by G. R. Carter
Jimmy McKee stood at his guard shack, frozen with shock at the impossible void in front of him. Tears began to well up in his stinging eyes as a bearded man crept up behind him. Jimmy’s last feeling was a hand locked around his forehead, cold steel pulled across his throat, then total darkness.
Chapter Twenty-One
Near Warsaw, Illinois
Mississippi River Main Channel
One Day Later
Chloe’s heart pounded as their boat drifted closer to the Caliphate flotilla. Their little group had traveled on and off since her rescue, on the water from dusk to dawn and then sheltered on the overgrown shore in the bright light of day. They were saving their fuel; her Tracker rescuers were disciplined enough to overcome a desire to inflict pain on the horde as soon as possible. She watched the one called Ridgway sit statue-still on the bow while the other two held oars in the water at the stern, guiding their path to stay off the muddy bank. Up ahead in the dark several torches danced on the waves, illuminating barges tethered to a pier beneath what once served as a riverside grain terminal.
There was no sound but the river. Conversation lasted only long enough to confirm the details of their plan of attack. The Tracker leader—Wasson was what she was told to call him—left her in charge of three fully-loaded rifles. The last thing they wanted was the racket of automatic weapons, but they'd shoot it out as a last option. Wasson instructed Chloe to keep down at the bottom of the boat in case they were surprised. A fourth rifle lay next to her along with several other Jijis’ weapons found aboard the captured boat they were using to track what her protectors called demons.
Ridgway held out a long stick, stopping the boat from hitting the rusty walls of the closest barge. The contact wasn't loud; a good sentry might have detected something, but the noise of the waves lapping against the barge covered their sound. He lashed their boat to a metal hook on the Jiji vessel, then the lanky Tracker jumped up and grabbed the top edge, pulling himself up with just the flex of arm muscles. For a moment he hung still, eyes scanning back and forth. He dropped back down and shook his head to Wasson. He used the stick to push them over to a parallel barge, repeating the same technique. This time he seemed to find what he was looking for.
He came to Chloe, who handed him several foot-long sticks with cords sticking out, which he tucked into his belt. Once more he scrambled up and over the edge of the barge, disappearing over the top. Wasson primed the boat's motor to avoid waiting. Olmstead checked the weapons for the fourth time. Chloe merely sat staring out at the river, trying to see what the Trackers could see. Everything in the pitch black looked like a threat to her, every shadow another nightmare. She drew strength from these men; they were alien and violent in action, yet kind of heart. She wanted to help, to never again feel like a victim.
Chloe didn't hear Ridgway's return, just felt the boat push off and watched Wasson jump up to start the motor. After a few cranks it finally caught spewing noxious fumes from a sputtering exhaust. The rough idling couldn’t hide voices shouting inside the barges, and even though she couldn’t understand the language, she could clearly understand the panicked tone.
Finally, they were moving as the engine willed the boat forward, hopping and shuddering over the current of the mighty river. Wasson squeezed the last ounce out of the ancient craft that began life as a family pleasure cruiser. Tattered padding remaining around the wheelhouse saved Chloe injury as she was thrown by the boat’s pitching.
A rifle fired behind them. She cringed and ducked, then scolded herself for feeling helpless and cowardly. Comfort came when she noticed the ice-cool Trackers all ducked also. No bullets struck, though; either the sentries weren’t very good marksman, or the boat was already invisible against the water and night.
She glanced back to Olmstead, sitting against the horseshoe-shaped cushions at the back. For all the man’s strength and intimidating features, she could tell he was in agony. At first Chloe feared he had been wounded in some way. She looked up at Wasson with concern, but in the moonlight, she thought she caught a glimpse of a smile. He didn’t return her stare, merely said, “Water.” Confused for a moment, she finally realized what he meant; Olmstead was seasick. She began to laugh at the absurdity, then the night erupted in light like the dawn behind her. She turned in time to hear the blast, then felt the hot air rush past her face. A pillar of fire reached for the sky, looking for all the world like a miniature mushroom cloud from the terrifying stories in the old textbooks.
No one watched the explosion except Chloe, and only after trying to see in the dark did she understand why. She tried to blink the image of the fire out her eyes, but with every close of her eyelids the bright burst returned. She feared for a moment she had damaged her eyes, but gradually the outlines of the trees on the opposite bank ahead returned to normal. Wasson slowed the boat and Ridgway crouched up on the bow, ready to jump off. The engine cut and the boat drifted up into a cove cut by a tributary stream. The water smelled rotten the further up they went until finally the bow rope landed on the shore and the tall Tracker jumped after it.
The calm of their bank provided clear contrast to the chaos of the other. Wasson handed his field glasses to Olmstead, who finally handed them to Chloe. She turned to hand them to Ridgway, but once again he had disappeared into the night. Probably making sure we don’t have any surprise visitors, she told herself. She was beginning to get a sense for how the three worked together, almost like one mind in three bodies. Without question they would have creeped her out if she had met them last week. In their presence now, though, she had never felt safer.
