by Nelson, Kip
Khan was surprised Tillman had let the people rule by committee. That only would lead to disaster. If Khan knew one thing, it was that people were unreliable, indecisive, and scared. That wasn't what was needed with the threat that was coming to meet them. It was stupid that he was in here. After he'd finally tried to do the right thing he still was being punished. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. He exhaled deeply and thought about the path of his life. He wasn't one to believe in destiny, but often felt that sometimes the cards had been stacked against him from birth.
After seeing Tillman's family, Khan had realized what a bad hand he had been dealt. His parents never would have been close to him like Tillman's were. Khan practically had raised himself. His mother had been a whore, and his father had been a drunk. All he remembered was a parade of men coming through his home, his mom promising all of them she would love them, all the while spitting venom at his father whenever he returned from his long treks up and down the country in his eighteen-wheeler.
He couldn't really blame his dad for losing himself in the bottle, but Khan could blame him for the whippings he received from his father's belt. Even now Khan could feel the sting of the leather against his skin. He closed his eyes, wincing a little as the memory floated across his mind. His father never could abide violence against women, but his son was a different matter entirely.
School hadn't been much easier for him. It always had been difficult to understand what other kids seemed to understand so easily. The words blurred, and the letters floated up in strange patterns. It had been clear to Khan early on that school was a waste of time. The only area in which he excelled was sports. His physique was powerful, and he developed far more quickly than anyone else he knew. He was a man before he had any right to call himself one.
He'd often thought that he had been made for the past, where he could have been a warrior, performing great feats on the battlefield. He'd thought about the army, but despite his physical prowess, he hadn't considered a career as a soldier. There were too many rules for him. It was the same reason he never had cut it in team sports. Khan liked doing what he wanted when he wanted. The world just didn't seem built for men such as him. People had to work together to make it anywhere, and that wasn’t what he was about. He liked relying on one man and one man only, himself.
He’d gathered strength from other men like him, of course, but he never really needed them. They were just there so they wouldn’t bother attacking him. But now he was in this infernal cell because of these meddling high-minded people who thought they were far better than they actually were.
That all would change soon with what was coming.
He’d tried telling Tillman everything, but Tillman had thrown him in here before he’d had much of a chance. It wasn’t his fault, though; he’d only tried his best. He scowled in disgust as he thought about how readily people were willing to throw him in jail. Sure, he’d scared a few people and maybe he’d let his temper get the better of him once or twice, but in the end, he’d only been doing what any red-blooded man would have done to survive. Building a kingdom had been the right choice, and he would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for Tillman.
The man had done well to rally this rabble into a fighting force, but there was always a bigger fish. Tillman was about to understand that.
Jeff continued whimpering, and by this point Khan was getting entirely frustrated.
“Will you just shut the hell up?” he said tersely.
Jeff glared at him, looking at him from dark eyes.
“You’re telling me to shut up? You’re the real criminal here. You’re the one who’s killed. You’re the one who’s terrorized us. All I’ve wanted to do was make this place better.”
“You’re a little rat, aren’t you? At least I looked people in the eye when I attacked them. You and your friend were cowards, hiding in the dark. Your friend died like a coward as well. He didn’t even get any words out.”
Khan hoped Jeff would fall victim to his taunts. Sitting in this cell was boring and a fight would have livened up things, but the opposite happened. Jeff’s shoulders slumped down, and he hung his head.
“It’s all going wrong,” Jeff said.
“You’re damned right about that.”
“I was supposed to be an important person here. This whole thing was going to give me an opportunity, but I was a loser in the old world and I’m a loser in this one too.”
“You got that right. I saw your wife out there. Pretty little thing. She’s gonna get lonely, and you know women always like men who are in power. I wonder who she’s going to pick? Might be that loudmouth Simon, but it’s probably going to be Tillman. Of course, there’s not much you can do about it stuck in here.”
“She wouldn’t do that. She’s loyal to me. She understands me. She’ll stand by me. She’ll come see me soon and you’ll see,” Jeff said, trying to convince himself more than Khan.
“I’ll see alright. I’ll see that pitiful look in her eyes when she looks down at you. I’ll see her sigh and then walk away; promising she’ll come again soon, knowing that she won’t. Face it, Jeff, you fucked up big time here. You made a risky play, and I’ve gotta admire you for that. But it didn’t come off, and now you’re lost what little you’ve got.
“That’s why you’ve gotta have a little pragmatism about you. Like me. I mean, people look at me and they think I’m a mean son of a bitch and, well, I am. But that’s beside the point. I know when to make the right call. Like with this place. I could have come in and attacked you all, but there would have been too many wild bullets around and one of them might have had my name on it. Tillman offered me a way out, so I took it. If you get a chance, you should take one too.”
“There’s not going to be a way out for you this time,” Jeff said. “You killed Ben.”
“Yeah, I did. I killed a man who had threatened Tillman’s sister and niece. I killed a man who had helped sabotage this neighborhood. I don’t think I’m the one in trouble here. I’m yesterday’s news now. You’re the hot topic. Sure, people around here still don’t like me, but they aren’t going to do anything about it.”
