by P. T. Hylton
She waited twenty feet away, conflicting emotions swirling inside her. She was delighted to see CB and anxious to get the parts back to New Haven, but that also meant she’d have to tell him she’d lost Drew. Saying the words out loud would cement it as reality, and not just part of this bizarre fever dream of a trip to the surface.
CB marched toward her at a fast clip, his face screwed up with emotion. For an awkward moment, she thought he was going to hug her, and she kind of wanted to hug him back. But he was her commanding officer, so he just grabbed her by the shoulder.
“Goddard, thank God you’re alive.” He looked at the others. “Thank God you all are alive.” He paused. “Wesley, are you…?”
“I’m ready for my next mission,” he said with a weak smile.
“Glad to hear it. Wait. Where’s Drew?”
Alex hesitated. “I’m sorry, CB. The vampires got him.”
CB’s eyes snapped shut as he mouthed a curse.
Alex continued. “We’ve got a lot to tell you, Captain.”
CB nodded grimly. “Same here. But let’s get those parts on the ship first. It’s time to go home.”
4
They’d only been back an hour when Alex got the call that Fleming wanted to see her.
Learning what had happened in New Haven—that the Council had been murdered and Fleming had seized power—had been a terrible shock. She’d only been gone a day, but somehow the whole city had changed during that time. And CB had promised to help Fleming with Resettlement in exchange for the opportunity to save her and the rest of the team.
After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, this final blow felt like too much to bear. Not only was reality on Earth different than what she’d always assumed, but life on New Haven had changed too.
Brian walked with her to the Hub. CB was already with Fleming, briefing him on the Agartha situation and the status of the ship repairs.
As they walked, Brian caught her up on what she’d missed. “Fleming made an announcement to the whole city this morning. He told them an accident had killed the Council.”
“Convenient accident for him,” Alex muttered.
Brian nodded. “Based on the limited number of people I’ve talked to since the speech, many are actually buying it.”
“You’re kidding me,” she growled. “He’s already rewriting history.”
“I have to admit, it was a good speech. Trying times ahead. We must pull together. He’s taking control until elections can be arranged. Blah blah blah.”
“I won’t be holding my breath for those elections,” Alex said.
Brian nodded. “CB says we have to play nice, for now.”
“I’ll do my best, but no promises.”
When they reached Fleming’s office in the Hub, he greeted them warmly and ushered them inside, where CB was already waiting.
He turned to Alex, his eyes wide with compassion. If the emotion wasn’t genuine, the man was one hell of an actor.
“Lieutenant Goddard, I want to personally thank you for your service and express my deepest sympathy for your loss.”
She nodded quickly. “Thank you, sir.”
When they were seated, Fleming smiled at Alex. “I hope you realize what an amazing opportunity we have here. Your mission proved that Resettlement is possible. If Agartha can do it, so can we.”
Alex glanced at CB. His face was unreadable. “Due respect sir, that city is protected by vampires.”
Fleming waved her objection away. “We’ll be protected by guns and soldiers. Have a little faith, Goddard.”
“I gotta side with Alex on this one,” CB interjected. “It’s hard to imagine what things are like down there, if you haven’t set foot on the surface yourself. Maybe we could set up a camera down there and―”
Fleming didn’t let him finish. “You made me a promise, Captain Brickman. I allow you to rescue your team, and you commit yourself to making Resettlement a reality. I held up my end.”
CB grimaced. “I’m not saying I won’t help, but doing this right will take years. Hell, it’ll take more resources than it took to build this ship.”
“I highly doubt that,” Fleming replied.
“That’s because you haven’t seen it,” Alex snapped. “We can’t just throw some guns and soldiers down on the planet and call it a settlement. They’d be dead ten minutes after sunset. Besides, shouldn’t we be electing a new Council? Do you even have the authority to do any of this?”
“We are all fighting for the same thing: the future of our people. Even now Jessica is restoring the reactor. Soon, every citizen will feel safe again.”
“That proves Alex’s point,” Brian said. “We’re safe. No need to rush Resettlement.”
“You saw the vote,” Fleming pointed out. “The people believe in Resettlement as strongly as I do. In fact, some are fanatical about it. One gentleman told me he was willing to kill all the anti-Resettlement people in the agricultural sector to ensure loyal citizens would control the food supply. Of course, that’s barbaric, and I would never allow it. I’m only telling you this so that you’ll know how passionate the people are. Going against the will of the people would cause a revolt.”
There was a long silence, then CB spoke. “If the people are so loyal to you and your ideals, wouldn’t it be best if you told them to take it down a few levels?”
“Of course. I always discourage violence. For example, several badges in the prison wanted to kill General Craig. I put an end to that and got them under control, but if something were to happen to me, I can’t say what they’d do.”
Alex looked at CB for a long moment as those words hung in the air. Fleming had just told them that he was willing to kill half the people in agriculture and hijack the food supply to keep power. He’d also let them know that if anything happened to him, General Craig would die. Alex could only hope that CB knew a way to get the upper hand, because she didn’t see a way to beat Fleming, right now.