She took one more glance through the glasses. She could see smaller boats swarming around the burning barges. One was half-submerged in the river, another burned like a candle. The reflection of the flames seemed to extend halfway across the wide waterway, making her feel for a moment a little exposed. Unconsciously she stepped back a little.
“Don’t worry, they can’t see you,” Wasson said, noticing her withdrawal. “Night blindness and panic. No discipline.”
“They won’t come looking for us?”
“Not until tomorrow. In the daylight. Demons fear wolves and ghosts in the dark.” This time the grin on his face was unmistakable, despite the low light.
“They’re just going to keep moving downriver, aren’t they?” she gulped. “Like a swarm of locusts from the Bible. Eating and chewing up everything on the way.”
“And killing.”
“I can’t believe they got through those bridge forts. I didn’t know the Jijis could do that.”
“They had help from inside,” he muttered grimly. “That much is clear. Traitors are in the ranks of ARK.”
“I don’t know, Wasson,” Chloe said. She was gaining confidence every second she spent with him. “I didn’t see a single Peacekeeper among the dead. I think it was all locals. I think ARK is gone.”
“They promised our Founder they’d defend this river at all costs.”
“ARK’s made a lot of promises to people like us, see how that turned out? At least you’ve accomplished what you said you’d do.”
Chloe heard a snort of disbelief from somewhere in the dark—Olmstead had disappeared from her sight, also.
“We haven’t accomplished anything yet, sister. We just stung the demons tonight, we didn’t stop them. From here on our path gets more difficult,” Wasson told her. He took the glasses back from Chloe and watched the confusion.
He sighed. “After tonight they’ll be on their guard. Now they know for sure something is hunting them.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Renaissance Place, ARK Capital
(The White City – Formerly St. Louis)
A Few Days Later
“I don’t know whether to be pissed or pleased,” Tony coughed. He was stretched out on an elevated hospital bed placed in his office. He continued to stare out of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the brilliant whitewashed buildings of his beloved city.
“I did
n’t at first either. I never thought the Hamiltons would just seize her like that. I suppose it’s my fault for thinking they weren’t capable of such a thing.”
Tony nodded slightly. “Oh, they’re capable all right. It’s me who underestimated them. I really never took them seriously, like a big brother until his little brother punches him square in the nose.”
He reached up and took Nicole’s hand in his. She didn’t recoil this time, instead she leaned a bit closer. “You have to make that deal with the Hamiltons,” he told her. “Whatever’s going on in the world, whatever’s going to happen, you’ll need them to help you. They’ll need you, too.”
Nicole shook her head a little. “Don’t talk like that, Tony. Don’t talk like you won’t be here. You’re going to get better.”
He smiled. “You were always a terrible liar. Not like the rest of this family. A Diamante can lie…even to himself.” The smile faded and he grew dark. “Don’t let our kids learn that, Nicole. Don’t let them be like me, like Kathy, like Uncle Jack. Break the cycle. Change ARK to something good.”
“It’s your life’s work, Tony.”
“You should have been my life’s work. Not ARK. Too late for that now. But you can change it. The White City, Independence…they can be the start of something good.”
Nicole nodded. “Now you need to get some rest. I’m going to take care of ARK, and I’m going to take care of you.”
He smiled softly and leaned his head into the pillow.
She stood back straight and walked to the map wall. She felt alone. Usually this room bustled with people in and out, but right now she wasn’t allowing anyone in. Frankly she didn’t know who to trust. With Kathy in the hands of the Red Hawks, she hoped whatever Fifth Column present in the ranks of ARK would return to her side. But that was a hope, and one good lesson she learned from Tony: hope didn’t make for good business.
“Hey, Russell? Can you come in for a minute?” she yelled towards the door.
One of her Independence-based Peacekeepers walked into the office and stood near her, half at attention.
“I need you to do me a favor. I want you to bring Essie Hamilton down here to the office. Take a couple of extra guys, I’m not sure who we can trust here.”
Russell nodded, then stopped before speaking.
“What is it, Russell? Come on, if something is on your mind I need to hear it.”
“Probably nothing, ma’am. But one of our men was approached by a Peacekeeper based here in the White City. Started asking questions, not like guys usually do, more like pumping him for info.”
“And you think that’s unusual?”
“Not necessarily, just that our guy said he felt real uncomfortable, like there was something different about him.”
“I’m assuming you tried to track him down?”
“Of course. I asked Bobby who the guy was, and Bobby didn’t recognize the description.”
Nicole felt her stomach churn. If Bobby Diamante didn’t recognize one of his own Peacekeepers…that was impossible, Bobby knew everyone who wore a uniform in the City Center.
So that meant either this was someone posing as a Peacekeeper—or it meant that cousin Bobby was in on Kathy’s coup.
Panic gripped her for a moment. She thought of giving up and making a run for it. She could just load all her family and Peacekeepers on the skyship lashed to the docking station on top of the building. They’d be gone and in Independence before anyone here knew it. She’d just leave this Godforsaken city to rot. Let the snakes have their nest.