“Why did you even come back anyway? I wish you would have just stayed away.”
“Sure, blame me for all your problems, Jeff. I came back because I’m doing you guys a favor. Soon enough they’ll all see that I’m actually trying to help you out.”
“That’ll be the day,” Jeff scoffed.
“Fine, don’t believe me. But you think I was bad? Wait until you see what’s coming.”
Jeff’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“Fine. There’s a group of highly trained people coming here soon. There’s no time to prepare. They’re ruthless, heartless, and they’re not going to stop until they have what they want. They’re not reasonable like me. They don’t see you as anything other than obstacles to deal with. They’re professional, and it’s going to take a miracle for you people to stand up to them.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you,” Jeff said.
“I am.”
“Then why aren’t you out there telling everyone?”
“I was about to give everyone the details when suddenly they got annoyed because they wanted to be just and righteous. Fuck that! If they want to hear what I have to say, then they can come down here and let me go. I was trying to do you guys a favor, but obviously you value other things more highly. At least they know this group exists. Your people just don’t know that they’re on their way.”
Jeff looked at Khan with disbelief.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he gasped.
“You gotta get your kicks where you can. I’ve tried to do my part; I just hope we get forgotten about down here.”
Jeff’s mouth fell open. Then he ran to the door and banged on it with all his might. He yelled at the top of his lungs to try wa
rning the others, but Khan knew it was useless. Khan watched him flail his arms against the door, then he picked up Jeff and dragged him back by the scruff of his neck.
“You’re wasting your strength. Nobody cares about us. Once you’re in a place like this you might as well be dead to the rest of the world. They’re going to be too busy with other things anyway. I hate to tell you this, Jeff, but you might have seen your wife for the last time. I hope you managed to get a goodbye in.”
“No…no…this can’t be happening. There has to be a way to stop them.”
“Nope,” Khan said, returning to his seat. Jeff pushed himself up and was so shaken by Khan’s words that he didn’t even bother trying to make Khan pay for hauling him to the floor.
“If you fight them, you die. Maybe some of you could try running, but where are you going to run to? Shit’s gonna be the same everywhere you go. Now, Tillman’s a smart guy. Maybe he’ll be able to find a way out of this, but smart’s only going to get you so far. Saying that, Tillman is probably the one guy you’d want in charge in a situation like this. But damn has he got his work cut out for him.”
“You’re a fucking sadist. You like seeing us suffer, don’t you?”
Khan chuckled a little. “Like I say, you gotta get your kicks somewhere. But this whole thing is a joke, and I’m just waiting for the punch line. The funny thing is I actually have a soft spot for you people. I mean, I do appreciate you all not killing me when you had a chance, not that it mattered much in the end.”
“They’ll fight back. Tillman will find a way,” Jeff said, clenching his jaw. Khan shrugged. It was at that point that gunfire broke out above. The shots were muffled through the door and the house above, but still were loud. Jeff flinched and ran toward the door. Khan didn’t move.
“And so, it begins,” Khan said. Jeff twisted his neck to look at Khan, then struggled with the door some more, trying in vain to open it.
“Aren’t you going to help me? There are people dying up there!” Jeff yelled.
“I have no doubt. But it’s far safer down here. I’m sure whatever is happening up there will be over soon,” Khan said.
The world was burning all over the place and people only ever ended up one way: dead. You had to squeeze as much as you could from life before you ended up getting squeezed yourself. That was how Khan would live, and it was how he would keep on living if he got out of this.
Khan kept a close watch on Jeff, afraid he actually would get the door open. The last place Khan wanted to be was out there.
Suddenly, Jeff heard footsteps outside and banged on the door.
“They’re coming!” he said triumphantly.
Khan rose to his feet. He heard the lock jangle on the other side of the door. The door was pushed open quickly and Khan cursed. A single shot sounded as Jeff slumped to the floor, the life immediately gone after a pinpoint blow in the middle of his chest. Khan stared at the armored man in front of him. The gun was pointed toward him, and it was at that moment Khan realized he had been double-crossed.
“We had a deal,” Khan growled, his fists clenching into tight balls by his sides.
“You shouldn’t be here, Khan. You warned them we were coming. That was a mistake.” The man’s words were muffled through his mask. Khan didn’t trust people who wore masks. He was annoyed that he wouldn’t get to see the face of the man who was going to kill him.
“I just was trying to make things interesting for you,” Khan quipped.
The man stepped forward, filling the door frame. Khan knew what was coming next. He inhaled deeply and thought back over his life. All in all, it had been pretty shitty. He’d had crap parents, a childhood that led nowhere, and his adult life had been filled with fights and sex and beer. When all was said and done, he probably was going to hell. That suited him just fine, but he wasn’t going to go quietly.