Fleming ended the silence “Let’s not focus on all of the negative possibilities. This is a time of great opportunity for the human race, and for you, personally. I know that the task ahead is difficult, as you have pointed out again and again. That’s why I need the best people to carry it out. First, we need to fill a few open positions. CB, General Craig won’t be returning to active duty, and I’d like you to fill the role as executive commander of the GMT. That means a serious promotion is in order. Congratulations on making colonel.”
CB’s mouth fell open in surprise, but Fleming continued before he could respond.
“Alex, you’re going to oversee the day-to-day operations of the GMT. You’ll receive the rank of captain, and you’ll be tasked with getting the team in shape and ready for action as quickly as possible.”
The news was so unexpected that for a moment, she thought he was joking. Fleming hated her. Now he was giving her command of the GMT?
She’d never considered doing CB’s job. She didn’t even know if she wanted it, yet she found herself saying, “Thank you, sir.”
Damn military training kicked in before her brain did.
Fleming turned to Brian. “I want you to focus all your efforts on Resettlement. We’re currently putting together a group of three hundred settlers, and we’re going to need a lot of innovation from your team to make this happen.”
“Of course, sir,” Brian said. “There are some projects I’ve been working on. For example, a have a proto-type echolocation system. It needs significant testing, but—"
“Forget all that. Everything gets bumped except Resettlement. We’re going to move fast here. I’m talking months, not years.”
CB’s mouth fell open for the second time in two minutes. Alex started to speak, but CB caught her eye and gave her a barely perceptible head shake. She got the message. They needed to regroup before questioning Fleming too much on this madness.
Still, she did have one question that couldn’t wait. “What about Agartha?”
�
��What about them?” Fleming asked. “I don’t trust Agartha, no matter how helpful the vampires pretend to be.”
“We’re in agreement there,” CB growled.
Alex wasn’t sure how she felt about Jaden and his people yet. They’d been nothing but helpful, but they were vampires. That was a tough detail to look past. “I don’t disagree, but if we’re going to do this Resettlement thing, maybe we need to learn from them. They’ve survived on the surface since the infestation.”
Fleming scratched at his chin. “What are you proposing?”
“Jessica seemed to have good rapport with Agatha's head of engineering. What do you say we send her down there for a while once the reactor’s fixed? Call it an exchange of information.”
CB nodded along. “In the meantime, she can investigate Agartha and find out what’s really going on down there.”
Fleming thought a moment. “I like it. If they’re willing to allow us to insert a spy into their city, we should take advantage of that.” A smile crept onto his face. “This is what I’m talking about. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but we need to put that behind us. We’re the team that’s going to bring humanity back to Earth. It’s time to trust each other.”
“I don’t trust him,” Alex said.
She was sitting with Brian and CB at their usual table at Tankards, their favorite watering hole. They’d come there directly after their meeting with Fleming, to let off some steam and say the things they weren’t able to say to his face.
CB nodded his agreement. “The guy thinks Resettlement is his holy mission. He was willing to blow up the whole Council to clear his path to leadership, and he’s somehow already winning the people over to his side. There’s no telling what else he’ll do to get his way.”
“It’s downright diabolical,” Brian said. “In accepting his promotions, you two are basically acknowledging him as the rightful leader of New Haven. If you turn them down, you lose the GMT, access to weapons, and all your authority.”
Alex sighed. She hadn’t thought of it that way, but Brian was right.
“And now we have to focus on filling two slots on the GMT,” she said. “With Drew gone and Wesley out of commission…”
“Actually, it’s three slots,” CB said. “Fleming told me this morning. Firefly won’t be returning to the team. He’s being assigned to the Resettlement project. And promoted, apparently. He’ll be leading the first wave of Resettlers who take up permanent residence down there.”
“You’re kidding me,” Alex said. She spoke softly, bringing up the possibility as gently as she could. “Seems an odd coincidence. Firefly being promoted right after what happened to the Council.”
Firefly had been the demolitions man for the GMT. He was also a big fan of Fleming’s politics. They’d only been back a few hours, and Firefly gets a sudden promotion?
Neither of the two men answered, and the silence hung thick in the air.
“I’m sorry, but we have to at least consider it,” Alex pointed out. “I know you don’t want to think anything bad about a member of the team, CB. I don’t, either. But the City Council room blew up, and Firefly had access to more explosives than anyone else in this city. He’s not exactly the name that would leap to mind to head up a major project. Not unless you owed the guy a favor.”
“She has a point,” Brian allowed.
After a long moment, CB sighed. “I’m not going to jump to any conclusions, but I will admit it looks bad for Firefly. We’ll look into it, but nobody will assume the worst until we have proof. We owe him that much.”
“Unless he’s guilty,” Alex said. “Then we owe him the beatdown of a lifetime.”
For a moment, neither of the men objected. Then CB spoke again. “No. We have to handle this differently.”
“How so?”
The new colonel leaned forward. “Right now, the people of New Haven are on Fleming’s side. That’s bad enough. But soon, he’ll have an army. He wants them trained and ready to deploy to the surface as quickly as possible.”