No. I’m not giving up. Her breathing calmed as she forced herself to resist the temptation. Most here would stay loyal to her, to the real founding family of ARK. She just had to find a core of people she could trust and start weeding out everyone else. If she didn’t stop this here, eventually Independence wouldn’t be safe, either.
Russell remained quiet while she worked through the problem. “Okay, Russell. As always, you’re the best. I really appreciate your vigilance, but next time come to me directly with anything that sounds even remotely suspicious.”
Russell nodded and moved off to fulfill her order. While she waited she tried to make some sense out of the maps, to get a grip on the strategic situation ARK faced. She’d purposely cut herself off from anything other than Independence, a hasty and emotional move she regretted now.
There were unit markers in the Mt. Horab area, others south of New Wichita. Those were matched by markers with small white, red and green flags. She knew those belonged to Antonio Lopez and his Nuevo Tejanos. She wanted to wake Tony up, to get some sort of briefing on what it all meant. She resisted the thought, deciding to get her questions ready to ask all at once. She needed to make his conscious moments count.
Near what had been the Kansas and Colorado state line, there were markers with red birds inside a black circle. At first she was confused, wondering why Red Hawks would be out that way. Then she took a closer look and saw they were a fiery bird—a phoenix.
So much I don’t know about what’s going on in the world. I’ve got to catch up quick.
“Plotting to take over the world, Premier?” she heard a female voice say.
She didn’t need to look to see who it was. “Yes, and I need a good pilot. Are you available?” she said while moving her face in closer to the Texarkana area, trying to make out the detail on the multiple markers surrounding it. She only recognized one; the Lone Star on a blue field.
“Sure, let me go and I promise I’ll fly back with the Republic’s best Raptor,” Essie Hamilton said as she walked up beside her.
Nicole finally turned to look at her. “I’m pretty sure the guns on that plane would be aimed at me. So I’m going to have to say no to that request.”
Essie stood with arms crossed and head cocked. Nicole smiled sweetly; at least the ever-present look of hatred had left the younger woman’s eyes recently. The hatred was replaced with defiance, a look available only to the family of a ruler. A ruler that held a good hand against her captors.
Nicole turned back to the maps. “Honestly, Essie, you’re going back to your family in a couple of days. We’re just working out the logistics since lots of people want us both dead.” Nicole felt more than witnessed Essie’s stance change, like a bit of her armor had fallen off. “But I want your help, since you’re one of the few people I can actually trust.”
“I think you’ve got me wrong, Diamante,” Essie said coldly. “Whatever you think about the time we’ve spent together, if you think somehow I’ve grown to like you…”
“I don’t expect you to ever like. But my husband is dying…”
“Gee whiz, real sorry, um, but you killed my fiancé.”
“Your fiancé died defending his home. My husband is dying in his office. Regardless, they’ll both be dead. You and I can’t change anything about that. But what we can do is try to keep anyone else from dying because of this stupid war. ARK shouldn’t have started it, and I want you to help end it.”
Essie stared at Nicole. “How exactly do we go about doing that?”
“First of all, you need to help me figure out who I can trust here in the city.”
Essie burst out laughing. “Are you telling me the infamous Diamantes can’t even control their own capital? Wow, that’s great. I feel really secure now!”
“Are you through?” she asked testily while Essie regained her composure. “Alex arrested Tony’s cousin Kathy, right there in the Republic capitol building. Accused her of spying, which of course she was.”
“Good Lord, I love that brother of mine,” Essie said with a sly grin.
“But she was also plotting to kill both Tony and me and take over ARK for herself. Do you think she’d want this war to end?”
“Don’t have a clue. Seemed like a wretched witch when I met her, I know she wanted me dead.”
“And I kept that from happening,” Nicole said.
“Am I supposed to thank you for that? You’re terrified of what Alex would do
to you if anything happened to me. Don’t act like it was some great mercy, it was self-preservation!”
“To an extent, yes. But we—I am going to try and change ARK. To do that I need to get rid of this conspiracy trying to take it over. If I fail, your Republic will have an eternal enemy sitting right across the river. How many more of your people will die because of that?”
Essie didn’t answer at first. “I’ll never forgive you for what you did to John. Or my home. Mt. Horab was going to be my home…you destroyed it. And my people? You killed them all.”
“Not all. Most of Mt. Horab made it across the river. Alex is setting them up with a new home, well inside Republic territory. ARK is going to provide a good deal of the resources to help them get started.”
“Blood money,” Essie snarled.
“More like penance. A good-faith effort to show that we’re trying to atone.” Nicole reached into her pocket and pulled out her string of beads.
“You can’t buy your way to redemption,” Essie said, a bit more subdued but obviously curious.
“No, I know. But the Carpenter can rebuild anyone, and anything.”
The term from the doctrine of the Unified Church took Essie by surprise. She started to say something – but sirens pierced the moment, and the overhead lights began to flicker.
“Russell!” Nicole shouted. “What’s happening?”
“Not sure yet, ma’am. But I’d like to get you and the kids to the roof.”