Khan lunged forward, trying to at least make it difficult for the man standing in front of him. His huge strides closed the gap between him and the mercenary, and his long reach was able to get a grip on the man’s wrist. Khan pushed the man’s arm away, but not before the mercenary got off a shot. Khan felt a blaze of pain lance through his thigh. He grunted and almost doubled over, his hand falling to the wound, but he wasn’t going to let the pain stop him. His eyes blazed with anger and every last piece of energy he had flowed through his mighty body. He grappled with the mercenary, his hands grabbing the body armor, clawing at the mask. The mercenary was a skilled combatant, but there was only so much anyone could do against a brute in such close quarters. Khan pummeled the mercenary, trying to overwhelm him with pure brute strength.
For a few milliseconds, Khan almost believed it was going to work. He relished the vicious attack and wanted to tear the man apart, but the mercenary was well-armed. Their bodies were pressed close together as the mercenary fired off another shot. Khan froze, feeling warm blood seep out of his stomach. He held onto the mercenary and became delirious; laughing loudly as the mercenary shot him again and again, eventually extricating himself from Khan’s grip.
Khan, bloodied and enraged, fell to the floor beside Jeff. He held his stomach, but nothing could stop the flow of blood. The last thing he saw was the mercenary walking away, leaving him for dead. The last thing he thought was a hope that Tillman would find some way to make him pay. Then the laughter faded, and only the echo remained.
Chapter Seventeen
Tillman wanted so badly to make the mercenaries pay for what they had done. In the aftermath of the brief battle he had to console the neighborhood for those they had lost. They even mourned Khan. Khan, who actually had come to warn them of this threat, had paid the ultimate price. Tillman knew that all the deaths would weigh heavily on the survivors, and that some would envy the dead. The future didn’t look so bright. The mercenaries were a strong force and there was no way Tillman could muster enough strength to take them out.
Others weren’t as forlorn.
“What are we going to do, Tillman? How are we going to fight back?” more than one person asked. They came to Tillman as he was brooding, and he didn’t have an answer for them. He merely told them he was thinking on it, but in truth his mind was blank.
The mood around the neighborhood was a somber one. People still were going about their daily business, but there was no enthusiasm at all. They were acting as though they were inmates, and in way that was accurate.
When Tillman wasn’t helping to bury the dead, he was brooding on his porch, waiting for inspiration to strike. The mercenaries had left the immediate vicinity of the neighborhood, but he knew they had left people in the surrounding area, watching and waiting for any sign of rebellion. Soon enough, they would return in full force to occupy this area and add it to their expanding kingdom. They moved swiftly and ruthlessly, and Tillman wondered if he had made mistakes in how he had gone about rebuilding civilization.
“What’s on your mind?” Greg asked as he came to stand beside Tillman.
“Only bad things.”
“I hear you. Things aren’t looking good. Everyone is pretty despondent.”
“I know. I just wish I could think of some way to get out of this.”
“It reminds me of the time when you’re playing a game, and someone just comes in and stomps on you, and there’s basically nothing you can do. They’re bigger, stronger, they have better gear, and there’s just no way you can meet them face to face and win” Greg lamented.
“Yeah, but I was usually in that position. I rarely had to be the underdog,” Tillman said, thinking back to his dominance in the world of video games.
All his triumphs seemed hollow now. They had brought him wealth and acclaim, but in the contest that mattered he was failing. The two of them were interrupted by Jack, who came up to Tillman and asked for him to come inside. Tillman nodded and followed to where the council was meeting, minus Simon, of course.
Fernando and Jack were bristling. Mr. Fox was comforting Annabelle, who was sitting on the edge of her se
at. Simon’s absence weighed heavily. Tillman and he never had seen eye to eye, but he had been a valuable counterpoint to Tillman, and he would be missed.
“We have to talk about our next move,” Jack said.
“What’s the point? It’s all going to end the same. It’s just one thing after another and I’m tired of burying the dead,” Annabelle said.
“Hey now, Honey, we can’t let them win so easily. This is a fight I’ve been seeing since I opened my eyes as a child. They can kill us, they can beat us, but we have to make it damn impossible for them to break us,” Mr. Fox said, stroking Annabelle’s back. She was on the verge of tears and didn’t say anything else.
“I hate to say it, but I don’t think we can win a fight against them,” Jack said. “They have advantages in every area, and the last thing I want to do is lead everyone into a slaughter.”
“So, what can we do? Run?” Fernando said.
“Run to where? We have homes here. We might not be so lucky out there,” Tillman said.
“And I don’t get the feeling they’re going to let us run away so easily. Look at your friend,” Jack said.
“I agree. Tony and Tanya barely made it here with their lives. These mercenaries don’t just want our supplies. They want the most valuable resource we have, ourselves. They’ll expect us to do the work for them. I spoke to Tony and what he said is pretty harrowing. I don’t think we want to let them in,” Tillman said.
“I hear you there,” Mr. Fox said. “I rather would die than live under the thumb of these oppressors. But if we can’t run and we can’t fight, what are we going to do?”
“There might be a way we can fight,” Jack said, “but I’m not sure people are going to like it. It’s going to be a long fight, and a lot of people are going to suffer in the meantime.”
