Jade looked for consent before lowering her hands. “Glad you like it; it’s a loaner from our motor pool.” She shifted to a fleeting smile. “Being honest, we didn’t expect to stumble upon you here, or anyone, really. We thought we’d be touring through the town of Woodstock about now, but instead, here we are; and here you are.” She indicated their backdrop with her hands. “Pardon my abysmal knowledge gap, but where are we? What is this, exactly?”
“This?” the sergeant responded, clearing his throat. “Well, this happens to be the Plantation, ma’am.”
“I’m sorry, did you say the Plantation?”
He nodded, still focused on the IDs he’d been given.
Jade broadened her smile and strove not to sound condescending. “Sir, you are aware of what ‘knowledge gap’ means, don’t you?”
After a second, the guard peeked up from Jade’s credentials. “Forgive me,” he said, appearing sheepish. “It’s early and I’m just a tad blindsided by this. It’s seldom we have this type of encounter, you see.” He paused. “At current, you’re located at the northern gateway for DHS Shenandoah Outpost, acting HQ for FEMA region three. The Plantation…is just what we call it.”
“Oh, I see now,” said Jade, giggling. “Like a code name.”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“Well, as you can probably tell by looking at us, my colleague and I are a little frazzled too. It’s been an inordinately long trip for us already. And what we saw along the way…it’s almost beyond words to describe.”
“How long have you been on the road?”
“The better part of a day and a half, with a few stops in between,” Ken said. “We left Washington two days ago.”
“Washington?” The guard’s brows knitted. “Last thing I heard, the entire district is a lost cause. As in completely done for, nothing there.”
“We can attest to that,” Jade said flatly. “You heard correctly, the place is a war zone. There’s nothing there, above ground anyway.”
“I’m sorry?”
She waved a hand at him. “Don’t be, I’ll explain. Our division is situated in a subterranean complex three blocks from what used to be the White House. We call it ‘the cavern’. That’s our facility’s code name; maybe you’ve heard of it.”
“I might have,” the sergeant said. “And what was your division tasked with?”
“Sorry, I can’t answer that, Sergeant. It’s classified,” Jade deadpanned.
“Oh?”
She held back her reply for several long seconds. “Only teasing you. Agent Winters and I are assigned to the Threat Intelligence and Analysis division. We investigate and respond to security threats directly affecting US embassies and SecState.”
The sergeant grinned, then nodded. “That’s quite a responsibility. By the way, you almost had me there.”
“It’s freezing out here, figured the humor might warm us up,” she went on. “We received our shelter-in-place orders right after everything went haywire. When the federal continuity directive was implemented, every one of us knew we were there for the duration. Most of our internal systems remained operational, thank God. There was plenty to eat and drink, and the air conditioners worked most of the time. And we had a library of books and DVDs to help pass the time.” A pause. “We received word a few days ago that SecState had gone off-grid, and were assigned to fish him out and secure him. When we tried to leave, we found the facility’s access control systems were down, and that’s when the whole nightmare started for us.”
“We lost two members of our detachment just getting out of there,” Ken said, his tone becoming despondent. “We had to exfil via the city sewer drains. One of our men…he drowned. The other lost his footing and slipped down a chute. We…never saw him again.”
The sergeant sent a vacant look. “I’m sorry to hear that. My condolences.”
“Thank you,” said Ken. “It’s been hell getting this far. I know we don’t exactly look presentable, but we cleaned up as best we could. Had to dump all our patches and a lot of our gear. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s really good to finally see some friendly faces.”
The sergeant nodded his head and sent a grin along, then folded both ID wallets closed, handing them back to Jade and Ken. “Look, as far as I’m concerned, everything on your end looks legit. I don’t mean to hold you up any more than we already have, but I can’t let you pass through without calling it in. If you wouldn’t mind waiting here for just a few more minutes…”
Jade beamed at him. “By all means. Lord knows, we all answer to someone. We’ll wait however long it takes.”