“And again…Firefly’s leading them? Our Firefly?”
CB nodded. “We have to put a stop to this before Resettlement.”
“Why wait?” Brian asked. His eyes were alive with anger. “You meet with Fleming all the time. A bullet to the head would solve a lot of problems.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Damn, Brian. I never knew you were so cold.”
CB ignored the comment. “Then what? We kill Fleming, it’s civil war.”
“Who gives a shit?” Brian responded. “It’s no worse than what Fleming did to the Council.”
“A lot of innocent people would pay the price. Besides, you heard what he said about his loyal badges killing General Craig, if anything happened to him. We have to be smart about this.”
“We need to win over Firefly,” Alex said.
CB nodded. “Exactly. Firefly is leading the military phase of Resettlement. If we have him, we have an army.”
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Alex asked. “This morning, he was my buddy. Now I find out he was probably working with Fleming all along. We have no idea where he stands.”
“Then we find out. We can’t afford to write him off. We need all the allies we can get.”
“Good,” Brian said. Alex could see that he was feeling better about things now that they had a clear goal. “What else?”
“I need to work on Kurtz,” CB said.
That made sense to Alex. Kurtz was the head of the badges. If they could get him and his badges on their side, they would have the power to arrest Fleming and hold him accountable.
“Kurtz can help us with evidence,” CB continued. “This is going to be a battle for the hearts of the public, and right now Fleming has their hearts. If we want to convince the people, we need hard evidence.”
“What about me?” Brian asked.
“Two things. First, go along with what Fleming’s asking you to do. We don’t want him suspicious of your motives. Second, you and Jessica need to figure out who in your departments is loyal to Fleming and who is willing to hear the truth.”
“You got it,” Brian said. “I’ll talk to Jessica.”
“Good.” CB raised his glass. “But that can wait until tomorrow. We’ve earned a night of R&R.”
They clinked glasses and drank.
Alex grinned slyly at CB. “So, do we have to call you Colonel now?”
CB grimaced. “Officially? Yes. Unofficially? I’ve kinda gotten used to people calling me CB.”
“You know,” Brian said, “as much as I hate Fleming, he is right about one thing. We can’t stay up on this ship forever. It will take years of preparation, but at some point, we’re going to have to take back the Earth.”
CB took a long drink from the mug in front of him, then he said, “You may be right. But if we’re going to do it, I wish we’d do it right.”
“You’ll get no argument from me,” Brian said.
Alex raised her glass. “Brian. Colonel Brickman. Here’s to Resettlement.”
5
“You’re serious about this?” CB asked.
“I am.”
CB looked around at the trappings of Fleming’s office. In the short time he’d been in command, he’d erased any hint of the former City Council leader’s existence. Fleming had assured the people that this was a temporary arrangement, but CB knew better.
Now that he had this much power, Fleming would never let it go.
Fleming continued, “The people want a leader who can move quickly, and I’m that man.”
CB struggled to keep his face even. The plan that Fleming had laid out was beyond aggressive. He’d identified a site, a former supermax prison in Colorado. Fleming believed they could utilize much of the existing infrastructure for lights and electricity. The place was extremely fortified, and it was in a great position in relation to NORAD. Whatever the relationship with Agartha ended up being, the prison was in an advantageous location to either provide them
assistance or to attack them if necessary.
The prison was also rural, so there had been no major cities too close by during the infestation. Theoretically, that should mean less vampires in the area.
“I don’t have any problem with the location,” CB clarified. “It’s the speed I’m worried about.”
Fleming pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up. “I don’t know what else to tell you, Colonel Brickman. The decision has been made. It’s time for you and your team to get on board.”
After the meeting, CB walked the to the GMT training facility. He moved briskly, taking out his frustration on the concrete beneath his feet. He knew there was no way for him to change Fleming's mind, yet still he wondered if there was something he could’ve said, some point he could’ve made, that would’ve caused Fleming see things in a new way.
He’d lost enough team members recently. He wasn’t keen on losing anyone else.
As expected, he found Alex and the team hard at work, training. Most of the team stood around watching the two people struggling on the mat. He cast a cool eye over his new team, appraising them one more time. There was Hope, who would take Firefly’s place as the demolitions expert. Now that Owl was back as pilot, Chuck was replacing Simmons as the recon man.
Finally, there were the Barton brothers. Ed was currently crying out in pain as Alex pinned him to the mat. She had him on his stomach, a knee pressed into the small of his back. His right arm was locked behind his back, and she was pushing on it with such force that CB was a little concerned that it might break.
Ed frantically tapped his hand on the mat, yelling, “You win!”
Alex immediately let him go and stood up, brushing herself off. She reached out a hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Not bad. But you have to learn to use your size. If you’d have—”
A burst of laughter cut her off mid-sentence. All eyes turned to Ed’s brother, Patrick, who was laughing uproariously on the side of the mat.
Alex scowled at him. “Something funny, Patrick?”
The man dabbed at his eyes as he tried to get his laughter under control. “No, ma’am. It’s just… Ed, I’ve never seen you lose to a girl.”
