanted to see Laura and let her know that I was alive. The next morning, before most of the slums were up I headed over to the blacksmith shop. Laura was genuinely shocked and pleased to see me. She told me that the inhabitants of the slums had tried to have a memorial service for me and the members of Cloud 9. The Special Commander himself showed up and shut the entire service down. He gave a speech where he announced to everyone in the slums that things would soon be changing. There seemed to be some question as whether he believed I was deceased, and he was offering a huge reward to anyone who delivered my dead body to him. This statement definitely sparked my curiosity. Why would he even consider the notion I was still alive? I described a small, sharp knife I had been thinking about, to Laura. I needed it to be small enough to smuggle into the city. Laura listened as I gave her further details and then she told me to come back tomorrow and she would have my knife ready. She reached down and stroked Smith on the head. “So who’s your new friend?” she said. I told her he was a stray I had picked up. My heart swelled a bit as I watched how he instantly warmed up to her. This only confirmed how I already felt about her since the first time we met. She then said, “He’s seems like a nice guy. Let me know if you ever need somebody to watch him.” I thanked her for the offer. I would need somebody I could trust to watch him while I was in the city, and Laura was the first person he had liked since I brought him to the slums. Smith and I returned to Tammy’s after I talked with Laura. I decided we would just hangout the rest of the day. The more I was out and about the higher the risk of being seen.