He smiled back at her and went to his SUV, then closed the door to a crack and spent the next few minutes talking into a radio handset. When he returned, his expression hadn’t deviated, and it appeared as though they’d pulled it off. “I couldn’t raise anyone at HQ,” he said. “Guess their alarm clocks haven’t gone off yet. So, for now, I’m clearing you on my authority. Not sure which way you’ll be heading, but you’ll need to pass through another checkpoint on your way out.” He paused. “I’m curious, what’s your destination? I’m not aware of any government facilities or military bases nearby; you’re vastly limited for options to refuel.”
Jade kept up with the act. “Our orders have us going all the way to the Greenbrier, but we have a planned stop at Sugar Grove for just that purpose, assuming our No Such Agency colleagues cooperate…as well as DHS has.”
The guard chortled. “Greenbriar? That’s a way’s off, isn’t it? I figured they would’ve sent POTUS and his cabinet someplace closer. But I bet both of you know differently, don’t you?”
Jade cocked her head to the side. “Sergeant…now, you know I really can’t answer that.”
“I assumed so. I apologize for putting you on the spot.” He pointed south, then west. “The south checkpoint identical to this one is roughly two miles from here; just go straight and you’ll find it. The other one is west just beyond the overpass on forty-two. I’ll radio ahead now and let them know you’re coming. Shouldn’t be any problem. Good luck to you.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Jade said. “Oh, one more thing. Something just dawned on me; I’ll be talking it over with Agent Winters once we get going. Neither of us really wants to head back to the sewer, and opportunities these days aren’t as abundant as they used to be. After we finish what we set off for, might there be a place for us here?”
“I can look into it. I know a few people,” he said. “Swing back by, and ask whoever you run into for Sergeant Adams. That’s me. And we’ll take it from there.” He then motioned for the barricade to be opened.
Jade and Ken thanked him, waved and returned to their seats inside the Marauder, each expelling an exhaustive breath.
“Damn. You were totally in your element, Jade. I think I shit my pants about a dozen times,” said Ken.
“I was right there with you, fam. Trust me.”
Jade pulled the Marauder through the checkpoint, tossing a friendly hand up as she passed, unaware if anyone could see it. They continued through town, passing multiple defunct stores and abandoned residences, empty streets, overgrown trees and a mile of sidewalks yet to be shoveled.
Passing by a brick-framed billboard that read ‘Massanutten Military Academy’ on the right, another sign had been sledgehammered into the ground next to it, displaying the DHS Seal and title ‘DHS Shenandoah Outpost’. A parking lot of black SUVs, repainted school buses and armored vehicles lay between and behind every building on the campus.
Alan pointed ahead to a set of nonworking traffic lights. “Take a right here. That’ll bring us west over the interstate.”
Jade proceeded around the turn, and after ascending a small hill and crossing a railroad track, the trio looked upon a ghastly sight to their left. Two steel security fences topped in rows of razor barbed wire, yards apart from each other, rose skyward above the windshield’s visible horizon. The fence line ran parallel to the road for a good distance.
&
nbsp; “Um, I’m going to assume that hasn’t always been there,” Jade mused.
“You could ask me, but I’d tell you you’re asking the wrong person,” said Alan. “What in God’s name is that?”
“Come on, what else could it be?” Ken quipped. “We just got done talking about it. Jade said she thought all the people we didn’t see were relocated. And that’s a big damn trellis, like a bad dream come true. Probably marks the boundary of the prison camp they took them to.”
Alan bit his lip. “I’m trying to imagine what type of person would dredge up such a thing. I mean, what mentality requires having such a draconian level of domination and control over a populace? Words like demented come to mind. Twisted. Evil.”
“I don’t think a single word in the English language can define what I’m seeing…or feeling right now,” Jade said as they passed the corner rampart of the fencing.
The overpass and the exit checkpoint were now coming into view. Jade slowed the Marauder to a snail’s pace and crept closer, noticing the guards had indeed been anticipating their arrival. The barricade gate was already in the process of being raised, and she was receiving hand signals to pull on through. The trio passed the gate without incident and trekked westbound on a well-traveled two-lane road for several miles. Their nerves were collectively shot, and they’d only begun to relax, when Alan felt compelled to chance a look behind them.
“Jade, we have contacts on our six.”
“Contacts on our six?” Ken mocked. “Since when did you start talking grunt?”
“Alan, tell me exactly what you see.”
“I see a column of black vehicles,” he said. “A few SUVs in front and some of those MRAP things we saw last night. I can’t count how many there are, but it’s more than one.”
Ken looked to Jade. “What do you think they want?”
She rolled her weary eyes. “Who knows.”
“Any particular way you want to handle this one?”
Jade’s expression turned to stone. She wasn’t about to allow her plan to fall apart. “The same way I would any other time my orders were being interfered with. Ferociously.”
“Ooh, sounds exciting.” Ken grinned like a schoolboy in a winning game of dodgeball. “Let’s go legit, then.”
“Sidearms only. And don’t unholster unless I do.”
Ken acquired his Sig and handed Jade her Glock. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t shoot anyone.”
“Okay, now you’re taking all the fun out of it.”
“Alan, same plan as before,” Jade stated. “Nothing changes. You stay in the APC. Watch for my signals.” She whipped the wheel left and went off-road through a metal gate leading into a snowy field of folded-over tall grass. She then floored the Marauder for a distance, made a hard right and circled left, skating the rear tires around so they were now facing the oncoming DHS convoy.
At seeing this, the convoy lined up side by side in a skirmish line. Agents soon began pouring out of vehicles, all toting automatic rifles.
Jade studied the lineup. “Alan, listen up. Normally, being told to stay inside one of these things during a battle is horrible advice. They’re magnets for antitank weapons, grenades and the like, especially when idle. I don’t see anything beyond thirty caliber out there, and this armor can defeat those all day. So, no matter what happens, you stay here and watch for my signals. Hopefully, this will all be over soon.”
“And if it’s not?” Alan pondered.
With parted lips, Jade hung her head. “Then we improvise.”
“Try asymmetric tactics first,” Ken offered. “And if none come to mind, go rabid apeshit on them. Drive this twelve-ton beast straight at them and run over any fucker dumb enough to stand in the open. Disable as many of their vehicles as you can without FUBARing this one. Then make a break for it—but pick us up first before you leave.”
Jade took several rapid breaths to appear more flustered than she already was and made her exit once again in a single jump, doing so with her hands flailing angrily. “Excuse me! But precisely what is this shit? You are all interfering with official State Department business!”
A dozen kitted-up agents exited vehicles and converged on them, their rifles leveled and pulled tightly to their shoulders.
Jade drew her Glock and presented it ahead of a savage glare.
Ken followed suit and drew down on them. “Gentlemen! Several of you are coming really fucking close to becoming really fucking dead for really stupid reasons!”
With all weapons drawn and pointed at each other, both sides slowed and stalemated.
“Shut your mouth and drop your weapon!” an agent shouted.
“Come on, guys…there’s no sense in any of this!” Jade exclaimed. “We were given clearance to pass!”
“That’s correct,” a deep voice thundered amidst the row of agents. “You were.” A man wearing a button-up shirt, a tie and a wool sweater beneath his body armor emerged from the group. “Now, drop those weapons before I give the order for my men to shoot you both down.”
Jade’s jaw clenched. “Give the order, because we will do no such thing. You and your men are out of line! This is deliberate interference with official business! Completely outrageous!”
“Ma’am, we’re all professionals here, as you can see. This doesn’t have to end badly. My men and I are under orders too. We were told to follow you. Some added clarification is needed, that’s all. Provide it, and I’m confident we can all go about our day.”
“What clarification could you possibly require? We have already provided all there is!”
The lead agent didn’t answer. He sighed, appearing frustrated and far too affable to give the order to open fire on a woman. “Tell you what, how about if we—”
“Sir!” an agent half-seated in an SUV called.
“What…”
“HQ is on the line, requesting to speak to you.”
“I’m a little busy, at the moment,” he snapped. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know, sir, she won’t identify, but she’s using the secured channel, so it can only be from one place.”
The lead agent shook his head and gave the signal for his men to lower their weapons. “Excuse me.” He went to the passenger side of the SUV nearest him and slid into the seat as the waiting agent handed him the handset.
Ken ogled Jade and spoke through his teeth. “What the hell is going on?”
She shrugged, holding tight to her sidearm. “I have no idea.”
The lead agent returned a few minutes later, his flat expression and tone unaltered. “Ma’am? Can I get your last name, please?”
“Like I said, that has already been provided,” Jade hissed. “Call Sergeant Adams. Get it from him.”
“Ma’am…please? It really isn’t an unreasonable request.”
Jade knew it wasn’t, but the request puzzled her nonetheless. She took a glimpse at every agent present and sent along the answer, realizing that each one had a camera on his lapel.
“Right. Hensley.” He presented his hand. “Agent Hensley, might I have a word with you? In private?”
“Absolutely,” Jade said, holstering her sidearm. The agent’s palm pressed firmly on her lower back and she walked with him. “Provided you explain what this is about.”
He escorted her to the SUV where he’d taken the radio call. “Someone has requested to speak with you,” he said. “She advises that she’s an…old friend of yours.”
Jade’s skin began to tingle. She racked her brain for clues as to who this could be. She’d made just as many old friends as she had enemies in her lifetime, and this person could be just about anyone. She began steeling herself and plotting her next improvised move, whatever it might be, and despite everything inside her screaming to launch an assault, she yielded and forced a smile. For now.
The agent bade her take a seat, and Jade plopped in, feeling the sensation of the SUV’s heated upholstery straightaway. He handed her a duplex radio handset that
looked like a military-grade flip phone, minus the buttons.
She placed the speaker to her ear. “Hello?”
A sultry, high-pitched woman’s voice bearing a delicate Southern accent came back to her. “How you been, Connie?”
Jade gritted her teeth. “I’ve been better…”
“Well, good gracious me! I declare, it really is you. It’s been forever and a day, hasn’t it? I didn’t know what to think when I first saw you pop up on my screen…I thought some ole gypsy skank filched your credentials and was tryin’ to pass herself off as the genuine Constance Hensley. Aah…you do know who this is, don’t you?”
“I do,” Jade snarled. “How long have you been whoring yourself out to DHS, Trixie? Bit of a downgrade, even for you, don’t you think?”
“Kind of you to notice. Actually, it was a drag at first. But everything has turned out just peachy for me here, so you know. I would’ve stayed with the company, but Augie’s career led him elsewhere, and I just couldn’t bear to be apart from him.” A moment passed in silence. “So, tell me. Are you as plum dazzled as I am now? I bet hearing my voice surprises you.”
“No, not at all. It aggravates me,” Jade said. “As in downright abrading, like sandpaper on silk. So why not spare me the agony of it and tell me what the play is here.”
“The play?”
“That’s right, the play. What’s your angle? What do you want?”
Beatrice giggled through her nose. “You still don’t like beatin’ around the bush for long, do you? Well, let’s see here, I suppose my angle, as you so eloquently put it, is the same as it’s always been. I want it all, Connie…lock, stock and goddamn freakin’ barrel. And I plan to get it all.”
“So you haven’t changed, then. Still the narcissist meth-head ever ready, willing and able to defile herself at the drop of a hat just to stay ahead of the curve. You’ve always been my role model.”
“Damn! You are such a riot, Connie! Do you recall the last time we ran into each other? I surely do. I imagine it’s hard for you to forget, had to be awfully tough losing your job like you did. Shame, shame.”
Indivisible Page 26
